Photo was taken about 9.00 a.m. 24th August 2001, at Cheverton Copse on the Isle of Wight. The Copse is a caravan site, grass covered amongst a copse of mainly oak trees.
One of a group of ephemeral coprinus species. This photo was taken in the early morning: the fungi had grown and opened overnight. These specimens are in the final stages of life.
This is a reasonably common fungus, usually found singly but as it shoots up sporulates and dies very quickly it's easily missed.
The books say it's edible, but you need to find young ones that have not fully openaed and shed their spores. It would be difficult to find enough to even taste!
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Written by and © Richard Torrens
Page first published 24th September, 2001.
Document URL: www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Myco/CoprinusLagopus.html
Last modified: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:04:31 GMT