Getting inky with Coprinus comatus
“Imagine this: You’re a young and growing mushroom fruit-body. In a short amount of time, you’ve been triggered to grow and burst forth from the ground with enough force to break through solid concrete. Once in the atmosphere you’ve been designed to seek, additional triggers create a wave of spores to be released from the bottom of your column-shaped cap. Now, in a seemingly bizarre move, you begin to breakdown the very fibers of your being, turning your once firm cap into a melting mass of black goo. Eventually, nothing is left of your white and scaly brown button but ghostly tatters of dripping, oozing black that flail from a defiantly upright and bony looking stipe…”
- - Cass Fuentes
Welcome to the world of Coprinus comatus
This deliquescing delight of a mushroom is a true spectacle of the weird, wet wilds of the the world. A shape shifter and statement maker. A creature of delicateness and power. An interface organism of light and dark. A being of beauty and obscenity.
You will often hear this marvelous mushroom called shaggy mane, shaggy inky cap, and/or layers wig, due to its ‘shaggy’ and ‘scaly’ appearance on the cap.
But don’t let its angelic, powdery white youthful innocence fool you, Coprinus comatus has some deep, dark, drippy tricks up its cap, and the secret to revealing this truth are only found in the passing of time.
Where can you find me?
These fungi aren’t the slightest picky. They WANT to thrive, and have developed incredible adaptations and traits of resilience to do so. They are an edge species, commonly found in highly disturbed areas with compact soils such as trail sides, parking lots, lawns, grasslands and roadways, growing happily on a plethora of differing substrates. They are even known to fruit out of asphalt! Although relatively fragile to the touch, the build up of tugor pressure in the cells of their growing sporocarps can literally burst through concrete!
They often bypass seasonality, and can fruit whenever moisture levels are adequate; even a thick fog drip or some garden irrigation can induce fruiting. This saprotrophic (feeding on dead or decaying organic material) fungus is often seen fruiting gregariously in clusters. Where it fruits, it fruits in abundance and has a robust distribution, found all over the world including Africa, Australia, Europe and North America.
Coprinus comatus
Photo: © Fred Stevens
Beautifully Bizarre
Their ooey-gooey tendencies are one of the characteristic features of the genus, Coprinus, as well as other genera such as Coprinopsis, Coprinellus and Parasola. These mushrooms commonly collectively known as coprinoids or ‘inky caps’.
They undergo a wildly magical biochemical process, known as deliquescence or auto-deliquescence. Generally, deliquescence is when the organic tissue of either an animal, plant, or in this case, fungi, liquefies itself through the release of specific hydrolytic enzymes in a process called hydrolysis, where water is used to break chemical bonds that are both moisture and oxygen dependent.
let's deliquesce, watercolor by Anne Yen, ©2009 Anne Yen
The specific enzymes employed by Coprinus comatus are known as chitinase. These enzymes target and degrade chitin, a long-chain polymer that acts as the structural molecule in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi. In simpler terms, it’s what gives mushrooms their shape and rigidity. Chitinase is only produced in the gills and cap and not within the stipe. The gills will change from white, to pink, to black in a matter of hours.
Strange solutions through evolution
So, why would any organism want to enzymatically digest itself?
In the case of this fungus, it is commonly thought that it’s a uniquely crafted method of spore dispersal. The shape of the fruiting body is slender with tightly packed gills, not very cohesive to spore dispersal via wind. So, the deliquescing process begins from the bottom of the cap up, slowly unfurling the cap, expanding the surface area of the gills to increase exposure to the external environment.
It is also hypothesized that the rather revolting, fishy, rotting flesh smell that emanates from its decomposition process attracts insects such as certain species of flies and beetles, whom are attracted to the smell of death and rot. They then coat themselves in the black spore goo, and become vectors in carrying their spores far and wide.
Photo: Gary Emberger.
Illustration: Gramberg, E. 1913
Fun facts
C. comatus is a nematophagous fungus capable of killing and digesting the nematodes.
When fruiting, C. comatus collects moisture from the air and integrates it within it's tissues, building up so much pressure and force that it can burst through solid concrete.
The shaggy ink cap was first described by Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller in 1780 as Agaricus comatus, before being given its current binomial in 1797 by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon.
Its species name derives from coma, or "hair", hence comatus being "hairy" or "shaggy", while "coprinus" means "living on dung".
Eat me!
Despite their less than appealing form (and smell) later in life, C. comatus are delectable edibles when found young, firm and fresh. When they are tightly bound and in their predominantly white ‘button’ form, they can be an ally in the kitchen, granting a delightful gustatory experience. Time is of the essence! “Use it or lose it.”
I have found them to be delicate, soft, fleshy texture that resembles tender white fish, with a mild to slightly fishy flavor.
This mushroom needs immediate attention because if you let them rest unattended for more than approx. 12 hours, you will begin to see signs of deliquescing, and you’ll more than likely be coming back to a big gooey black mess. Believe me, the sight and smell will be less than appetizing.
Some people however purposefully let them deliquesce on their kitchen counters… relishing in the black, stinky spore liquid and even using it as a replacement for squid ink in traditional pasta dishes made with black squid ink sauce!
Photo by: Gone71 N
Storing them in the fridge submerged in salt water has been said to increase the shelf life due to the lack of oxygen which postpones the deliquescing process. That, or sautéing them and freezing them for later use. I cannot attest to either cause they’re just so damn delicious fresh.
C. comatus are quite watery and will produce copious amounts of liquid in the pan. Try a dry sautee method for these, or take advantage of the moisture and use them in sauces and soups.
Check out some funky fungal recipes using this mushroom here, here, and here.
Food for Hunters, 2019
Tips & tricks:
David Arora suggests dipping young caps in egg wash then breadcrumbs and frying for a tasty treat.
Larry Stickney, another renowned California mycologist, enjoyed stuffing them with a mixture of white cheeses topped with green onions, then broiling them until browned and crisp.
I have also heard that people use the deliquesced ‘ink’ as a replacement for squid ink sauce in squid ink pasta recipes.
I like to throw em’ in a pan with butter, garlic, shallot salt and pepper.
IMPORTANT: The term ‘inky caps’ refers to a large group of fungi, and not all inky caps are made the same!
Coprinopsis atramentaria, or the alcohol inky cap, is another closely related species of inky cap and can cause serious gastrointestinal upset when consumed with alcohol. This is due to the presence of the chemical coprine. Although shaggy mane does not contain coprine, there have been reports of people getting sick when boozing alongside this mushroom. I’ve done it, but I like to think I have a hardy stomach… Be safe and just don’t do it.
Coprinopsis atramentaria
Photo: Kit Scates Barnhart
Coprinus comatus
Photo: Gary Emberger.
They could help clean soil, too
Mycoremediation, or Mycorestoration is a form of bioremediation in which fungi are used to decontaminate the environment from chemical and biological pollutants.
Myco, from ancient greek Mykes, meaning ”fungus” and the Latin suffix –remedium, meaning ‘restoring balance’.
As researchers continue to research the powerful remediation potential of fungi, they are increasingly finding that many fungal species contain the ability to sequester heavy metals from the environment, both in land and water.
C. comatus is one of the species that has been investigated for remediation capabilities and has been found to be a bio-accumulator of heavy metals, specifically arsenic, cadmium, mercury. The fungus absorbs the metal ions through an ion exchange mechanism on the mycelial surface, either from the soil or water and concentrates them into specialized storage units called vacuoles inside the fungal cell.
This means be very aware of where you are foraging for edibles, shaggy manes and all mushrooms for that matter. Since C. comatus grow prominently in disturbed areas, you want to make sure there hasn’t been serious prior contamination of that area that could hindering the quality of the mushrooms.
Getting Inky
From first sight, I was enamored by this mushroom, and even more by the viscous, black substance it yielded. Why would such a creature do such a thing? I started seeing them everywhere, C. comatus as well as many other species of inky caps. I was entranced. I would often touch their decaying bodies to find that they deposited dark black ink on my fingertips.
Given my curiosity, I started finger painting with it in my journal. Then I would take leaves and press them in the liquid, and use them as stamps of sorts (this is really beautiful). Eventually with some guidance and ideas from other brilliant minds, I came up with a way to synthesize a non-putrid, quickly evaporating, shelf-stable ink for painting and writing.
But I wasn’t the first one to think of such a thing. Supposedly, liquefied Coprinus comatus was used as writing ink in George Washington’s day.
How to make your own C. comatus mushroom ink !
Honorably harvest your shaggy mane like a good mycophile. Never take more than you need, and leave some to naturally deliquesce and sporulate to contribute to the genetic diversity of the next generation.
Let the mushrooms deliquesce in a jar or closed container for 24-48 hours. You can keep these in a closed container for a long time if you can’t get around to processing right away.
When the mushrooms are completely black and liquefied, run the liquid through a strainer to remove any residual in-tact mushroom bits (remember the stem doesn’t deliquesce).
Pour the liquid out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil to dry (you’ll probably want to do this outside if you don’t want your entire house to smell like a dying animal)
Put the pans filled with black strained liquid outside in direct sunlight to evaporate
Once completely dry, you will have a thin layer of black crust. This is the dried spores.
With a knife, scrape off the black spore layer and put into a jar or vessel with a closed lid
When you’re ready to use, rehydrate with 95% ETOH and a good amount of essential oils of your liking (yes, it still smells). I use a mixture of strong oils like oregano, rosemary, sage, etc. You can use whatever essential oils of plants you are currently feeling connected to, or even infuse your ink with oils of plants that will set the intention of the art you will be creating with your new medium. Or, even as a homage of the ecosystem of which you found the mushrooms in!
The ethanol will ‘rehydrate’ the ink while also helping the smell, as well as having a high evaporation rate which will help keep your paper dry while painting.
Think about it, you can write yourself a beautiful letter with your shaggy mane about how much you love mushrooms, then throw it in your back yard, and from the spores, shaggy manes can grow, and they’ll clean up your soil!