Fungus · GBIF taxon 5242754
grey inkcap
Coprinopsis cinereaAlso known as Gray Shag, Ashy Inkcap
Grey inkcaps emerge rapidly from nutrient-rich organic waste, manure, and compost after wet weather. Their fragile, ash-grey caps open bell-shaped before undergoing autolysis, digesting their own tissues into a black ink-like liquid to disperse spores. Widely studied as a model organism in laboratory research, this fungus completes its entire fruiting cycle in under twenty-four hours.
FungusEphemeralDecomposer
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Decaying organic matter
- Cellulose
- Lignin
Predators
- Fungus gnats
- Slugs
- Snails
ThreatsNone identified
HabitatsCompost piles, dung, rich organic soil, woodchips
Life span12 to 24 hours
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- FamilyPsathyrellaceae
- SpeciesCoprinopsis cinerea
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Many edible mushrooms have toxic look-alikes; never eat wild fungi based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
- Observe quickly: Caps deliquesce into black liquid within hours of maturing.
- Check substrate: Look on aged manure, compost piles, and woodchip mulch after rain.
- Morning searches: Photograph early in the day before sunlight dries out fragile stems.
Ecological Cousin (c) Tom Norton, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tom Norton · cc-by
Similar Habitat no rights reserved · cc0
Frequent Companion (c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Close Relative James Lindsey / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-sa
Help improve the field guideSomething wrong?
Checking your Fauna account…Report a name, category, or profile issue for review.