Coprinopsis atramentaria

What You Should Know

Coprinopsis atramentaria is a widely distributed mushroom found in Europe and North America. It is known for producing black ink from its gills, giving it and other mushrooms in the genus the name "coprinoid". It has a gray to brownish-gray cap that features a few tiny scales over the center but lacks prominent scales or the mica-like granules of Coprinellus micaceus. It grows in clusters from the root systems of dead trees, often in urban and disturbed areas such as lawns and grasslands. There are 90 species of ink fungi in Europe.

This species is edible if the gills are white, but consuming it with alcohol leads to the "disulfiram syndrome". This occurs due to the presence of a compound called coprine in the mushroom, which blocks the action of an enzyme that breaks down acetaldehyde, a metabolite of ethanol. Symptoms of the syndrome include facial flushing, nausea, vomiting, malaise, agitation, and heart palpitations, and they can occur even a few days after consuming the mushroom and alcohol.

While it has been used to cure alcoholism due to its effects, large and prolonged doses of coprine have been found to have gonadotoxic effects on rats and dogs in tests. If consumed, the patient should be reassured that the symptoms will pass, given fluid replacement for fluid loss from vomiting, and monitored for cardiac arrhythmias.

Other names: Common Ink Cap, Tippler's Bane, German (Grauer Faltentintling), Netherlands (Grote kale inktzwam).

Coprinopsis atramentaria Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   1.18 to 3.94 inches (3 to 10 cm) tall and starts as oval, becoming conical-convex when mature. It is lead gray, grayish, or gray-brown and is smooth with a finely scaly or slightly scruffy texture over the center. It may also have faint grooves or lines and its margin may be curled and tattered.

2. Gills

   White and crowded turning to grey than black and deliquescing, melting to black ink.

3. Stem

   3.15 to 5.91 inches (8 to 15 cm) long, 0.24 to 0.47 inches (6 to 12 mm) thick. It is white, smooth or finely hairy, fibrous, and hollow.

4. Flesh

   The flesh is white to pale gray throughout; thin; soft.

5. Spore Print

   Black

6. Habitat

   The common ink cap grows in clusters and is often found in grasslands, meadows, disturbed ground, and open areas from late spring to autumn. It can also grow in urban areas, pushing through asphalt and even tennis courts. It is often associated with buried wood and its mycelium can be found originating from deadwood. It can also be found in the mountains growing under Aspen and Conifers.

7. Microscopic Features

   Spores 6.5-10.5 x 4-6.5 µ; elliptical; smooth; with a central pore. Basidia 4-spored, surrounded by 3-6 brachybasidia. Pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia cylindric to utriform; up to 210 x 55 µ. Pileipellis a cutis. Veil elements tubular; up to 10 µ wide. Clamp connections present.

Coprinopsis atramentaria Look-Alikes

1. Coprinellus micaceus

   Ffruits near buried wood.

2. Coprinus comatus

   Has a columnar-shaped, scaly cap.

3. Coprinopsis romagnesiana

   Has distinctive orange-brown scales on the cap and the rub.

4. Coprinopsis acuminata

   Produces slightly smaller fruiting bodies with a bump in the center of the hat. It also has narrower spores (4–5.5 µm).

Making Ink from Coprinopsis atramentaria

1. Put the mushrooms on a plate and let them sit at room temperature for a few days.

2. The mushrooms will disintegrate and turn into ink.

3. To preserve the ink, mix one part formalin with 20 parts of the ink, then pour into a bottle.

Coprinopsis atramentaria and Alcohol

Coprine is a toxin from a fungus found in the common inky cap mushroom. Consuming the mushroom and alcohol together can cause unpleasant symptoms, but is not dangerous. Recovery is usually complete, but there has been one report of an esophageal rupture from excessive vomiting.

Symptoms of coprine toxicity include:

1. Flushed skin and a warm sensation

2. Rapid heartbeat and palpitations

3. A tingling sensation in the arms and legs

4. A metallic taste in the mouth

5. Nausea

6. Vomiting

If symptoms are severe or last for a long time, medical aid should be sought. It's also important to note that the symptoms listed above can have other causes besides mushroom poisoning.

Coprinopsis atramentaria Taxonomy and Etymology

The common ink cap mushroom was first described in 1786 by Jean Baptiste Francois Pierre Bulliard and named Agaricus atramentarius. In 1838, it was transferred to the genus Coprinus by Elias Magnus Fries and named Coprinus atramentarius. DNA analysis in 2001 resulted in the reduction of the genus Coprinus and most inkcaps are now in new genera within the family Psathyrellaceae. The name Coprinopsis means similar to Coprinus, which means "living on dung." The specific epithet atramentaria comes from Latin and means a very dark or black substance.

Coprinopsis atramentaria Synonyms

• Coprinus atramentarius (Bull.) Fr., 1838

• Agaricus aqueus Batsch (1783), Elenchus fungorum, p. 61

• Agaricus aquosofuscescens Hoffmann (1789), Nomenclator fungorum, 1, p. 235

• Agaricus atramentarius Bulliard (1783), Herbier de la France, 4, tab. 164 (Basionyme) Sanctionnement : Fries (1821)

• Agaricus bicolour Vahl (1792), Flora danica, 18, p. 7, tab. 1070

• Agaricus cinereus Lamarck (1778), Flore française ou description succincte de toutes les plantes qui croissent naturellement en France, Edn 1, 1, p. 110

• Agaricus costatus Krombholz (1831), Naturgetreue abbildungen und beschreibungen der essbaren, schädlichen und verdächtigen schwämme, 1, p. 74, tab. 4, fig. 1-2

• Agaricus fimetarius Sowerby (1799), Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms, tab. 188

• Agaricus fugax Schaeffer (1774), Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam, 4, p. 30, tab. 67-68

• Agaricus fuscescens Schaeffer (1774), Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam, 4, p. 10, tab. 17

• Agaricus luridus Bolton (1788), An history of fungusses growing about Halifax, 1, p. 25, tab. 25

• Agaricus ovatus Curtis (1781), Flora londinensis, 1(2), p. 72, tab. 101/212

• Agaricus plicatus Lightfoot (1777), Flora scotica, 2, p. 1023

• Agaricus rufocandidus Schaeffer (1774), Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam, 4, p. 41, tab. 201

• Agaricus sobolifer Hoffmann (1789), Nomenclator fungorum, 1, p. 246, tab. 3, fig. 1

• Agaricus squalidus J.F. Gmelin (1792), Systema naturae, Edn 13, 2, p. 1427

• Agaricus striatus Hudson (1778), Flora Anglica, Edn 2, p. 617

• Agaricus tortus Batsch (1783), Elenchus fungorum, p. 61

• Amanita cinerea Lamarck (1783), Encyclopédie méthodique, Botanique, 1, p. 109

• Coprinopsis atramentaria (Bull.) Redhead, Vilgalys & Moncalvo, 2001

• Coprinopsis fuscescens (Schaeffer) Fayod (1889), Annales des sciences naturelles, botanique, série 7, 9, p. 380

• Coprinus atramentarius (Bulliard) Fries (1827) [1825-26], Stirpes agri femsionensis, 3, p. 56

• Coprinus atramentarius var. soboliferus (Hoffmann) Rea (1922), British Basidiomycetae, a handbook to the larger british fungi, p. 502

• Coprinus fuscescens (Schaeffer) Fries (1838) [1836-38], Epicrisis systematis mycologici, p. 244

• Coprinus fuscescens var. soboliferus (Hoffmann) Quélet (1886), Enchiridion fungorum in Europa media et praesertim in Gallia vigentium, p. 121

• Coprinus luridus Fries (1838) [1836-38], Epicrisis systematis mycologici, p. 243

• Coprinus plicatus (Lightfoot) Persoon (1797), Tentamen dispositionis methodicae fungorum, p. 62

• Coprinus soboliferus (Hoffmann) Fries (1838) [1836-38], Epicrisis systematis mycologici, p. 243

• Hypophyllum argenteum Paulet (1808) [1793], Traité des champignons, 2, p. 263, tab. 129, fig. 1-3

• Hypophyllum atramentarium (Bulliard) Paulet (1808) [1793], Traité des champignons, 2, p. 258, tab. 125, fig. 1

• Pselliophora atramentaria (Bulliard) P. Karsten (1879), Bidrag till kännedom af Finlands natur och folk, 32, p. 528

• Pselliophora fuscescens (Schaeffer) P. Karsten (1879), Bidrag till kännedom af Finlands natur och folk, 32, p. 530

• Pselliophora sobolifera (Hoffmann) P. Karsten (1879), Bidrag till kännedom af Finlands natur och folk, 32, p. 530

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