Hare’s Foot Inkcap

Close up of the mushroom Hare’s Foot Inkcap growing in a lawn - Photo: Still Gravity.
Hare’s Foot Inkcap - License our images here.  

The body of this mushroom resembles the pawn of a rabbit when in its younger stages. That's why it's known as Hare's Foot Inkcap - science calls it Coprinopsis lagopus.

But what about the "inkcap"? 

This comes from the black substance that the mushroom dissolves into when dies. This process is known as deliquescence. The term means that a solid becomes liquid after absorbing moisture from the air. Technically, these mushrooms eat themselves - self digest. 

The life of a Hare's Foot Inkcap is pretty short. They exist for just a few hours. When the cap curls like seen in my photo, they are close to the end of their life.

The Hare's Foot Inkcap grows alone or in a group. A curious thing is that when it grows on the ground means that the soil is rich in decaying wood. 

These mushrooms are nonpoisonous but neither edible.

Remembering the humorist Terry Pratchett:

All Fungi are edible. 
Some fungi are only edible once.

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