This mushroom has a tan to light brown cap that is 1-2 inches wide. Glistening mica-like particles may be seen on fresh caps, reflecting their common name (A and F). The cone or bell-shaped caps have grooves and irregular fringes(A,B). The gills are attached to the stalk and are off-white to gray and then black in color (C and E). The stalk is 1-3 inches long.
These common mushrooms are seen mostly in the spring but from April through October and usually in large family clusters on decaying wood, especially on elms. They may be seen in moist ravines as well a on flood plains and upland woods of Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods.
This is a member of the “inky caps”. C.micaeus in N. America is actually a complex of species. It also goes under the scientific name Coprinus micaeus. Their gills dissolve (deliquesce) at maturity into a black, inky fluid. It is known as the common inky cap.
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