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Small
mushroom, up to 5 inches tall, although very tiny mushrooms may also be
produced, around an inch tall. At first with a bell shaped-cap,
very hairy, which gives it the common name. As it matures, the
cap flattens and even inverts to form a shallow bowl; at this stage it
is very fragile and translucent gray, with obvious radiating
ribs. Eventually it turns black and liquefies (as in lower right).
Grows in small
clusters. Usually in forests
on rotting wood, or, perhaps more often, on soil containing a lot of
woody debris. Sometimes in suburban areas, especially on mulch.
This species has a number of
relatives in Wildwood. It resembles Fairy
Inkcap (Coprinellus disseminatus),
but that species does not open up into bowl shapes and does not
liquefy. Alcohol Inky (Coprinopsis atramentaria) is also
similar, but that species is found in dense clusters, is more robust,
and remains bell-shaped until it liquefies. Scaly inkcap (Coprinosis variegatus) is a bit
larger, has scales on the cap, and does not invert to a bowl
shape. Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus) looks very
similar when young, but is much larger.
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