Names, authorship and dates from Index Fungorum.

• BasidiomycotaPhylum
• └─ AgaricomycetesClass
• └─ AgaricalesOrder
• └─ AgaricaceaeFamily
• └─ CoprinusGenus

Higher ranks from Catalogue of Life (COL26.9 XR).

Lifestylesaprobiontnematophagous fungus

Conservation statusleast concern

Disturbed ground: roadsides, paths, meadows, parks

⚠ Before you pickWild fungi may be taken in small quantities for your own use (§39(3) BNatSchG) — but not in nature reserves or national parks, on closed land or on farmland in use, and never for sale (§39(4)). In Bavaria this right is anchored in Art. 141(3) of the state constitution and is limited to locally customary amounts; the competent authority is the district nature-conservation authority (untere Naturschutzbehörde). Local signs and ordinances come first.

Species protection from BArtSchV Annex 1 and §2(1), retrieved 2026-10-15; Red List from Dämmrich et al. (2016) (BfN / Rote-Liste-Zentrum). Not legal advice — local rules and signage may be stricter. BArtSchV Annex 1 · Red List data

• choice mushroom
• edible mushroom
• medicinal mushrooms

Edible when young, before the gills blacken

• ▸ Tall cylindrical white cap covered in shaggy, upturned scales
• ▸ White, free gills that turn black and liquefy from the margin once mature
• ▸ Hollow white stem with a loose, movable ring
• ▸ Cap dissolves into black, spore-laden 'ink' shortly after sporulation

One of the most distinctive mushrooms of late summer; the blackening process (deliquescence) happens within hours, so pick young specimens while the cap is still firm and white.