I am so excited to have the opportunity to learn. I found these mushrooms growing at the edge of a farm field on dead elm logs. Their common name is Mica Cap (Coprinus micaceus).
They are not as wonderful as the Shaggy Mane mushroom (Coprinus comatus), but they are edible.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that, according to many experts these mushrooms cannot be eaten if you’ve consumed alcohol for several days before or if you drink alcohol for up to two weeks after eating these mushrooms.
These deteriorate quickly, so unlike morels, they need to be cooked as soon after harvesting as possible. I took the simple route and sautéed them in olive oil. They were mild and tasty, just not very pretty.
I will always be deeply indebted to George Johanson, my foraging mentor. He gets such joy from sharing information on wild edibles.
You have your IDs mixed up a bit here. You are using shaggy mane, Inky Cap, Coprinus micaceus all for the same thing. Your photo is a Mica Cap, Coprinus micaceus. Inky caps are Coprinus atramentarius. Shaggy manes are Coprinus comatus.
You won’t want to confuse these, especially if you are thinking of eating any. The mica caps and inky caps can do nasty things to you if you have alcohol within 5 days of eating them. Mica caps are rarely referred to as a good edible in general. I’m glad you enjoyed them, but you must be more careful with your IDs or you could be taking some risks in the future.
Comment by Tanelorn — August 4, 2008 @ 8:04 pm
I had misunderstood one of my instructors. I’ve now changed the content of this post, because Tanelorn is right.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You could have just clicked away and left me in the dark.
I am truly grateful to all my teachers.
Comment by jj_murphy — August 13, 2008 @ 7:18 am