One of my favourite things about this project (apart from all of the lovely people I have 'met') is the fact that it encourages me to find out about things. Prior to the project I would probably have thought 'Oh that's an interesting mushroom, I wonder what sort it is' but I would probably not have ever got round to finding out.
Nowadays I actually find out, sometimes not only the common name, but the latin one too.
I already knew that the first word of the latin name came from the word 'copra' which I knew had something to do with faeces. Apparently it is because they are often found on manure heaps, but I had assumed it was because of their horrible smell.
the second part of the name I thought sounded rather ominous, and so assumed that the mushrooms were toxic and would put you into an immediate coma if you ate them. Not so. It actually comes from a latin word meaning 'hairy.' Who'd have thought.........?
In fact the mushrooms are edible, but because they start to 'autodigest' within a short time of picking you have to cook and eat them pretty quickly. They literally melt away into an inky black liquid which contains their spores. Hence the common name - Ink Cap.
Wonderful sharp focus! And interesting explenation! I always try to find out a lot about my subjects too, but I did this before this project also. Maybe if they autodigest they wouldn't be so appetizing anymore... it sounds a bit disgusting even.
Fav for me too. It's a great year for fungi - I've noticed loads even around town. Never with a decent camera on me though. Presumably comb comes from the Latin then - interesting!
Love the simple beauty of this mushroom..even the name is wonderful! Just look at the wonderful cap of this.......& the drip of ink as it almost drops on the green shoot. Fave!
Super capture of this Shaggy ink cap -- I had never heard it called a judge's wig mushroom before . Thanks for the definitive history -- one is never too old to learn new facts !!
Great texture, light and focus. Seems to me i remember a short story by Ruth Rendelll which mentions these mushrooms, but I could be mistaken about what kind they were.
Yes, still awake and fascinated by the info. I'm always learning stuff on her too on my project or others. Beautiful shot with lovely detail and dof. fav
Fantastic shot and details about the fungi. I agree, often I am needing to find out more about the subjects I have taken images of - it;s a great place this 365! Fav
