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Here is the Shaggy Mane mushroom a few hours older, tall and dripping.
Collectively, members of the genus Coprinus have been called "Inky Caps". So......here it is actually doing what it is named for: self-digesting into black ink! It actually takes moisture from the environment, and starts digesting itself, dripping and self-destructing!! I found this quite amazing to see!! It continues over hours until the entire cap is gone, leaving a puddle of black ink below where the mushroom used to be, and later then a stem drying up....
Another word (I remember
this word from my past), is that the mushroom undergoes deliquescence,
actually autodeliquescence of its gills.
From Webster's:
Main Entry: del·i·ques·cent
Pronunciation: -'kwe-s&nt
Function: adjective Etymology: Latin deliquescent-, deliquescens, present participle of deliquescere 1 : tending to melt or dissolve; especially : tending to undergo gradual dissolution and liquefaction by the attraction and absorption of moisture from the air Because of this phenomenon, if one wants to eat them, one must immediately cook them in the young stage, otherwise the gills will turn grey/black and leave behind inky blobs in the sink or in the pan. (I found that out by personal experience.) The black ink is not too appetizing! To give yourself a little time you can also store them under water in the refrigerator. |
