page_title: Coprinellus micaceus
section_title: Ecology, habitat and distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Coprinellus micaceus / Ecology, habitat and distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: The mushroom Coprinellus micaceus (Bull.) Vilgalys, Hopple &amp; Jacq. Johnson. Photographed in Kinderhook Trail, Wayne National Forest, Ohio, USA.
context_page_description: Coprinellus micaceus is a common species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae with a cosmopolitan distribution. The fruit bodies of the saprobe typically grow in clusters on or near rotting hardwood tree stumps or underground tree roots. Depending on their stage of development, the tawny-brown mushroom caps may range in shape from oval to bell-shaped to convex, and reach diameters up to 30 mm. The caps, marked with fine radial or linear grooves that extend nearly to the center, rest atop whitish stems up to 100 mm long. In young specimens, the entire cap surface is coated with a fine layer of reflective mica-like cells that provide the inspiration for both the mushroom's species name and the common names mica cap, shiny cap, and glistening inky cap. Although small and with thin flesh, the mushrooms are usually bountiful, as they typically grow in dense clusters. A few hours after collection, the gills will begin to slowly dissolve into a black, inky, spore-laden liquid—an enzymatic process called autodigestion or deliquescence. The fruit bodies are edible before the gills blacken and dissolve, and cooking will stop the autodigestion process.
context_section_description: Coprinellus micaceus is a saprotrophic species, deriving nutrients from dead and decomposing organic matter, and grows in and around stumps or logs of broad-leaved trees or attached to buried wood. It prefers feeding on bark, particularly the secondary phloem, rather than the wood. In the scheme of the succession of fungal species involved in the decomposition of wood, C. micaceus is a late stage colonizer, and prefers to feed on wood that has already decomposed sufficiently to have reached "a friable softened consistency". A 2010 study suggests that the fungus can also live as an endophyte, inhabiting the woody tissue of healthy trees without causing disease symptoms. The fungus is also associated with disturbed or developed ground, such as the sides of roads and paths, gardens, building sites and the edges of parking lots; it has also been noted for growing indoors on rotting wood in humid environments. In one instance it was discovered about 120 m (400 ft) underground in an abandoned coal mine, growing on wooden gangways and props used to support the roof.
  Fruit bodies are commonly found growing in dense clusters, but can also be found growing singly or in small clumps, especially in forested areas. In North America, C. micaceus is one of the first edible mushrooms to appear in the spring, and fruits from April to September. In Europe, it fruits from May to December. Although it can grow at any time of the year, it is more prevalent during the spring and fall, coinciding with the higher humidity resulting from spring and autumn rains. A study of air quality conducted in the city of Santiago de Compostela in the Iberian Peninsula, concluded that most "Coprinus" spores present in the atmosphere belonged to C. micaceus, and that the number of spores went up with increased humidity and rainfall, but decreased with greater temperatures. The species is known for reappearing with successive fruitings at the same location. In one case, a total of 38 lb (17.2 kg) of fresh mushrooms were collected from one elm stump in 10 successive crops over a spring and summer.
  Coprinellus micaceus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and has been collected in northern Africa, South Africa, Europe (including Turkey), North America (as far north as Alaska), the Hawaiian islands, South America, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Phylogenetic analysis of rDNA sequences from specimens collected in southeastern Asia and Hawaii show that the Hawaiian species form a distinct clade with little genetic diversity compared to Asian populations; this suggests that the Hawaiian populations have been introduced relatively recently and have not had much time to develop genetic variation. One study suggests that in South Africa, where C. micaceus is rare, it has been frequently confused with the similar-appearing C. truncorum, a more common species in that region. A similar inference has been raised about North American species.
caption: A cluster of fruit bodies at the base of a tree in Wayne National Forest, Ohio, USA
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