Species details
Pleated inkcap
Parasola plicatilis
Inedible
Photo: Dinesh Valke · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A tiny short-lived greyish mushroom with a deeply pleated cap.
Identification features
The cap opens like a tiny parasol around a darker central disc; the stem is very thin and fragile.
Identification checklist
Check the entire fruitbody for identification. A tiny short-lived greyish mushroom with a deeply pleated cap. The cap opens like a tiny parasol around a darker central disc; the stem is very thin and fragile. Typical habitat: Meadows, gardens, lawns and rich soil after rain.
Detailed features
- Cap
- 1.5–2.5 cm, initially conical, later opening like a tiny parasol, deeply radially pleated with a brownish central disc.
- Hymenophore
- Gills grey-beige, later black and widely spaced; they darken at maturity but do not produce much black liquid.
- Stem
- 4–7 × 0.1–0.2 cm, very slender, white to greyish-white, translucent and brittle.
- Flesh
- Whitish and almost fleshless.
- Smell
- No characteristic smell.
- Spore print
- Black.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 1,5–2,5 cm
- Stem height
- 4–7 cm
- Stem diameter
- 0,1–0,2 cm
Habitat
Meadows, gardens, lawns and rich soil after rain.
Fruiting period
April, May, June, July, August, September, October
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Saprotrophic
- Substrate
- Grassland, Soil
- Notes
- A saprotroph of lawns, meadows, path edges and other grassy or disturbed soils, often appearing after rain.
How to separate similar species
Compare especially with these similar species: Coprinellus disseminatus, Parasola species. Check the combination of cap shape and colour, spore-bearing surface, stem, flesh changes and habitat. A single feature or photograph is not enough; if the key characters do not match the description, do not treat the identification as confirmed.
Similar species
- Fairy inkcap (Coprinellus disseminatus)
Fairy inkcap grows in very dense colonies on wood or at tree bases and has a less distinct central disc.
- Glistening inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus)
Glistening inkcap is larger, fleshier, clustered on wood and young caps have glittering veil granules.
Interesting facts
Did you know? The deep radial pleats make the mature cap look like a tiny paper parasol.