The crested tintling (Coprinus comatus), commonly known as asparagus mushroom, porcelain tinting, ink mushroom, or erroneously as the tinted mushroom, is a mushroom family member. It is a European native that is often and young a good, although not very long-lasting edible mushroom, since old specimens dissolve into an ink-like liquid. The species may be grown; for example, grain spawn speckled with mushrooms is sold in the commerce. [1] The hat is 5–10 cm in height and 3–6 cm in width. The hat is egg-shaped to cylindrical in young specimens, then expands and eventually becomes bell-shaped as they get older. As it develops, the nearly pure white scales break into scales, just faintly beige to pink at the border and reddish to brownish at the tip. The flesh is pale and slender. Because of the hat’s form, the lamellae are first inconspicuous; they are white when young, then pink as they mature. The hat and lamellae disintegrate in an ink-like liquid as they age. This is referred to as autolysis. This peculiarity is a method of distributing spurs. These dribble away with the liquid, but are also dispersed as dust by air movement. [2] The white bulbous, scaled, longitudinally fibrous stalk bears a thin, membranous, and ungrown ring and is 1–2 cm in diameter.
There’s a chance it’ll be confused with the similarly edible wrinkle tintling ( Coprinopsis atramentaria ), which, however, causes intoxication symptoms when consumed with alcoholic drinks.
The Schopf-Tintling may be found along highways and in meadows. It is one of the most distinctive mushrooms in the urban environment, growing in huge clusters on fertilised lawns in the midst of residential neighbourhoods. The species is saprotrophic and nematophagous, which means it can eat tiny roundworms (nematodes). The crustacean does this by forming capturing organs on its underground mycelium, tiny spherical structures with thorny outgrowths, via which it excretes a poison that renders worms immobile. The crested tintling hyphae eventually colonise the nematodes, which are digested within a few days. [3]
Fruiting bodies develop from April to November, with the peak of fructification occurring in September in Central Europe.
The crested tintling may be found all across the northern hemisphere.
When the hat isn’t stretched out and the lamellae are still white or pink, the Schopf-Tintling is regarded to be an excellent eating fungus. It has a light fragrance and a delicate consistency. Because even immature specimens rapidly melt away after harvest and are no longer edible, the fungus must be consumed immediately. The Schopf-Tintling may be slightly poisonous when combined with alcohol ( Coprinus syndrome ). [4] [5]
The often wet summer may have dampened some Graubünden residents’ spirits. The forest floor, on the other hand, was overjoyed – and with it, all the eager mushroom pickers. They hope that porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, and other mushrooms would finally appreciate the fact that they are, well, mushrooms.