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The gray dung beetle belongs to the class Agaricomycetes, family Psatirelaceae, genus Coprinopsis. Its other names: gray ink mushroom, ink dung beetle. Found in large groups. Fruiting time is May-September, it grows especially actively in the fall, lives only two days. A description and photo of the gray dung beetle mushroom is presented below.
Where does the gray dung beetle grow?
It grows in vegetable gardens, fields, orchards, near manure heaps, stables, clearings, landfills, next to trees and stumps of deciduous trees. Prefers fertilized, humus-rich soils.
Refers to cosmopolitan mushrooms that are found on all continents except Antarctica.
What does a gray dung beetle look like?
The dung beetle looks like a toadstool.
The diameter of the cap is 5-10 cm, height is 4-10 cm. Its shape changes with the growth of the mushroom. At first, the cap looks like an egg with a wrinkled surface, then quickly turns into a wide-open bell with cracked edges; in the old specimen it curls up. The color is whitish-grayish, gray, dirty brown, darker in the center, lighter towards the edges. On the surface of the cap, especially in the middle, there are dark small scales.
The leg is hollow, curved, fibrous, without a ring. Its color is white, brown at the base. Height – 10-20 cm, diameter – 1-2 cm.
The plates are frequent, wide, free, evenly distributed along the length. In young people they are light - whitish-gray. They darken as they grow and become inky when fully ripe. There are spores in the liquid.
The pulp is fragile, light, and immediately darkens when cut. It has a pleasant mild odor and a sweetish taste.
Is the gray dung beetle edible or not?
The inky dung beetle is a conditionally edible species, but with some reservations:
- Only young specimens can be eaten until their plates turn black. It is advisable to collect them when the cap has just emerged from the ground.
- It should not be consumed simultaneously with alcohol, otherwise acute intoxication will develop.
Taste qualities of mushroom
Gray dung beetle has a pleasant, mild odor and a sweetish taste. In terms of nutritional value and taste, it belongs to category 4.
Benefits and harm to the body
The inky dung beetle contains the organic substance coprine.When coprine and alcohol enter the body simultaneously, poisoning occurs. The symptoms are similar to intoxication after drinking alcohol in combination with medications for alcoholism. First, the person experiences nausea, then severe vomiting. When these manifestations pass, a stable aversion to alcohol develops. The mushroom acts in this way only on a person who has taken an alcoholic drink. In the 50s of the last century, gray dung beetle was used for alcoholism.
Ink mushroom was used not only in cooking and medicine. In the old days, ink was prepared from the liquid it secreted, which was used to sign documents.
The mushrooms were placed in a container, where the process of cell self-dissolution began, resulting in the formation of an inky liquid with spores. It was filtered, flavoring (mainly clove oil) and glue were added. It was believed that documents signed with this ink were reliably protected by a unique pattern that the spores formed after drying.
False doubles
The inky dung beetle has several species similar to it.
Dung beetle flickering - a little-known mushroom. It is red or yellowish-rusty, with grooves on the cap. Its diameter is 2-4 cm, its shape is ovoid or bell-shaped, the edges are smooth or with tears. The leg is hollow, white, brittle, length - 4-10 cm, the surface is smooth, there is no ring, brownish at the base. The pulp is white, thin, with a sour smell. It got its name because of the shimmering scales located on the surface of the cap. He settles in pastures, vegetable gardens, and forests. Grows in large colonies near stumps. Fruits from June to November. Considered inedible.
Dung beetle. It is small in size - maximum 8 cm in height.It has a grayish-brownish or yellowish cap and fused brown plates. Hallucinogen, not suitable for human consumption.
Scattered dung beetle. Not suitable for human consumption. The cap is in the shape of an egg, cone or bell, with a velvety surface, beige or cream color, with granular grooves or folds, up to 2 cm in diameter. The stem is grayish or whitish, fragile, transparent, from 1 to 5 cm in height. Grows on rotting wood and stumps. Found in the temperate climate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Growth time is summer-autumn.
Dung beetle. A small mushroom with a yellowish-brown, ribbed or folded cap. In young people it is bell-shaped, then straightens to a flat shape. Its diameter is 0.8-2 cm. The leg is light, with a smooth surface, height from 4 to 8 cm. The plates are fawn, the flesh is thin. Fruits from spring to late autumn. Grows singly or in colonies. Not used for food.
Dung beetle Romagnesi. It looks more like the gray dung beetle than others. The main difference is the strongly pronounced orange-brown or brown scales on the cap. The ink mushroom has only a few scales in the very center. In the dung beetle Romagnese, the plates also turn black with age and liquefy to the state of black mucus. It settles in colonies on the rotting roots of stumps or on the stumps themselves. According to some data, it bears fruit twice a year: from April to May and from October to November. There is a possibility that it also grows during the summer months in regions with a cold climate or in cool weather. The diameter of the cap is from 3 to 6 cm. It has a regular shape (ovoid or oval), and with growth it takes on the appearance of an expanded bell.The surface is whitish to beige in color, covered with adjacent dense brown or brownish-orange scales. The leg is whitish or off-white, pubescent, hollow, brittle, sometimes slightly widened downward. Reaches a height of 6-10 cm. The plates are frequent, free or adherent; in mature mushrooms they are purple-black, then liquefy and turn black. The pulp is white and very thin, almost odorless. Dung beetle Romagnesi is classified as conditionally edible until the plates begin to undergo autolysis. There is no data on incompatibility with alcoholic beverages.
Collection rules
The inky dung beetle lives for two days. Only young specimens are edible, so it is better to collect them on the first day of its life. It is necessary to cut off the caps that have just emerged from the ground and have not yet darkened.
Use
The inky dung beetle is eaten boiled, fried, stewed, and less often in pickled form.
First, the mushrooms need to be processed, disassembled, peeled, washed and boiled. Then they can be immediately fried, stewed or marinated, or stored in the freezer and taken out as needed. If frozen, they can be stored for no more than 6 months.
Gray dung beetle can be boiled in salted water with lava leaf and black pepper.
Before frying, boiled mushrooms need to be washed again, then chopped and cooked in a frying pan in oil along with onions. You can first simmer them under the lid for about 15 minutes, then drain the liquid and fry. Potatoes or buckwheat are suitable as a side dish. You can serve them with green onions and sour cream sauce.
Conclusion
In Russia, until recently, the gray dung beetle was considered inedible, so many people mistake it for a toadstool and do not show interest in it. In some European countries, such as Finland and the Czech Republic, it has long been used in cooking.
