Shaggy Ink Cap ( Coprinus comatus )

Saturday so usually a "walk to the bins shot".  Today I didn't need to walk anywhere.  Over the fence, in nextdoor Lodge's lawn, there were a number of these fungi.

Shaggy Ink Cap are, for me at least, one of the easier fungi to identify.  The shape and loose scales are good indicators.  The gills change from white through pink and finally black.  This is when the cap starts autolysis (autodigestion) the black liquid produced is full of spores, eventually, there is no cap left.

The fungus is edible (not that I would risk it) providing it is eaten soon after collection, as the autolysis means they won't keep.  I am given to understand that in china they are cultivated as food.