Like a little, fine and delicate Japanese parasol, lost in a deep green jungle.
Photographs of Pleated Inkcap (Parasola plicatilis), taken October 2016, local roadside verge, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.
This is a small mushroom which is often found growing in short grass. It is one of those fungi which will appear over night after rain, and will suddenly disappear again, so I guess one has to make the most of them when they spot them.
Also called the ‘Little Japanese Umbrella’. A pleated, domed fungi, shaped much like a Japanese parasol, with a dark orange disc in the top centre. The gills are white to begin with and then turn grey and then black. They are free of the stem. The stem is tall and thin, and pale in colour. It is very fragile and breaks easily. The spores are black in mass. Cap width up to 2cm. Stem height up to 6cm.
Seen spring to late autumn, and found singly or in groups in meadows, lawns, and other grassy places, usually in short grass. It appears overnight and withers by noon. Common and widespread.
Photographs taken July 2015, local field, Staffordshire.
Nature Journeys 