Dung beetle mushroom or gray dung beetle
Category: conditionally edible.
Hat (diameter 4-12 cm): grayish or slightly brown, brighter in the center. May be with numerous small dark scales. In young mushrooms, it has the shape of a small chicken egg, which over time becomes like a bell. The edges are uneven, with small cracks.
Leg (height 7-22 cm): white, slightly brownish at the base. Usually curved, hollow.
Plates: loose and frequent, white in color, turning brown over time, and then black and blurring. Young mushrooms have a ring, but it disappears with age.
Pulp: thin, white, darkens strongly and quickly at the cut or fracture site. Has no pronounced odor.
In medieval Russia, ink dung beetles were used to make ink, which was added to the usual ones to protect important government documents from forgery: after drying, the spores of the fungus form a unique pattern.
Doubles: absent.
Ink or gray dung beetle fungus grows from mid-May to early October in countries of the Eurasian continent with a temperate climate.
Where can I find: on manured soils, compost or manure heaps or in humus-rich deciduous forests.
Eating: boil, marinate and fry only young mushrooms.
Application in traditional medicine (data not confirmed and not passed clinical studies!): ink dung is used as a remedy for drunkenness.
Important! Eating dung beetle with alcohol causes poisoning, but remains harmless for non-drinkers.
A photo of a gray dung beetle is proposed to be viewed below:
Other names: gray ink mushroom.
