Are inks poisonous?

What are inks

Not all inks are poisonous. If you want to look for it yourself, it is better to consult a mushroom expert if you are not one yourself.

• The inks that are not poisonous are called inks. Experts call it Coprinus comatus or asparagus mushroom, ink mushroom or porcelain ink.
• This type of mushroom belongs to the mushroom relatives family and is at home in Europe. However, this edible mushroom does not have a long shelf life. If it spoils, you will know how it got the name ink mushroom: after a while it melts like an ink.
• The Schopftintling has a hat that is five to ten inches high and about three to six inches wide. The older it gets, the more it opens up, making the hat look brownish and bell-shaped. On the side of the hat, you can see that scales appear on the outside of the mushroom.
• The flesh is thin and white. The older he gets, the more the lamellae and hat dissolve and become an ink-like liquid. Experts call this autolysis. This takes place in nature because the fungus spreads that way.
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Purple mushrooms in nature

Do you sometimes feel that on a walk in the forest during the mushroom season ...

• You can find the tintling in meadows and along roadsides. Sometimes it can also be found in groups on manured lawns in residential areas. You can enjoy the fruiting bodies from April until November.

It becomes poisonous for you if you confuse the corkscrew with the edible wrinkled ink "Coprinus atramentatrius". If you drink alcohol together with the wrinkle ink, you will feel symptoms of intoxication (including nausea and vomiting).

This is how toxic the wrinkle ink is

You can confuse the wrinkled inks with the blooming inks. Therefore caution is advised because it can become toxic.

• You can recognize the wrinkled ink by the fact that it has a bead at the base of the stem, which is edged. The hat looks egg-shaped, and the older it gets, the tapered it becomes. This is why you can confuse it with the Schopftintling. The size is roughly the same with a diameter of three to six inches.
• The difference is that the pulp is not white, but gray-white to ash-gray. The hat, however, looks similar to that of the Schopftintling, because the edge is torn with age. It smells mild and pleasant - just like the taste.
• You can find it in deciduous forests but also on paths and even in parks from April to November. Note that the mushroom is only edible "when it is old". The mushroom is then dark. The young mushroom is bright. However, it cannot be consumed with alcohol. Because then it is poisonous.
• This is because the fungus has a high proportion of coprin. Coprin is a mushroom poison. This poison is also found in the mica ink and in the nettle-stemmed witch's bolete.
• Coprin is toxic because it breaks down into glutamic acid when heated, for example. This is a biologically active substance. It inhibits an enzyme (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase). However, this enzyme is important because it works by metabolizing drinking alcohol (ethanol). Coprin blocks it, causing what is known as Coprinus syndrome.
• This will make you sweat and your face will turn red and the skin on your body will turn purple. The tip of your nose and earlobes will remain white. This can take four days.

You should therefore definitely see a doctor. If you eat the mushroom without drinking alcohol, it is not harmful.