The shaggy ink cap is a type of fungus which is edible when young. The cap overhangs so that, rather than the more common round cap, the shaggy ink cap has an elongated ovoid shape. It has shaggy scales which, when young, are white but which become darker with age. As it ages it becomes quite unpleasant to eat and eventually dissolves into a puddle of black liquid, giving it its English name. (If gathering mushrooms you must be absolutely certain what you have before you eat them as many are very poisonous.)
