A day in the life...

Anne and Ross have a group of three Magpie Inkcaps (Coprinus picaceus) in damp leaf litter in their garden. They appear every year in October or November (they seem to be quite late this year).

The 3 pics show how much they change over 3 successive days (Day 3 was 30 Nov) -- the end stage is when the gills blacken and liquefy (hence the 'ink' in the name).