goldenhaired inkcap

The fungus produces fruit bodies with caps that are initially egg-shaped with margins curled inward; as the cap expands, it becomes conical and eventually flat or slightly depressed in the center, ultimately reaching a diameter of 6 cm (2.4 in). The fruit bodies are hygrophanous, and so will change color depending on their state of hydration. When the fruit bodies are young and fresh, the caps are reddish brown and can glisten, especially if wet. As the mushroom matures, the outer edge of the cap turn a greyish color while the center remains reddish brown. Radial grooves extend from the center of the cap to the margins. The caps have minute hairs (setae) that are visible through a hand lens. The gills are free from attachment to the stem, and have a width of 0.2–0.4 cm (0.08–0.16 in). They are initially whitish before turning greyish brown, and eventually become blackish with a dark margin as the spores mature. Unlike some other coprinoid mushrooms, the gills do not deliquesce—a process whereby the gills dissolve into an inky black mass as they release their spores. The whitish stem is up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and 0.4 cm (0.16 in) thick, hollow, and fragile. Young fruit bodies can have abundant, thick-walled hairs at the base of the stem, but these typically disappear as the mushroom matures. …

Parasola auricoma is a saprobic species, and so obtains nutrients by breaking down organic matter into simpler molecules. The fruit bodies grow either singly or in groups, often in large numbers, at road sides in deciduous forests, or on grassy areas. The mushrooms are short-lived, usually lasting only for a few hours before collapsing. Common in Europe and North America (including Hawaii), it has also been recorded from Japan. In Europe, fruit bodies appear most commonly in spring and summer months, while in North America, fruiting is more common in the late summer and autumn, after rains. The mushroom was reported in Bogotá, Colombia, by mycologist Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez.