Inky Cap Ink

Have you ever noticed that lots of mushrooms have “ink” in their name? Shaggy ink cap, inky cap, fairy ink cap etc. This isn’t a coincidence, you can make a simple ink from most mushrooms that have ink in their name. The process couldn’t be simpler- the mushrooms naturally (and quickly) deliquesce (which is a fancy way to say they turn into a pile of goo) into a black liquid which is filled with spores. This is both the mushroom’s way of dispersing spores and a quick way to make ink. I tried to find some historical accounts of the use of mushroom ink and unfortunately came up mostly empty. Mushrooms do make a strong seemingly lightfast ink though– the pictures below are made from ink I have had sitting on my shelf for over a year. I did find one account that said mushroom ink was historically used for important documents because you could verify that it contained spores under a microscope. Regardless this is probably the easiest natural ink you can make and draws beautifully!

Ink Cap Ink

You can use any mushroom that has ink in its name– I haven’t obviously tried all of them, but it’s a pretty good indication that it will work. The one most associated with ink making is the Shaggy Ink Cap, but I used Hare’s Foot Ink Cap (coprinopsis lagopus) in the pictures with great results. There are various ink cap species all over the world so experiment and see what you can find!

Materials:

• mushrooms with “ink” in their name
• a small container
• paper
• paintbrush

Method:

Collect your mushrooms and place into a glass or plastic container. It’s typically just the cap that makes the ink, but it’s generally not worth the trouble to pull out the stems.

Allow mushrooms to sit at room temperature covered for a few days or until they turn into a black liquid. You can strain the stems out at this point if you prefer.

Dip you brush in an paint some mushrooms! (Or whatever else you want)