Scientific name: Coprinopsis atramentaria (Bull.:Fr.) Redhead,
Vigalys & Montcalvo.
Derivation of name: Copr- means "dung" and opsis means
"resembling." Atrament- means "ink" in reference to
the deliquescing gills.
Synonyms: Coprinus atramentarius (Bulliard:Fries)
Fries
Common name(s): Alcohol inky
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Order: Agaricales
Family: Psathyrellaceae
Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; clustered in grass,
on decaying wood or on the ground from buried wood; May
through September.
Dimensions: Caps are 5-7.5 cm wide; stipes are 4-15 cm
long and 1-2 cm thick.
Cap: Dry, gray to gray-brown; with shallow grooves on the
margin (radially lined or striate). Small scales may form near
the center.
Gills: Free; white when young, becoming black and inky at
maturity.
Spore print: Black.
Stipe: White, hollow, with a white annular zone near the base.
Veil: Evanescent, leaving a fibrous ring.
Comments: Alcoholic beverages consumed up
to 48 hours
before or after eating this mushroom causes coprine
poisoning which produces symptoms of nausea,
vomiting,
flushing, rapid breathing, and severe headache. This is the
reason this species is called the "alcohol inky."
This species
used to be in the genus Coprinus but
DNA studies
radically
revised the taxonomy of that genus: Coprinus was retained
for a small number of species, several new genera were
created, and the members of the
family Coprinaceae
were split between two families - Psathyrellaceae and
Agaricaceae.
.
More information at TomVolkFungi.net:
More information at MushroomExpert.com:
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Figure 1.
A cluster of Coprinopsis atramentaria mushrooms
at the base of a tree.
Photo © Maynard Wheeler.
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Figure 2. Grooves or striations occur near the cap margin.
Photo © Steve
Nelsen.
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Figure 3. Note the location of
the ring, far down on the
stipe. Evidence of a distinct ring diminishes with age.
Photo © William Roody.
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Figure 4.
A longitudinal section reveals the hollow stipe.
Starting with the lower edge of the white gills, the gills turn
dark as the spores mature.
Photo © Steve
Nelsen.
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Figure 5. Mature gills are black.
Photo © Maynard Wheeler.
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Figure 6. The gill edges appear eroded, the result of the gills
auto-digesting (deliquescence), becoming black and inky. The
process strats at the cap margin and works its way upward.
Photo © Maynard Wheeler.
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