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Coprinus

 
Coprinus

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Coprinus



 
 
The genus Coprinus is a small genus of mushrooms consisting of Coprinus comatus
Coprinus comatus

Coprinus comatus, the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas....
 (the shaggy mane) and several of its close relatives. Until 2001, Coprinus was a large genus consisting of all agaric
Agaric

An agaric is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus that is clearly differentiated from the stipe , with lamellae on the underside of the pileus....
 species in which the lamellae autodigested to release their spores. (The black ink-like liquid this would create gave these species their common name "inky cap".) Molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetics, also known as molecular systematics, is the use of the structure of molecules to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships....
 investigation found that Coprinus comatus was only a distant relative of the other members of Coprinus, and was closer to genera in the Agaricaceae
Agaricaceae

The Agaricaceae is a family of basidiomycete fungi and includes the genus Agaricus, as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae....
.






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The genus Coprinus is a small genus of mushrooms consisting of Coprinus comatus
Coprinus comatus

Coprinus comatus, the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas....
 (the shaggy mane) and several of its close relatives. Until 2001, Coprinus was a large genus consisting of all agaric
Agaric

An agaric is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus that is clearly differentiated from the stipe , with lamellae on the underside of the pileus....
 species in which the lamellae autodigested to release their spores. (The black ink-like liquid this would create gave these species their common name "inky cap".) Molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetics, also known as molecular systematics, is the use of the structure of molecules to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships....
 investigation found that Coprinus comatus was only a distant relative of the other members of Coprinus, and was closer to genera in the Agaricaceae
Agaricaceae

The Agaricaceae is a family of basidiomycete fungi and includes the genus Agaricus, as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae....
. Since Coprinus comatus is the type species
Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
 of Coprinus, only that species and its close relatives C. sterquilinus and C. spadiceisporus retained the name of the genus.

The majority of species of Coprinus were therefore reclassified into the genera Coprinellus
Coprinellus

Coprinellus is a genus of mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae.External links...
, Coprinopsis
Coprinopsis

Coprinopis is a genus of mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae.External links...
, and Parasola
Parasola

Parasola is a genus of mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae.External links...
. Coprinus and these segregate genera are now referred to collectively as coprinoid fungi.

Species list

  • C. calyptratus
  • C. comatus
    Coprinus comatus

    Coprinus comatus, the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas....
     (Shaggy inkcap)
  • C. spadiceisporus
  • C. sterquilinus


Selected former species

  • Coprinus atramentarius - now Coprinopsis atramentaria
    Coprinopsis atramentaria

    Coprinopsis atramentaria, commonly known as the Common Inkcap or Inky Cap, is an edible mushroom found in Europe and North America....
     (Common Inkcap)
  • Coprinus plicatilis - now Parasola plicatilis


External links

  • by Michael Kuo, MushroomExpert.com, February, 2005.
  • – taxonomy and keys to coprinoid fungi.
  • by Tom Volk, TomVolkFungi.net.
  • by Michael Kuo, MushroomExpert.com, September, 2001.
  • , MykoWeb.com.
  • by Louise Freedman, MykoWeb.com.