Coprinus Pers.
(inkcaps)

Subtaxon Example images Rank Featured
subtaxa
No of
images
No of
ID refs
 (Click to open)
Species 17 images 2 ident. refs
 (Click to open)
Species 12 images
Species 1 ident. refs
Cap (Click to open)
Species 16 images 1 ident. refs
Species 1 ident. refs
Species 1 ident. refs
 (Click to open)
Species aggregate 2 subtaxa 16 images
Species 1 ident. refs
Cap (Click to open)
Unidentified 6 images
Taxonomic hierarchy:
GenusCoprinus (inkcaps)
FamilyAGARICACEAE (mushrooms, dapperlings and parasols, puffballs and bird’s-nests)
OrderAGARICALES (mushrooms and toadstools)
SubclassAGARICOMYCETIDAE (a subclass of basidiomycetes)
ClassAGARICOMYCETES (a class of fungi)
SubphylumAGARICOMYCOTINA (a subphylum of fungi)
PhylumBASIDIOMYCOTA (spore droppers, basidiomycetes)
KingdomFUNGI (true fungi)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)

Identification Works

AuthorYearTitleSource
Orton, P.D. & Watling, R. 1979 Coprinaceae: Coprinus British Fungus Flora, Vol 2, 149pp, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office
Orton, P.D. 1976 Notes on British Agarics VI Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Vol 35 No 1: 147-154.
Orton, P.D. 1976 Notes on British Agarics VI Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Vol 35 No 1: 147-154.
Orton, P.D. 1972 Notes on British Agarics IV Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Vol 32, No 1: 135-150.
Orton, P.D. 1957 Notes on British Agarics 1-5 (Observations on the genus Coprinus) TBMS Vol 40 (2): 263-276.
Schafer, D.J. 2010 Keys to sections of Parasola, Coprinellus, Coprinopsis and Coprinus in Britain Field Mycology Vol 11 (2): 44-51, rear cover.
Uljé, C.B. Genus Coprinus Pers. Arnolds, E. Genus Conocybe Fay., 60pp, Flora Agaricina Neerlandica 6
Uljé, K. Studies in Coprinus www.grzyby.pl/coprinus-site-Kees-Uljee/cindex.htm

Coprinus (inkcaps) may also be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Coprinus (inkcaps)
BioInfoBioInfo (www.bioinfo.org.uk) has 10 host/parasite/foodplant and/or other relationships for Coprinus (inkcaps)

The Inkcap toadstools are so-called because the black-spored gills, and often the caps too, liquify into an ink-like liquid. However, this has an ecological purpose: many of the species grow on transient substrates (eg dung) often with short-lived fruitbodies. The cap and gills liquify to rapidly dispose of the gill material and allow all the spores to be quickly released into the air. In the dung species the spores often have to survive on nearby grass until eaten by a herbivore. The spores are black because they are protected by thick heavily-pigmented walls.

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