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The size range in this family is tremendous. For example Coprinus comatus (the Shaggy Ink Cap, and Lawyer's Wig are two of its common names) sometimes
attains a height of 30 cm, while many of the tiny members of the family are barely 3
cm tall. All are delicate and easily damaged.
Within this group are several
fungi of open grassland as well as many more that are almost exclusively
confined to dark woodland, either growing on the forest floor or on dead
branches or stumps of trees that have been felled.
Larger pictures, identification guides and a wealth of information on these
and hundreds of other species are contained on the First-Nature CD-ROM Guide to Fungi.
The family Coprinaceae includes the genera Coprinus, Paneolus and Psathyrella. |
Coprinus
The many Ink Caps (fungi of the genus Coprinus) have typically thin,
striate cap margins, narrowly adnate gills and no distinctive smell. The spores
are black or nearly so, and many of
these species deliquesce at maturity (the gills and cap dissolve into a black inky
liquid). |
Coprinus
micaceus
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Psathyrella
Sometimes referred to as Brittle Caps, Psathyrella fungi have narrowly
adnate gills with pale edges, no particularly distinctive smell, and stems that
become hollow at maturity; their caps and stems are very brittle. |
Psathyrella
candolleana
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| There are some 270 fungi of the family Coprinaceae recorded as
occurring in Europe. |
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