CHAPTER VI.
THE BLACK-SPORED AGARICS.
The genera belonging to this series have black spores. There is an entire absence of purple or brown shades. The genus Gomphidius, placed in this series for other reasons, has dingy-olivaceous spores.
Coprinus. Pers.
Coprinus is from a Greek word meaning dung. This genus can be readily recognized from the black spores and from the deliquescence of the gills and cap into an inky substance. Many of the species grow in dung, as the name implies, or on recently manured ground. Some grow in flat rich ground, or where there has been a fill, or on dumping grounds; some grow on wood and around old stumps.
The pileus separates easily from the stem. The gills are membranaceous, closely pressed together. The spores, with few exceptions, are black. Most of the species are edible, but many are of such small size that they are easily overlooked.
Coprinus comatus. Fr.
The Shaggy Mane Coprinus. Edible.
