Coprinus ephemerus. Fr.
The Ephemeral Coprinus. Edible.
Ephemerus, lasting for a day. This plant lasts only for a short time. It comes up in the early morning or at night and as soon as the sun's rays touch it it deliquesces into an inky fluid.
The pileus is membranaceous, very thin, oval, slightly covered with bran-like scales, disk elevated, even.
Gills are adnexed, distant, whitish, brown, then black. The stem is slender, equal, pellucid, smooth, from one to two inches high.
When this plant is fully developed it is quite a beautiful specimen, striated from margin to center. Found on dung and dung heaps and in well manured grass plots from May to October. It must be cooked at once. Its chief value is its excellent mushroom flavor.
Coprinus ovatus. Fr.
The Ovate Coprinus. Edible.
Ovatus is from ovum, an egg. It is so called from the shape of the pileus, which is somewhat membranaceous, ovate, then expanded, striate; at first woven into densely imbricated, thick, concentric scales; is bulbous, rooting, flocculose, hollow above, the ring deciduous; gills free, remote, slightly ventricose, for sometime white, then umber-blackish.
This plant is much smaller and less striking than the C. comatus, yet its edible qualities are the same. I have eaten it and found it delicious. It is found in about the same locality in which you would expect to find the C. comatus.