''Coprinopsis nivea'' is a species of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

producing

fungus A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

in the family

Psathyrellaceae The Psathyrellaceae are a family of dark-spored agarics that generally have rather soft, fragile fruiting bodies, and are characterized by black, dark brown, rarely reddish, or even pastel-colored spore prints. About 50% of species produce frui ...

. It is commonly known as the snowy inkcap.

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1801 by the German mycologist

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1 February 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a German mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, the third child of an immi ...

who classified it as ''Agaricus niveus.'' In 1838 it was reclassified as ''Coprinus niveus'' by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries. In 2001 phylogentic analysis restructured the ''

Coprinus ''Coprinus'' is a small genus of mushroom-forming fungi consisting of '' Coprinus comatus''the shaggy ink cap ( British) or shaggy mane ( American)and several of its close relatives. Until 2001, ''Coprinus'' was a large genus consisting of all a ...

'' genus and it was reclassified as ''Coprinopsis nivea'' by the mycologists Scott Alan Redhead, Rytas J. Vilgalys & Jean-Marc Moncalvo.

Description

''Coprinopsis nivea'' is a small inkcap mushroom which grows in wetland environments. Cap: 1.5–3 cm. Starts egg shaped expanding to become

campanulate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

(bell shaped). Covered in white powdery fragments of the veil when young. Gills: Start white before turning grey and ultimately black and deliquescing (dissolving into an ink-like black substance). Crowded and adnate or free. Stem: 3–9 cm long and 4-7mm in diameter. White with a very slightly bulbous base which may present with white tufts similar to that of the cap. Spore print: Black. Spores: Flattened ellipsoid and smooth with a germ pore. 15-19 x 8.5-10.5 μm. Taste: Indistinct. Smell: Indistinct.

Etymology

The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''nivea'' (originally ''niveus'') is Latin for snowy or snow covered. This is a reference to the powdery white appearance of this mushroom.

Habitat and distribution

Grows in small trooping or tufting groups on old

dung Dung most often refers to animal feces. Dung may also refer to: Science and technology * Dry animal dung fuel * Manure * Cow dung * Coprolite, fossilized feces * Dung beetle Art * Mundungus Fletcher or "Dung", a character in the Harry Potter n ...

, especially that of cows and horses, Summer through late Autumn. Widespread and recorded quite regularly.

Similar species

* '' Coprinopsis pseudonivea.''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28492325 Psathyrellaceae Coprinopsis