Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Agaricales OrderFruiting body containing fibers (usually in the stalk)
Black Spored SuborderSpore print black, very dark brown, purplish black, or dark purplish brown, but not fitting the Gomphidiaceae
Gills usually light grey, becoming black from spores only when very mature
Coprinus GenusAll deliquescing fungi go here
All striate or pleated-capped non-Gomphidius black-spored mushrooms go here (but not randomly wrinkled ones: they go in Psathyrella)
When young, the cap usually cylindrical, and in any case much taller than it is wide and hugging the stem tightly; the gills at this stage are white, and packed very close together
Cap usually deliquescing and surviving in age as uplifted tatters or split fragments
Cap often covered with powder or tiny hairs, especially when young
Small Pleated NonInky Section
Diagnosis
- Cap up to 3/4" across; pleated; not deliquescing in age, just becoming darker
Narrow down your identification:
Coprinus disseminatusCap up to 1/2" across; often with white flecks of universal veil material
Growing in dense clusters
Coprinus plicatilisCap up to 3/4" across
Growing in small tufts or well-spaced troops
