Closed pileus globose, subglobose to ellipsoid, up to 6 mm high and 5 mm wide, completely covered with powdery white veil, often cream to pale ochraceous at centre; veil at margin, particularly in early stages, somewhat more hairy-floccose; expanded pileus up to 15 mm wide, convex or flat, finally lamellae with slightly deflexed margin; veil greying with age. Lamellae, L = 18-24, l = 1-3, free, up to 2 mm wide, white at first, then greyish to grey with blackish spots. Stipe up to 40 x 0.5-1 mm, attenuate upwards, at base up to 1.5 mm wide, white, somewhat hyaline; at base up to 3.5 mm wide, often brownish, with white velar flocks. Smell absent. Spore print dark chocolate brown (Munsell 5 YR 2/1).
  Spores [180,9,9] 6.2-9.7 x 4.3-6.0 µm, Q = 1.30-1.70, av. Q = 1.45-1.55, av. L = 7.9-8.4, av. B = 5.1-5.4 µm, ellipsoid, sometimes slightly amygdaliform, dark red-brown, with central germ pore. Basidia 15-26 x 7-8 µm, 4-spored, surrounded by 3-5 pseudoparaphyses. Cheilo- and pleurocystidia absent but here and there sterile elements (probably somewhat enlarged basidioles) projecting from lamellae and sometimes velar remnants sticking to lamellar edge. Veil made up of colourless to slightly yellowish, smooth to granular, up to 50 µm wide, globose elements, mixed with some hypha-like elements. Clamp-connections present.

Habitat & distribution

  Solitary or in small groups; on bare soil or in grassy-mossy places, in most cases under shrubs or trees. Not rare in the Netherlands.

Remarks

  The present concept agrees well with that of J. Lange (1915), who does not mention hymenial cystidia. However, we collected several taxa very close to Coprinus cortinatus in the present sense, but with distinct, broadly clavate to ellipsoid cheilocystidia. For example we have a number of terrestrial collections with cheilocystidia up to 30 x 18 µm (C.B. Uljé 65, C.B. Uljé 4 Sept. 1986, C.B. Uljé 982 en C.B. Uljé 1177; with cheilocystidia resp. 15-30 x 11-16, 21-30 x 10-14, 11-27 x 7-12 en 20-32 x 13-18 µm) and collections from dung with larger cheilocystidia, up to 50 x 25(35) µm (Bender, 3 Aug. 1983, Bender 23 June 1985, C.B. Uljé 1001; with cheilocystidia resp. 20-52 x 15-38 µm, 20-33 x 12-25 µm and 20-40 x 15-35 µm). Intermediates, however, seem to exist, as two collections not growing on dung (C.B. Uljé 991 on wood and C.B. Uljé 48/86 on soil) have large cheilocystidia similar to the collections mentioned above from dung (cheilocystidia 26-37 x 22-30 µm and 30-50 x 19-29 µm). Finally there is one collec
  Bender & Enderle (1988: 49) described what they considered to be Coprinus filiformis B. & Br., which should differ from C. cortinatus in the structure of the veil, consisting of two types of elements. Besides the normal globose elements, also hypha-like elements are said to be present, whereas C. cortinatus in their conception is said to have only globose velar elements. Our observations revealed that in all species of section Nivei both types of elements can be found, especially near the margin of the pileus. This is also the case in our conception of Coprinus cortinatus. Coprinus filiformis in its original concept of Berkeley & Broome is a very small mushroom with a pileus only 1 mm high when still closed. As no original material seems to exist, nor collections that fit with C. filiformis, we consider it a nomen dubium. Compare also Uljé (1988).