The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, along with six extinct genera known only from the fossil record. They range from the ubiquitous common mushroom to the deadly destroying angel and the hallucinogenic fly agaric to the bioluminescent jack-o-lantern mushroom.
Panaeolus is a genus of small, black-spored, saprotrophic agarics. The word Panaeolus is Greek for "all variegated", alluding to the spotted gills of the mushrooms produced.
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 fruiting bodies that dissolve into ink-like ooze when the spores are mature via autodigestion. Prior to phylogenetic research based upon DNA comparisons, most of the species that autodigested were classified as Coprinaceae, which contained all of the inky-cap mushrooms. However, the type species of Coprinus, Coprinus comatus, and a few other species, were found to be more closely related to Agaricaceae. The former genus Coprinus was split between two families, and the name "Coprinaceae" became a synonym of Agaricaceae in its 21st-century phylogenetic redefinition. Note that in the 19th and early 20th centuries the family name Agaricaceae had far broader application, while in the late 20th century it had a narrower application. The family name Psathyrellaceae is based on the former Coprinaceae subfamily name Psathyrelloideae. The type genus Psathyrella consists of species that produce fruiting bodies which do not liquify via autodigestion. Psathyrella remained a polyphyletic genus until it was split into several genera including 3 new ones in 2015. Lacrymaria is another genus that does not autodigest its fruiting bodies. It is characterized by rough basidiospores and lamellar edges that exude beads of clear liquid when in prime condition, hence the Latin reference, lacryma (tears).
Coprinopsis cinerea is a species of mushroom in the family Psathyrellaceae. Commonly known as the gray shag, it is edible, but must be used promptly after collecting.
Psathyrella is a large genus of about 400 species, and is similar to the genera Coprinellus, Coprinopsis, Coprinus and Panaeolus, usually with a thin cap and white or yellowish white hollow stem. The caps do not self digest as do those of Coprinellus and Coprinopsis. Some also have brown spores rather than black. These fungi are often drab-colored, difficult to identify, and all members are considered inedible or worthless and so they are often overlooked. However they are quite common and can occur at times when there are few other mushrooms to be seen. The first report of a gilled mushroom fruiting underwater is Psathyrella aquatica.
René Charles Joseph Ernest Maire was a French botanist and mycologist. His major work was the Flore de l'Afrique du Nord in 16 volumes published posthumously in 1953. He collected plants from Algeria, Morocco, France, and Mali for the herbarium of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium.
Russula atropurpurea is an edible member of the genus Russula. It is dark vinaceous or purple, and grows with deciduous, or occasionally coniferous trees. It is commonly called the blackish purple Russula, or the purple brittlegill.
Coprinopsis lagopus is a species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. Until 2001, the species was known as Coprinus lagopus; advances in the understanding of phylogenetic relationships between the various coprinoid species led to a major reorganization of that genus. It is a delicate and short-lived fungus, the fruit bodies lasting only a few hours before dissolving into a black ink – a process called deliquescence. The vague resemblance of the young fruit body to the paw of a white rabbit has earned this species the common name harefoot mushroom.
Coprophilous fungi are a type of saprobic fungi that grow on animal dung. The hardy spores of coprophilous species are unwittingly consumed by herbivores from vegetation, and are excreted along with the plant matter. The fungi then flourish in the feces, before releasing their spores to the surrounding area.
Coprinellus marculentus is a species of mushroom in the family Psathyrellaceae. First described as Coprinus marculentus by the mycologist Max Britzelmayr in 1893, it was later transferred to the genus Coprinellus in 2001.
Coprinellus impatiens is a species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. First described in 1821, it has been classified variously in the genera Psathyrella, Pseudocoprinus, Coprinarius, and Coprinus, before molecular phylogenetics reaffirmed it as a Coprinellus species in 2001. The fungus is found in North America and Europe, where the mushrooms grow on the ground in deciduous forests. The fruit bodies have buff caps that are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, held by slender whitish stems that can be up to 10 cm (3.9 in) tall. Several other Coprinopsis species that resemble C. impatiens may be distinguished by differences in appearance, habit, or spore morphology.
Psilocybe pelliculosa is a species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, have a conical brownish cap up to 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter atop a slender stem up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long. It has a white partial veil that does not leave a ring on the stem. American mycologist Alexander H. Smith first described the species in 1937 as a member of the genus known today as Psathyrella; it was transferred to Psilocybe by Rolf Singer in 1958.
Parasola auricoma is a species of agaric fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. First described scientifically in 1886, the species is found in Europe, Japan, and North America. The mushroom was reported in February 2019 in Colombia, in the city of Bogota by the mycologist Juan Camilo Rodriguez Martinez. The small, umbrella-shaped fruit bodies (mushrooms) of the fungus grow in grass or woodchips and are short-lived, usually collapsing with age in a few hours. The caps are up to 6 cm (2.4 in) wide, initially elliptical before flattening out, and colored reddish-brown to greyish, depending on their age and hydration. They are pleated with radial grooves extending from the center to the edge of the cap. The slender, whitish stems are up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and a few millimeters thick. Microscopically, P. auricoma is characterized by the presence of setae in its cap cuticle. This characteristic, in addition to the relatively large, ellipsoid spores can be used to distinguish it from other morphologically similar Parasola species.
Coprinopsis uliginicola is a species of agaric fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. It was formally described by mycologists Kent McKnight and Alexander H. Smith in 1972. It was moved into the genus Coprinopsis in 2015 by Leif Örstadius & Ellen Larsson based on DNA sequences obtained from the holotype. Found in the United States, the paratype collection was made by Smith in the Nez Perce National Forest (Idaho) in 1962. Smith noted the species to also occur in New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, where it grows in wet areas under brush or on decaying aspen wood.
Tricholoma fracticum is a mushroom of the agaric genus Tricholoma. First described as Agaricus fracticus by German mycologist Max Britzelmayr in 1893, it was transferred to the genus Tricholoma in 1984 by Hanns Kreisel.
Coprinopsis radiata is a coprophilous fungus that grows on herbivore dung. It is heterothallic.
Coprinopsis mexicana is a species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. Originally described in 1918 as Coprinus mexicanus by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill, it was transferred to Coprinopsis in 2001.
Psathyrella spadicea, commonly known as the chestnut brittlestem, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. The fungus was originally described by German mycologist Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1783 as Agaricus spadiceus. Rolf Singer transferred it to the genus Psathyrella in 1951, in which it is classified in the section Spadiceae. The mushroom is edible.
Psathyrella moseri is a species of agaric fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. Found in Argentina, it was described as new to science by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1969.
