The Agaricales are an order of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. As originally conceived, the order contained all the agarics, but subsequent research has shown that not all agarics are closely related and some belong in other orders, such as the Russulales and Boletales. Conversely, DNA research has also shown that many non-agarics, including some of the clavarioid fungi and gasteroid fungi belong within the Agaricales. The order has 46 extant families, more than 400 genera, and over 25,000 described species, along with six extinct genera known only from the fossil record. Species in the Agaricales range from the familiar Agaricus bisporus and the deadly Amanita virosa to the coral-like Clavaria zollingeri and bracket-like Fistulina hepatica.
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus Agaricus, as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae.
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 agaric species in which the lamellae autodigested to release their spores. The black ink-like liquid this creates gave these species their common name "ink cap" (British) or "inky cap" (American).
Coprinus comatus, commonly known as the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scales—this is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and deliquesce ('melt') into a black liquid filled with spores. This mushroom is unusual because it will turn black and dissolve itself in a matter of hours after being picked or depositing spores.
Coprinopsis is a genus of mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae. Coprinopsis was split out of the genus Coprinus based on molecular data. The species Coprinopsis cinerea is a model organism for mushroom-forming basidiomycota, and its genome has recently been sequenced completely.
Coprinellus is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Psathyrellaceae. The genus was circumscribed by the Finnish mycologist Petter Adolf Karsten in 1879. Most Coprinellus species were transferred from the once large genus Coprinus. Molecular studies published in 2001 redistributed Coprinus species to Psathyrella, or the segregate genera Coprinopsis and Coprinellus.
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.
Coprinopsis atramentaria, commonly known as the common ink cap, tippler's bane, or inky cap, is an edible mushroom found in Europe and North America. Previously known as Coprinus atramentarius, it is the second best known ink cap and previous member of the genus Coprinus after C. comatus. It is a widespread and common fungus found throughout the northern hemisphere. Clumps of mushrooms arise after rain from spring to autumn, commonly in urban and disturbed habitats such as vacant lots and lawns, as well as grassy areas. The grey-brown cap is initially bell-shaped before opening, after which it flattens and disintegrates. The flesh is thin and the taste mild. It can be eaten, but due to the presence of coprine within the mushroom, it is poisonous when consumed with alcohol, as it heightens the body's sensitivity to ethanol in a similar manner to the anti-alcoholism drug disulfiram.
Podaxis is a genus of secotioid fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Species, which have the appearance of a "stalked-puffball", have a worldwide distribution, and tend to be found growing solitary or scattered on sandy soils, especially in arid regions. Although close to 50 species have been described, it has been argued that many of them may represent extremes in the natural range of variations found in Podaxis pistillaris.
Mythicomyces is a fungal genus in the family Mythicomycetaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species Mythicomyces corneipes, first described by Elias Fries in 1861. The fungus produces fruit bodies with shiny yellowish-orange to tawny caps that are 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) in diameter. These are supported by stems measuring 2–5.7 cm (0.8–2.2 in) long and 1–2 mm thick. A rare to uncommon species, it is found in northern temperate regions of North America and Europe, where it typically fruits in groups, in wet areas of coniferous forests. There are several species with which M. corneipes might be confused due to a comparable appearance or similar range and habitat, but microscopic characteristics can be used to reliably distinguish between them.
Coprinellus domesticus, commonly known as the domestic inky cap, or firerug inkcap, is a species of mushroom in the family Psathyrellaceae. First described as Agaricus domesticus by James Bolton in 1788, it was later known as Coprinus domesticus before it was transferred to the genus Coprinellus in 2001.
Coprinellus micaceus, commonly known as the mica cap, glistening inky cap, or shiny cap, is a common species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae with a cosmopolitan distribution. The fruit bodies of the saprobe typically grow in clusters on or near rotting hardwood tree stumps or underground tree roots. Depending on their stage of development, the tawny-brown mushroom caps may range in shape from oval to bell-shaped to convex, and reach diameters up to 3 cm. The caps, marked with fine radial or linear grooves that extend nearly to the center, rest atop whitish stipes up to 10 cm (4 in) long. In young specimens, the entire cap surface is coated with a fine layer of reflective mica-like cells. Although small and with thin flesh, the mushrooms are usually bountiful, as they typically grow in dense clusters. A few hours after collection, the gills will begin to slowly dissolve into a black, inky, spore-laden liquid—an enzymatic process called autodigestion or deliquescence. The fruit bodies are edible before the gills blacken and dissolve, and cooking will stop the autodigestion process.
Tulosesus 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.
Coprinopsis variegata, commonly known as the scaly ink cap or the feltscale inky cap, is a species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. Distributed in eastern North America, it has a medium-sized, bell-shaped to flattened cap up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in diameter, with felt-like, patchy scales. The gills, initially white, turn black in maturity and eventually dissolve into a black "ink". Fruit bodies grow in clusters or groups on leaf litter or rotted hardwood, although the wood may be buried, giving the appearance of growing in the soil. The fungus is found in the United States, in areas east of the Great Plains. Coprinus ebulbosus and Coprinus quadrifidus are names assigned by Charles Horton Peck to what he believed were species distinct from C. variegata; they were later shown to represent the same species, and are now synonyms. The mushroom is not recommended for consumption, and has been shown to cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals.
Coprinites is an extinct monotypic genus of gilled fungus in the Agaricales family Agaricaceae. At present it contains the single species Coprinites dominicana.
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.
Stagnicola is an agaric fungal genus that contains the single species Stagnicola perplexa. This fungus colonizes plant debris in wet coniferous forest floor depressions and shallow pools, and fruits after the pools drain or dry in late summer to early fall in North America and Europe. The genus is characterized by smooth, yellowish brown basidiospores lacking a germ pore, and a naucorioid appearance, with brownish mycelium at the base of the stems. Phylogenetically, Stagnicola appeared rather isolated and proved to be closest to Mythicomyces and Mythicomyces was closest to the Psathyrellaceae. In 2019 the two genera were shown to be closely related and placed in a new family, Mythicomycetaceae sister to the Psathyrellaceae.
Coprinopsis radiata, formerly known as Coprinus radiatus, and commonly known as the miniature woolly inky cap, is a coprophilous fungus that grows on herbivore dung. It is heterothallic.
Psathyrella spadicea or Homophron spadiceum, 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 was classified in the section Spadiceae. In 2015 Örstadius & Larsson recreated the genus Homophron for a group of psathyrelloid mushrooms with no veil and with light-coloured spores, and P. spadicea was moved to the new genus.
