Coprinopsis nivea is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae.[1][2] It is commonly known as the snowy inkcap.

Coprinopsis nivea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Psathyrellaceae
Genus: Coprinopsis
Species:
C. nivea
Binomial name
Coprinopsis nivea
Synonyms

Agaricus niveus Pers. (1801)
Coprinus niveus Fr. (1838)
Coprinus latisporus P.D.Orton (1972)
Coprinus niveus var. parvisporus Bogart (1975)

Coprinopsis nivea
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is campanulate
Hymenium is adnate
Stipe is bare
Spore print is black
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is unknown

Taxonomy

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It was first described in 1801 by the German mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon who classified it as Agaricus niveus.[3]

In 1838 it was reclassified as Coprinus niveus by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries.[4][5]

In 2001 phylogentic analysis restructured the Coprinus genus and it was reclassified as Coprinopsis nivea by the mycologists Scott Alan Redhead, Rytas J. Vilgalys & Jean-Marc Moncalvo.[6]

Description

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Coprinopsis nivea is a small inkcap mushroom which grows in wetland environments.

Cap: 1.5–3 cm. Starts egg shaped expanding to become campanulate (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.[7][8]

Etymology

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The specific epithet nivea (originally niveus) is Latin for snowy or snow covered.[9] This is a reference to the powdery white appearance of this mushroom.

Habitat and distribution

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Grows in small trooping or tufting groups on old dung, especially that of cows[10] and horses, Summer through late Autumn. Widespread and recorded quite regularly.[7]

Similar species

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References

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  1. ^ "Mycobank Database - Coprinopsis nivea".
  2. ^ "Species Fungorum - Coprinopsis nivea (Pers.) Redhead, Vilgalys & Moncalvo, in Redhead, Vilgalys, Moncalvo, Johnson & Hopple, Taxon 50(1): 229 (2001)". www.speciesfungorum.org. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  3. ^ "Species Fungorum - Agaricus niveus Pers., Syn. meth. fung. (Göttingen) 2: 400 (1801)". www.speciesfungorum.org. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  4. ^ "Species Fungorum - Coprinus niveus (Pers.) Fr., Epicr. syst. mycol. (Upsaliae): 246 (1838) [1836-1838]". www.speciesfungorum.org. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  5. ^ Fries, Elias Magnus (1836). Epicrisis systematis mycologici seu synopsis hymenomycetum. Bavarian State Library. Upsaliae : Acad. p. 246.
  6. ^ Redhead SA, Scott A; Vilgalys R; Moncalvo J-M; Johnson J; Hopple JS; Hopple, John S; Johnson, Jacqui; Moncalvo, Jean-Marc; Vilgalys, Rytas (2001). "Coprinus Pers. and the disposition of Coprinus species sensu lato". Taxon. 50 (1): 203–241. doi:10.2307/1224525. JSTOR 1224525.
  7. ^ a b Buczacki, Stefan (2012). Collins fungi guide. London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-724290-0. OCLC 793683235.
  8. ^ "Coprinopsis nivea, a rare inkcap mushroom". www.first-nature.com. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  9. ^ "Latin Definition for: niveus, nivea, niveum (ID: 27911) - Latin Dictionary and Grammar Resources - Latdict". www.latin-dictionary.net. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  10. ^ Pauline, N'Douba Amako; Claude, Kouassi Kouadio; Clovis, Koffi N'Dono Boni; Allal, Douira; Koutoua, Ayolié (2022). "Coprophilous fungi of Daloa city: New species for the fungal flora of Côte d'Ivoire". GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences. 20 (3): 251–260. doi:10.30574/gscbps.2022.20.3.0362.