Macroscopic features

  Pileus up to 7 x 5 mm when still closed, up to 12 mm when expanded, subglobose to oblong, densely covered with mealy to hairy floccose veil, first white, later becoming greyish. Lamellae, L = 20-26, l = 0-1, free, white to black. Stipe 20-50 x 0.5-1 mm, whitish; base somewhat clavate. Smell strong, abominable, >narcotic=.

Microscopic features

  Spores 5.6-7.7 x 3.2-4.2 µm, Q = 1.40-2.00, av. Q = 1.65-1.80, av. L = 6.2-7.1 µm, av. B = 3.5-3.9 µm, cylindrical ellipsoid or ellipsoid, with rounded base and apex, medium red-brown; germ pore central, 1.0-1.1 µm wide; episporium sparse, smooth, up to 0.7 µm wide in places. Basidia 9-18 x 6.5-7.5 µm, 4-spored, surrounded by 3-5(-6) pseudoparaphyses. Pleurocystidia 25-65 x 12-23 µm, utriform or oblong. Cheilocystidia 20-45 x 10-20 µm, (sub)globose, ellipsoid, oblong or utriform. Pileipellis made up hyphoid elements. Elements of veil up to 80(-100) µm wide, made up of globose, warty cells connected with narrow, diverticulate hyphae. Clamp-connections not found.

Habitat & distribution

  Very common, on dung of several animals. Wide-spread all over the world.

Remarks

  The small spores with a breadth less than 4.2 µm in combination with the characters of the veil make Coprinus stercoreus easy to recognize. All other species in this subsection have much broader spores.