This is a very small mushroom ranging from very tiny to less than one inch wide. It is oval shaped when young and expands to broadly convex or bell shaped. When young it is almost white with a brownish center. It darkens to grayish or grayish brown with a brownish center as it ages.. The gills are attached to the stem or free, white at first, then gray and then blackish. This mushroom was identified by Dr. Tom Weber a mycologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The cap shaped and grayish black gills identify it as a member of the Coprinaceae.
This mushroom typically fruits in clusters near the bases of stumps, sometimes in large numbers. It is fairly common at Fontenelle Forest but it may not be readily apparent because of its small size and location among the forest floor debris.
This mushroom doesn’t turn to black ink like most members of this family. It is also known as Coprinellus disseminates.
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