Part 6

179(178) Ascospores, smooth, 9-13µm. _Orbicula parietina_ (fig. 51) - Ascospores ornamented, 13-24µm Asci subglobose. Cleistothecia ochraceous, becoming yellowish brown or flushed cinnamon. _Roumegueriella rufula_ (fig. 52)

180(178) Ascospores hyaline, then faintly yellowish, minutely spiny, 2.5-3 × 2-2.5µm. Cleistothecia pale, then dark brown. _Aphanoascus stercoraria_ (fig. 53) - Ascospores hyaline, then brown, smooth, 5.5-6 × 3.5-4µm. Cleistothecia dark brown from the beginning. _Pseudeurotium ovale_ (fig. 54)

Key 3. Basidiomycota

1 Basidia single-celled (fig. 55). 2 - Basidia transversely or longitudinally septate (fig. 55), or difficult to observe. 71

2(1) Fruit body agaricoid, i.e. mushroom-shaped with gills underneath cap (figs 56, 67). 3 - Fruit body not agaricoid, without gills (figs 65, 66). 69

3(2) Spore print white or pale coloured, hyaline s.m. (Usually on straw/dung mixtures, never on raw dung except when very old). 5 - Spore print coloured. 4

4(3) Spore print pinkish or pale cinnamon, honey-coloured s.m. (Usually on straw/dung mixtures, never on raw dung). 6 - Spore print darker, in shades of brown or black. 8

5(3) Stem eccentric. Fruit body pure white. Spores ellipsoid, smooth. _Pleurotellus_ s. lato (If gills pink and spores longitudinally ridged see _Clitopilus passackerianus_, fig. 67) - Stem central. 7

6(4) Fruit body white, ivory or very pale tan, with a smell of cucumber. Gills decurrent. _Clitocybe augeana_ - Fruit body yellow, with scaly cap. Gills free or just adnate. Fruit body with distinct ring and granular veil. (Commonly in plant pots. Probably associated with peaty material more than dung). _Leucocoprinus birnbaumii_ (_L. cepaestipes_ and _L. lilacinogranulosus_ occur in similar situations).

7(5) Fruit body with amethyst/purple shades, with eccentric stem. Spores subglobose, slightly ornamented to nearly smooth. (On compost heaps in gardens). _Lepista nuda_ - Fruit body with pink gills and distinct volva at stem base. Cap white to pale hazel. Stem white. Spores broadly ellipsoid, smooth. _Volvariella speciosa_

8(4) Spore print distinctly brown (fulvous, tawny, rust coloured etc.). 9 - Spore print some darker shade, fuscous, fuliginous or violaceous black. 20

9(8) Stem distinctly annulate, apex striate. _Conocybe percincta_ (Has been found on straw/dung mixtures, never on raw dung). - Stem lacking a veil. 10

10(9) Cap rich chrome yellow, viscid, soon reduced to a sticky mass, easily collapsing. _Bolbitius vitellinus_ - Cap in shades of brown, never brightly coloured and if collapsing then cap elongate-cylindric and white to pale cream. 11

11(10) Spore print dull, sepia or snuff-brown. On rabbit pellets in sand dunes. _Agrocybe subpediades_ - Spore print, brighter coloured, orange/rust brown. (_Conocybe_) 12

12(11) Gill edge with irregularly fusoid cystidia with obtuse apices (lageniform). Cap viscid. _Conocybe coprophila_ - Gill edge with distinctly capitate cells resembling a glass stoppered bottle (lecythiform). Cap never viscid, often pubescent under a lens. 13

13(12) Stem covered in long hairs. 14 - Stem covered in lecythiform cells similar to those on gill edge, giving a farinaceous appearance under a lens. NEVER with long hairs. (Dung/straw mixtures). Large as in a _Cortinarius_. Spores smooth. _Conocybe intrusa_ (_C. leucopus_ has been found on manured soil in gardens; _C. antipus_ has hexagonal spores and grows on dung piles).

14(13) Stem with both long hairs and lecythiform cystidia. [Illustration] 15 - Stem with hairs and lageniform cystidia. [Illustration] 16

15(14) Spores 11-14 × 7-9µm. Taste and smell strong, of fresh meal. _Conocybe farinacea_ - Spores large, over 15 × up to 10µm. Taste and smell none or slightly acidic. _Conocybe pubescens_ (_C. subpubescens_ might be found on straw/dung mixtures, and differs in spores 11-13 × 6-8µm).

16(14) Basidia 2-spored. _Conocybe rickenii_ - Basidia 4-spored. 17

17(16) Spores ellipsoid. 18 - Spores lentiform, angular in face view. _Conocybe lenticulospora_

18(17) Cap grey, contrasting with yellowish cream gills and pale stem. Spores 10.5-12.5 × 6-7µm. _Conocybe murinacea_ - Cap pinkish brown or tawny. 19

19(18) Spores 11-12 × 7.2-7.8µm. Cap sienna. On raw dung. _Conocybe fimetaria_ - Spores 10-12 × 6-7µm. Cap pinkish to cinnamon brown. On manured soil or sewage sludge. _Conocybe fuscomarginata_ (_Conocybe siennophylla_ might be found on straw/dung mixtures or in soil in greenhouses. It differs in having smaller spores).

20(8) Cap deliquescing to some degree at maturity. Basidia of 2 or 3 different sizes. (_Coprinus_) 21 - Cap not deliquescing. Basidia of one size only. 49

21(20) Veil on cap absent, cap either covered with small hairs (setules) or naked. 22 - Cap covered with a granular, micaceous, powdery or fibrillar veil. 28

22(21) Cap without setules. 23 - Cap with setules. 24

23(22) Cap minute, 1-5mm high before expanding, reddish orange at first, soon fading. Basidiospores almost globose to triangular in one view, elliptic in another, 7-10 × 7-9 × 5.5-6.5µm. (2- and 4-spored forms have been found). _Coprinus miser_ - Cap larger, up to 15mm when expanded. Basidiospores pip-shaped, 7.5-8.5 × 9.5-11 × 9.5-11.5µm. (4-spored). _Coprinus nudiceps_

24(22) Spores hexagonal, 10-13 × 6.5-7.5µm. Cap purplish. _Coprinus hexagonosporus_ - Spores ellipsoid. Cap brown or reddish, without purplish tints. 25

25(24) Basidia 4-spored. 26 - Basidia 2-spored. Spores 11-13 × 5.5-7µm. Facial cystidia absent. _Coprinus bisporus_ (_Coprinus sassii_, not yet recorded in British Isles, has 2-spored basidia with very large ellipsoid spores up to 20µm long).

26(25) Cap with a mixture of hyaline and brown thick-walled setules. Spores 9-10 × 5.5-6µm, with eccentric germ pore. Facial cystidia absent. _Coprinus heterosetulosus_ - Cap with only one type of setule. Facial cystidia present or absent. 27

27(26) Facial cystidia present. Spores 7.9-13.3 × 4.4-6.4µm, with apical germ pore. _Coprinus stellatus_ - Facial cystidia absent. Spores elongate and narrow, rarely greater than 5µm wide, with apical germ pore. Fruit body usually quite small, up to 6mm before expanding. _Coprinus pellucidus_ (fig. 58) (Several species in the group, e.g. _C. congregatus_ and _C. ephemerus_ have been found on straw/dung mixtures).

28(21) Veil strongly adhering to cap. Spores elliptic ovate, 15-20 × 8-12µm. Stem with distinct ring. Usually on buried dung. _Coprinus sterquilinus_ - Veil more floccose or powdery. Stem lacking ring or, if present (_C. ephemeroides_), fruit body small with 5-angled spores less than 10µm long. 29

29(28) Veil composed of filamentous units. 30 - Filamentous units, if present, masked by a preponderance of rounded cells. 35

30(29) Veil composed of strings of sausage-shaped, thin-walled, hyaline cells. 31 - Veil composed of rather narrow, slightly thickened hyphae. 32

31(30) Spores large, 11-14 × 6-7µm. Cap up to 1cm before expanding. Fruit body with or without a rooting base. _Coprinus radiatus_ - Spores smaller, up to 9µm long. Cap up to 6mm before expanding. Fruit body without a rooting base. _Coprinus pseudoradiatus_ (fig. 59) (_C. cinereus_ is found on straw/dung mixture and _C. macrocephalus_, with large spores, has been recorded on raw dung).

32(30) Veil citrus- or lime-yellow, or a mixture of hyaline and brown strongly coloured hyphae. 33 - Veil grey or whitish. 34

33(32) Veil of yellow hyphae. Spores 10.5-12.5 × 6-7.5µm. _Coprinus luteocephalus_ - Veil with brown hyphae. Spores 7-9 × 3.5-5µm. _Coprinus poliomallus_

34(32) Veil hyphae thin-walled. Spores 6.5-7.5 × 5µm, 'shouldered' about the apiculus. _Coprinus filamentifer_ (fig. 61) - Veil hyphae thin- and thick-walled, often with clamps. Spores elliptic-oblong, 9-10 × 5-6µm. _Coprinus vermiculifer_ (fig. 60) (_Coprinus flocculosus_, with spores 11.5-16.5 × 6-9.5µm, can be found on straw/dung mixtures).

35(29) Stem with small, distinct ring. Spores subglobose to lentiform and 5-angled, 6-9 × 6.5-8 × 5-6µm. _Coprinus ephemeroides_ - Stem at most with fibrils, even then rarely forming a faint ring zone. 36

36(35) with setules in addition to veil. 37 - Cap without setules. 38

37(36) Cap cystidia tapered. Spores 11-14 × 5-6.5µm. _Coprinus heptemerus_ - Cap cystidia capitate. Spores 10-11 × 6-7µm. _Coprinus curtus_

38(36) Veil of inflated bladder-like cells attached to filamentous units. Spores 7.5-8 × 4.5-5.5µm. _Coprinus utrifer_ - Veil of globose and subglobose cells and filamentous units often encrusted or with minute projections found sometimes at cap margin. 39

39(38) Globose cells, if ornamented then possessing crystalline or amorphous material (dissolved by 1N HCl, fig. 64.) 40 - Globose cells covered in small fine blunt projections on the walls (not removed by 1N HCl, fig. 64). 45

40(39) Basidia 2-spored. 41 - Basidia 4-spored. 42

41(40) Spores 14-17 × 8.5-10 × 12.5-14µm. _Coprinus pachyspermus_ - Spores smaller, 9-11 × 6-6.5 × 8-9µm. _Coprinus cordisporus_ (2-spored form)

42(40) Spores less than 10µm long. _Coprinus cordisporus_ (fig. 63) (_C. patouillardii_ is known on garden refuse, and an undescribed species with lemon-shaped spores has recently been found). - Spores 10µm or more long. 43

43(42) Veil soon discolouring greyish, drab or buff, Spores 11.5-14.5 × 6-8 × 7.5-9µm. _Coprinus cothurnatus_ - Veil remaining snowy white, only slowly discolouring greyish. 44

44(43) Fruit bodies several cm tall. Spores 15-19 × 8.5-11.5 × 11-13µm. _Coprinus niveus_ - Cap small, 5-6mm at first. Spores 14-16 x 8-9 × 10-12.5µm. _Coprinus latisporus_

45(39) Basidia 3-spored. 46 - Basidia 4-spored. 47

46(45) Spores narrow, 8.5-11 × 5-6.2µm. _Coprinus triplex_ - Spores broad, 9-10 x 6-6.5 × 6-7µm, slightly flattened in face view. _Coprinus trisporus_ (These are possibly a single taxon).

47(45) Spores 7-8 × 4-4.5µm, perispore not visible in water or alkali mounts. _Coprinus stercoreus_ (fig. 62) - Spores 9µm or more long. 48

48(47) Spores 9-11 × 5.5-6µm. Perisporal sac none or incomplete or indistinct. _Coprinus foetidellus_ - Spores longer, 10.8-13.5 × 5.5-7µm, with distinct perispore with dark lines and inclusions. Distinctive smell of gas. _Coprinus narcoticus_ (_C. sclerotiger_ is found on straw/dung mixtures, and the smaller _C. tuberosus_ on garden refuse etc.).

49(20) Spores not discoloured in conc. H2SO4. 50 - Spores discolouring in conc. H2SO4. Gills not spotted at maturity. 66

50(49) Cap cuticle cellular. Gills spotted at maturity. (More often on rich, 'dungy', soils. _P. subbalteatus_, with copper coloured cap, drying paler but retaining a dark marginal zone, occurs in gardens on mulch etc.). (_Panaeolus_) 51 - Cap cuticle filamentous. 56

51(50) Velar remnants very obvious, either as an appendiculate veil or as a distinct ring. 52 - Lacking all velar remnants. 54

52(51) Cap distinctly pigmented, with appendiculate veil. 53 - Cap pale coloured, smooth, semi-globate, soon cracking. Gills with marginal cystidia only. _Panaeolus papilionaceus_

53(52) Cap brown, smooth, sometimes viscid, not exceedingly wrinkled. _Panaeolus campanulatus_ - Cap grey, olivaceous, even black, with contrasting white appendiculate veil. _Panaeolus sphinctrinus_

54(51) Cap with or without appendiculate veil, but always with distinct ring. _Panaeolus semiovatus_ - Cap lacking veil. 55

55(54) Cap pinkish ochraceous to tawny-buff. Lacking facial cystidia. _Panaeolus speciosus_ - Cap whitish or slightly yellowish. With facial cystidia. _Panaeolus antillarum_

56(50) Gills with facial cystidia often containing yellow amorphous material when seen in ammonia solution or deep blue with cotton blue. (_Stropharia_) 57 (Blue-green _S. cyanea_ & _S. aeruginosa_ often occur in rich garden soils). - Gills lacking facial cystidia. Never with yellowing cystidia in ammonia. (_Psilocybe_) 58 (Red-capped _P. aurantia_ can be found on straw/mulch mixtures in gardens).

57(56) Cap sticky, semi-globate ± expanding at maturity. On raw dung. _Stropharia semiglobata_ - Cap plano-convex, often broad with a central umbo, margin flaring with age. On dungy mixtures in gardens. _Stropharia stercoraria_

58(56) Stipe bluing, with ring. Spores ellipsoid, 11-14 × 6.5-7.5µm. Fruit body with mealy smell and taste. _Psilocybe fimetaria_ - Stipe lacking distinct ring, or if with ring or ring zone 2-spored and/or stem not bluing. Fruit body without mealy smell and taste. 59

59(58) Stem always with distinct ring. Basidia 2-spored. Spores 15-20µm long. _Psilocybe luteonitens_ - Stem with or without ring. Basidia 4-spored. If with ring, spores smaller. 60

60(59) With ring zone. 61 - Lacking velar remnants on stem, or only appendiculate teeth at cap margin. 62

61(60) Spores slightly angular/limoniform, 11-13(14) × 7-8µm. Often on sewage sludge. _Psilocybe merdaria_ - Spores 13-14 × 7.5-8.5µm. _Psilocybe moelleri_

62(60) Spores 14-20 × 8-10µm. _Psilocybe subcoprophila_ - Spores smaller. 63

63(62) Spores lentiform, angled, 6-8(8.5) × 4.5-5.5 × 3.75-4.5µm. _Psilocybe bullacea_ (_P. crobula_, occasional on dung, differs in lacking purple colour in gills, and slightly smaller, ovoid, not angular, spores). - Spores larger. 64

64(63) Spores ellipsoid to slightly amygdaliform. _Psilocybe merdicola_ - Spores lentiform, angular. 65

65(64) Spores 11-13(14) × 7-8(9)µm. see _Psilocybe merdaria_, 61 - Spores 12-15 × 8-9.5µm _Psilocybe coprophila_

66(49) Round cells on cap as a micaceous veil. (Re-examine gill face; if different sized basidia and facial cystidia separating the gills are present go to _Coprinus_ at 21). _Psathyrella sphaerocystis_ - Cap lacking veil, or if present then fibrillar. 67

67(66) White copious veil at margin or also covering cap centre. Spores 10-12 × 5.5-6µm. _Psathyrella coprobia_ - Lacking copious veil. 68

68(67) With red edge to gill. Spores 12-13 × 6-6.5µm, with central germ pore. _Psathyrella stercoraria_ - Lacking red gill edge. Spores with eccentric germ pore. _Psathyrella coprophila_ (_P. fimetaria_ differs in spore size; there are several members of the _P. prona_ group which grow on soil/straw mixtures).

69(2) Fruit body club-shaped. _Typhula setipes_ (fig. 65) (_Clavaria acuta_ often grows on peaty soil in pots in greenhouses). - Fruit bodies effuse, resupinate 70

70(69) Fruit-body cobweb-like and greyish white. Basal hyphae 3-4.5µm wide. Spores sub-globose, 4.5µm diam. (Generally on old dung or straw/soil mixtures). _Athelia coprophila_ (If with spiny spores 5-6µm diam., see the recently recorded _Tomentellopsis echinospora_). - Fruit-body with pores, white or flushed slightly ochraceous, brownish or greyish. (On clods of soil in dunged land). _Cristella candidissima_

71(1) Fruit body either a cup containing several 'eggs' or a single orange or yellowish gelatinous sphere. 72 - Fruit-body effuse, without distinct shape. 73

72(71) Fruit-body whitish or pale yellow, up to 2.5mm diam., splitting at maturity to shoot away the orange/yellow spore mass. _Sphaerobolus stellatus_ (fig. 66) - Fruit-body cup shaped, with silvery-grey 'eggs'. (Usually on dung and straw or attached to rabbit pellets). _Cyathus stercoreus_ (_Cyathus vernicosus_ often grows in plant pots on rich soil).

73(71) Basidia with transverse septa. Spores 11 × 7µm. Fruit body pinkish. _Platygloea fimicola_ (Not British; included for completeness. _Pilacrella solani_, with a glistening stipitate head, has been isolated from dungy soil). - Basidia with longitudinal septa. Spores 14-18 × 9-10µm. Fruit body cream-white or ivory. _Sebacina incrustans_