sometimes the thin remnant of the
cap expands and the margin is enrolled over the top.

[Illustration: FIGURE 41.--Coprinus atramentarius, showing annulus as
border line between scaly and smooth part of the stem (natural size).]

=Coprinus micaceus= (Bull.) Fr. =Edible.=--The glistening coprinus
received its name because of the very delicate scales which often cover
the surface of the cap, and glisten in the light like particles of mica.
This plant is very common during the spring and early summer, though it
does appear during the autumn. It occurs about the bases of stumps or
trees or in grassy or denuded places, from dead roots, etc., buried in
the soil. It occurs in dense tufts of ten to thirty or more individuals;
sometimes as many as several hundred spring up from the roots of a dead
tree or stump along the streets or in lawns, forming large masses. More
rarely it occurs on logs in the woods, and sometimes the plants are
scattered in lawns. From the different habits of the plant it is
sometimes difficult to determine, especially where the individuals are
more or less scattered. However, the color, and the markings on the cap,
especially the presence of the small shining scales when not effaced,
characterize the plant so that little difficulty is experienced in
determining it when one has once carefully noted these peculiarities.

[Illustration: FIGURE 42.--Coprinus atramentarius, section of one of the
plants in Fig. 41 (natural size).]

Figure 43 is from a group of three young individuals photographed just
as the margin of the pileus is breaking away from the lower part of the
stem, showing the delicate fibrous ring which is formed in the same way
as in _Coprinus atramentarius_. The ring is much more delicate and is
rarely seen except in very young specimens which are carefully collected
and which have not been washed by rains. The mature plants are 8--10 cm.
high (3--4 inches), and the cap varies from 2--4 cm. in diameter. The
stem is quite slender and the cap and gills quite thin as compared with
the shaggy-mane and ink-cap. The gills are not nearly so crowded as they
are in the two other species. The cap is tan color, or light buff, or
yellowish brown. Except near the center it is marked with quite
prominent striations which radiate to the margin. These striations are
minute furrows or depressed lines, and form one of the characters of the
species, being much more prominent than on the cap of the ink-cap.

[