page_title: Coprinopsis variegata
section_title: History and taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Coprinopsis variegata / History and taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: Charles Horton Peck from William Ashbrook Kellerman Ohio Mycological Bulletin
context_page_description: Coprinopsis variegata, commonly known as the scaly ink cap or the feltscale inky cap, is a species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. Distributed in eastern North America, it has a medium-sized, bell-shaped to flattened cap up to 7.5 cm in diameter, with felt-like, patchy scales. The gills, initially white, turn black in maturity and eventually dissolve into a black "ink". Fruit bodies grow in clusters or groups on leaf litter or rotted hardwood, although the wood may be buried, giving the appearance of growing in the soil. The fungus is found in the United States, in areas east of the Great Plains. Coprinus ebulbosus and Coprinus quadrifidus are names assigned by Charles Horton Peck to what he believed were species distinct from C. variegata; they were later shown to represent the same species, and are now synonyms. The mushroom is not recommended for consumption, and has been shown to cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals.
context_section_description: American mycologist Charles Horton Peck described three similar species over the course of a 24-year time period. The first, Coprinus variegata (1873), followed later by C. ebulbosus (1895), and finally C. quadrifidus (1897). C. ebulbosus  was initially considered a variety of the European species Coprinus picaceus (Bull. ex Fr.) S.F.Gray (currently known as Coprinopsis picacea). Four years later, Peck published a more complete description of var. ebulbosus and raised it to species rank, having found it to differ consistently from C. picaceus in its smaller stature, lack of a bulbous stem base, and much smaller spores.
  The three species described by Peck were distinguished on the basis of physical features that were later found to be somewhat overlapping. In terms of microscopic characters, spore sizes were not sufficiently different between them to be used as discriminating taxonomic characters. Subsequent investigators of North American mushroom flora had difficulties in interpreting Peck's concepts of these three taxa and in confirming their presence in their regional investigations. For example, McIlvaine (1902), Hard (1908), and McDougall (1925) reported (as variety or species) only C. ebulbosus. Bisby (1938), Christensen (1946), Smith (1958), and Groves (1962) mentioned only C. quadrifidus. Both Kauffman (1918) and Graham (1944) described C. ebulbosus and C. quadrifidus; Graham, however, only included C. quadrifidus in his key to his descriptions of Coprinus species. In 1979, W. Patrick published a comparative analysis of the three taxa from material collected by Peck, and, after concluding that the three were not sufficiently distinct to be considered separate species, reduced them to synonymy with Coprinopsis variegata, the earliest name.
  The specific epithet variegata derives from the Latin passive verb participle variegatus meaning "to have different colors, to variegate".  The synonym name quadrifidus refers to the four segments into which the cap frequently split when mature, while ebulbosus means "not being bulbous". The mushroom is commonly known as the "scaly ink cap" or the "feltscale inky cap".
caption: Peck described three species now considered synonymous with Coprinopsis variegata.
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