(
genus Coprinus), any member of a group of about 100 cosmopolitan
mushroom species belonging to the order Agaricales. They are so called because, after spore discharge, the
cap disintegrates into an
inklike liquid that has been used for writing. They grow on
wood and
dung. The caps of C. atramentarius and C. comatus (shaggy mane, or shaggy cap) are
edible when young, before the gills turn black.
From the Encyclopedia Britannica