Cap ovoid, 4-8 cm; white, soon brownish gray at the center, whereas the cuticle cracks into filamentous scales, the margin turning upward and splitting. Stem cylindrical, slender, white, sericeous, hollow. Ring white, thin, movable, evanescent. Flesh thin, watery. Odor mild. Flavor pleasant. Gills first white, appressed as the pages of a closed book; thin and very broad; then less close, free, pinkish; then violaceous, finally deliquescent. Spores black. It grows from spring to autumn, in loose or sandy soil, rich with organic fertilizers or calcareous substances. Edible, delicate, only if young; must be eaten as soon as collected, because it spoils quickly; it can be first boiled in water, in this way it will keep for a while and it can be prepared and cooked later on. Similar to C. comatus are Coprinus ovatus, edible: more delicate, cap spheroid, gills ripening slower; Coprinus vosoustii or clavatus, edibility uncertain: the summit of the cap bears a brownish felt disk with radiating splits; it grows in well-manured soil. Small Coprinii of no alimentary interest are Coprinus niveus, cap 1-3 cm, conical, white, mealy, growing on manure; Coprinus silvaticus, gray, growing in clusters, in woods; Coprinus domesticus, cap gray, covered with a coating decomposing into granular scales, growing in tufts; Coprinus Hansenii, ochraceous, delicate looking.