Spores: very long, very dark brown under the microscope with large obvious germ-pore and 18 × 10 µm (16-20 × 9-11 µm) in size. Facial cystidia: flask-shaped and with amorphous contents. Marginal cystidia: numerous, flask-shaped. ~Panaeolus sphinctrinus~ (Fries) Quélet _Cap_: width 15-35 mm. _Stem_: width 3-6 mm; length 60-95 mm. _Description_: Cap: bell-shaped, hardly expanding, expallent, dark grey to olivaceous black, much paler when dry and zoned when half dry; margin ornamented with a white fringe of veil fragments. Stem: long, slender, straight, rather rigid but fragile, grey and completely powdered with white. Gills: adnate, crowded and grey then blackened, mottled throughout except at the white fringed edge. Flesh: reddish brown. Spore-print: black. Spores: long, very dark brown under the microscope, broadly lemon-shaped with large germ-pore, smooth and 14-15 × 9-10 µm in size (14-19 × 8-10 × 10-12 µm). Facial cystidia: absent. Marginal cystidia: numerous, cylindrical, flexuous and hyaline. General Information: _P. sphinctrinus_ is recognised by the overall grey colouration and very distinct white fringe to the cap-margin. _P. campanulatus_ (Fries) Quélet which is said to be common is in fact infrequent and many records really refer to _P. sphinctrinus_. The word _semiovatus_ means half ovate and refers to the shape of the cap in _P. semiovatus_. _Sphinctrinus_ means banded, referring to the zoned cap of the fungus when it is partially dry. _Illustrations_: _P. semiovatus_--LH 145; WD 77³. _P. sphinctrinus_--NB 41⁵; WD 78¹. ~Coprinus cinereus~ (Fries) S. F. Gray Dung-heap ink-cap _Cap_: width 20-40 mm. _Stem_: width 4-8 mm; length 50-100 mm. _Description_: Cap: oval then rapidly expanding, covered at first in a mass of dense, white or greyish woolly scales which break up into patches and finally leave the cap shiny, brownish grey at centre and striate and dark grey at the margin. Stem: white, covered particularly towards the base with white, woolly scales, long, fragile, tapering upwards and at the base often elongated into a ‘tap root’ buried in the dung. Gills: free, white but then rapidly dissolving into a black liquid. Flesh: thin and whitish. Spore-print: violaceous black. Spores: medium sized, ellipsoid, smooth with a distinct germ-pore and 10-12 × 5-6 µm in size. Facial cystidia: absent. Marginal cystidia: inflated and large. _General Information_: It is found on manure heaps, on straw dung and on silage heaps: very common throughout the year. _C. macrocephalus_ (Berkeley) Berkeley is very closely related to _C. cinereus_, but differs in having much larger spores over 12-15 × 7-9 µm, a long cap and a stem which lacks a rooting base.