Spore deposit grayish. Cap turns red with 3% KOH. Flesh turns pink with 3% KOH. Stipe base turns brownish red with 3 % KOH. Cap, stipe and flesh turn bluish black in Lugol’s solution. Spores 21 x 6 µm, smooth, subfusiform. Flesh is very firm, dense, rubbery to almost corky. Gills broadly attached, thick, wrinkled, enveloped in folds of flesh that become exposed as the cap expands and matures. Growing under Incense Cedar and 3 needle pines. Black oak close by.
Cap 1 cm across. Gills L=17, l=8. Stipe 5 cm long x 0.75 mm thick. Spores 10.9 - 15 x 8.6 - 11.5 x 6.8 - 7.9 um based on N=12 using ImageJ, dark reddish brown to black. Growing in grassy area, not dung. Discounted Parasola schroeteri due to stipe length ( 1 -2 cm). Coprinus marculentus is similar but the spore shape is more angular and spores are lighter in color.