Boleslaw Kuznik
Species With Sticky or Slimy Stems
Species With Disc or Bulb at Base of Stem
Species with Colored-Edged Gills
Species with Colored Caps not in previous sections
This is an abridged version of the full key to Mycenoid species in the Pacific Northwest. That key includes the white, gray, brown, and black species that are generally identified with the aid of a microscope, including many of the Mycena species, Hemimycena, Fayodia, Gamundia, Mycenella, and Resinomycena.
This shorter key includes the Mycenoid species that are colorful, exude juice, have slime on the stem, or have stems that attach by a disc or bulb. The genera are Mycena, Chromosera, Hydropus (one of the species), and Rickenella. Three easily recognized members of the gray, brown, and black group are included.
The three most important sources are Alexander Smith's North American Species of Mycenas, Maas Geesteranus's Mycenas of the Northern Hemisphere, and articles by Scott Redhead. Sources are listed under References and may be traced in more detail in the CD MatchMaker: Gilled Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
The term Mycena comes from the Greek, mykos, meaning a fungus. The fruiting bodies are small and fragile. They make up for their size by their overwhelming abundance and for their delicacy by their ethereal composition. The spores are white. The genus is separated from collybioid fungi such as Gymnopus and Rhodocollybia by their convex caps (Mycenas have bellshaped to conical caps), from marasmioid fungi such as Marasmius which regain their shape with moistening after drying, and from omphalinoid fungi such as Omphalina (Lichenomphalia) ericetorum which have decurrent gills and a depressed center to the cap. Galerinas have yellow brown caps and brown spores.
Because of the fragile makeup, it is an important aid to identification to examine fresh specimens in different stages of development and under ideal conditions. In those in which odor is an important feature, often it is only evident for a short time, or may not be noticed until later after picking. Viscidity and color are also changeable.
While the emphasis in keys written by the Pacific Northwest Key Council is on characters visible in the field, a microscope is needed to identify most white or dull-colored Mycenas. The key separates out first some species that are recognizable because of milk that exudes from the stem, then stickiness of the stem, then structures at the base of the stem, then gill edges with different colors, then brightly colored or white fruiting bodies, and finally uses microscopic features to differentiate the rest.
The amyloid reaction of spores should be used with caution, because this reaction is often weak in Mycena species. Smith recommends that the test with Melzer's solution be conducted on dried material: this is essential when the reaction is weak, and daylight should be used rather than a light bulb. One method is to make a heavy spore print on a slide, let it dry thoroughly and add a drop of Melzer's reagent. If amyloid, the spore deposit will become dark or pale gray or violet, as opposed to colorless or slightly yellowish.
The 1981 key used Sections of Mycena according to Alexander Smith, which correlated somewhat with field characters. The Sections of Maas Geesteranus are quite different and are separated microscopically. The general organization of the original key is retained, but section names are not used.
The descriptions do not repeat standard features of Mycenas. The cap shape is not described unless it deviates from the bluntly conic cap that becomes bell-shaped to convex and flattens out when old, sometimes leaving an umbo. Also assumed are thin flesh, hollow stem, absence of an annulus, white spore deposit, and smooth spores. The color of the flesh will normally be the same color as the surface or whitish. Habit can generally be scattered or in groups, and is mentioned only when cespitose (in tufted clusters). Little information has accumulated on edibility because of the small size of the fruitbodies.
1a Flesh or stem exuding juice when cut
................................................................................101
1b Flesh or stem not exuding juice when cut
....................................................................................2
2a Stem viscid
................................................................................201
2b Stem not viscid
....................................................................................3
3a Base of stem dilated into disk or bulb, cap 0.4-1.0 cm wide
................................................................................301
3b Base of stem without disk or bulb, may be larger at base, cap of various sizes
....................................................................................4
4a Edges of gills darker or a different color (not white) from faces of gills
................................................................................401
4b Edges of gills colored as faces or colored white
....................................................................................5
5a Fruiting body some bright color, not white
................................................................................501
5b Fruiting body white or gray or black or tan or brown
....................................................................................6
6a Fruiting body white
.......................................................................not included, for these species see Unabridged Version
6b Fruiting body gray or black or tan or brown
......................................................only 3 species included (for the others, see Unabridged Version) 701
101a (1a) Stem exuding milk-like (white) juice when cut
................................................................................Mycena galopus
milky Mycena
| CAP 0.5-2.5 cm, blackish to gray-brown except for whitish margin, sometimes with warmer brown or yellowish shades, fading, the disc remaining darker; with hoary sheen at first becoming bald, margin translucent-striate when moist; flesh fragile. ODOR mild or earthy or radish-like. TASTE mild or radish-like. GILLS adnate to slightly uncinate [hooked] or decurrent with short tooth, 13-18 (23) reaching stem, up to 0.2 cm broad; whitish to gray. STEM 4-12 x 0.1-0.2 cm, pallid at top, blackish brown to gray-brown or yellowish gray-brown in lower part; bald, base white strigose; exuding milk-like (white) juice when cut. HABITAT on humus under hardwoods or conifers. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA, common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 10.7-14.3 x 4.9-6.3 um, elliptic, smooth, amyloid to inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia, 50-95 x 8-18 um, fusiform or sometimes differently shaped, (often accompanied by possibly undeveloped, much shorter, clavate to obovoid ones), simple to forked, more rarely with coarse, lateral or apical projections; pleurocystidia similar to regularly shaped cheilocystidia. REMARKS The most reliable way to obtain juice is to break the fruiting body from its point of attachment and wait up to a minute or two for a drop to emerge. In the Maas Geesteranus concept used here, juice may not always be produced: in that case he says useful characters are the prominent cystidia and the conspicuous vascular hyphae in the stem. | Mycena galopus Boleslaw Kuznik |
101b Stem or flesh exuding juice when cut that is red, orange, yellow, or clear
................................................................................102
102a Stem exuding juice when cut that is red, orange, or yellow
................................................................................103
102b Stem or flesh exuding juice when cut that is clear
................................................................................104
103a Growing on dead wood, often cespitose, cap edge becomes scalloped or torn, (hyphae of stem cortex smooth but caulocystidia branched or with projections)
................................................................................Mycena haematopus
bleeding Mycena
| CAP 1-3.5 cm, dark reddish brown on disc, paler toward margin, disc often stained brown when old; striate at maturity, dry to moist, pruinose soon polished, a band at margin becomes scalloped or torn; flesh fragile, exuding a dark reddish to orange-yellow juice when cut. ODOR not distinctive or somewhat radish-like. TASTE mild to bitterish. GILLS adnate, ascending, may have decurrent tooth, close to subdistant, 20-30 reaching stem; whitish or vinaceous, soon stained reddish brown; edges pallid or whitish or sometimes reddish brown. STEM 4-8 (14) x 0.1-0.3 cm, rigid, fragile; pale dull reddish brown; base hairy; exuding a dark reddish to orange juice when cut. HABIT single to cespitose. HABITAT on decaying wood, spring, summer, fall, common. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA, OR, ID, CA, common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 9-9.5 x 5.3-5.8 um (Arora gives 7-11 x 5-7 um, Smith 8-11 x 5-7um), pip-shaped [elliptic], amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia numerous, forming sterile band, 36-70 x 9-15 um, fusiform, passing into a usually slender neck, sometimes forked, colorless or with reddish brown contents, pleurocystidia rare to abundant, similar to cheilocystidia; hyphae of cortical layer of stem 1.8-3.5 um wide, clamped, smooth, terminal cells (caulocystidia) 20-55 x 3.5-12.5 um, generally densely clustered, easily collapsed, clavate to irregularly shaped, branched or with coarse projections. (microscopic details from Maas Geesteranus) | Mycena haematopus Michael Beug |
103b Growing among needles or leaf debris, fallen twigs, or on moss beds, rarely cespitose, cap edge not scalloped, (stem cortex hyphae with projections, caulocystidia smooth like cheilocystidia)
................................................................................Mycena sanguinolenta
(includes Mycena subsanguinolenta A.H. Sm.)
terrestrial bleeding Mycena
| CAP 0.7-1.8 cm, dark red-brown to dark purplish brown, paler near margin but the extreme margin often colored like center; dry but slightly lubricous when wet, delicately pruinose becoming bald, shallowly grooved-striate, not scalloped; flesh not very fragile, dingy reddish, exuding a reddish brown juice when cut. ODOR mild or radish-like. TASTE mild. GILLS ascending-adnate with short tooth, 13-21 reaching stem, up to 0.1 cm broad, becoming interveined; whitish becoming pale dingy pink to purplish, the edge dark red-brown to violet-brown. STEM 3-10 x 0.05-0.15 cm, fragile to firm, the base at times somewhat rooting; stem colored as cap, paler in upper part; sparsely purplish-hairy becoming polished, exuding a reddish brown juice when cut; base with woolly hairs. HABIT solitary to gregarious or rarely cespitose. HABITAT on leaf mold and needles in woods or at their edges, on fallen twigs and moss-covered trunks, on humus and vegetable debris among grass and moss. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8.1-10 (11) x 5.4-5.8 um; pip-shaped [elliptic], amyloid; basidia 4-spored, (occasionally 2- or 3-spored according to Smith); cheilocystidia forming a sterile band, 27-55 x 6.5-10 um, generally fusiform, simple (Smith says occasionally with 2 necks), and smooth (Smith says occasionally with coarse lateral projections), with reddish brown contents, clamps present but difficult to see; pleurocystidia similar if present to cheilocystidia; hyphae of cortical layer of stem 1-3.5 um wide, clamped, fairly sparsely covered with simple to forked cylindric projections 1.8-4.5 x 1-2 um, the terminal cells (caulocystidia) solitary to clustered, 18-55 x 5.5-9, similar to the cheilocystidia. (microscopic details from Maas Geesteranus). REMARKS If growing on oak leaves, consider Mycena californiensis which has only been confirmed from California, and which has cheilocystidia with a clavate lower part and an upper part branching into numerous cylindric projections, these often branching themselves. Maas Geesteranus gives the color of the fluid in the stem of M. sanguinolenta as brownish red, Smith gives for M. sanguinolenta bright or dull red and for M. subsanguinolenta "a drop of blackish red juice but the remaining drops dull orange". The juice in the cap is given by Smith as reddish for M. sanguinolenta, and orange-yellow for M. subsanguinolenta. The latter species is distinguished by Smith from M. sanguinolenta by the smaller spores, lack of pleurocystidia, and the more pronounced yellowish colors of the latex as well as those of both the cap and the stem. | Mycena sanguinolenta Steve Trudell |
104a (102b) Cap exuding clear watery juice, gregarious on conifer logs
................................................................................Hydropus marginellus
CAP 1-2 (3) cm, blackish, dingy or paler toward margin, not fading appreciably; bald, appearing rather dry and velvety, hardly striate but margin frequently cracks or splits radially when old; flesh brittle, watery, if the cap surface is cut, drops of a colorless liquid ooze out. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS broadly adnate to arched and slightly decurrent, close to crowded (26-35 reaching stem), 2-3 tiers of subgills, narrow, sometimes interveined; pallid; edges dingy brown to dark gray, fringed. STEM 1.5-2.5 (3) x 0.1-0.2 cm, short, base may be slightly enlarged, stem brittle-cartilaginous; dark gray to blackish brown at first, becoming grayish brown to almost transparent gray; dull and pruinose at first, becoming more or less bald and polished with age; base with scattered hairs. HABITAT on conifer logs. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA, uncommon. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-7.5 x 3.5-4 um, elliptic, very weakly amyloid; basidia (2) 4-spored, cheilocystidia abundant, of two types, saccate and measuring 35-46 x 15-20 um, or fusoid-ventricose with blunt tops and 40-60 um, contents of both kinds dingy brownish, pleurocystidia present only near gill edge and similar to cheilocystidia. REMARKS characterized as Hydropus by microscopic structure of cap cuticle (irregular hyphae with erect brownish ends that are cylindric to clavate or fusiform, like cystidia), looks generally like dark brownish Mycena with collybioid stature.
104a Stem (not cap) exuding clear watery juice
................................................................................105
If neither description below fits well, go to 2.
105a Stem exuding abundant clear watery juice, growing densely gregarious on needle beds or Sphagnum
................................................................................Mycena atroalboides
Maas Geesteranus includes Mycena plicosa >Fr.) Gillet and Mycena subplicosa >P. Karst. sensu A.H. Sm. Mycena subplicosa >P. Karst. is synonymized by Maas Geesteranus with Mycena vitilis >(Fr.) Quél.
CAP 0.8-2 cm, somewhat hygrophanous, blackish brown fading, sometimes becoming spotted reddish brown, the margin brownish gray; moist, pruinose, becoming bald, striate toward margin, grooved, margin scalloped; flesh firm. ODOR and TASTE mild or slightly of radish. GILLS adnate, ascending with distinct decurrent tooth, 17-25 reaching stem, 3 tiers of subgills, fairly narrow to broader in middle (0.15-0.3 cm); white becoming grayish, sometimes white or spotted or stained reddish brown, interveined, edges pallid. STEM 2-12 x 0.1-0.2 cm, equal or somewhat broadened below, firm but brittle; white bloom then bald, colored as cap, paler toward top, base white hairy, abundant clear watery juice may exude from stem (not cap). HABITAT on needle beds under conifers or in sphagnum bogs. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, ID, on the Pacific coast sporadic and often very abundant under Douglas-fir and spruce. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8.1-9.8 x (4.0) 4.7-5.6 um, oval to elliptic, weakly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia 15-45 (65) x 7-12.5 (22.5) um, clavate to more or less irregularly shaped, sometimes very long-stemmed, with simple to somewhat branched, cylindrical to variously shaped, curved projections 4-11.5 x 0.9-2.5 um, pleurocystidia not noticed.
105b Stem exuding watery juice, gregarious on Douglas-fir logs and stumps
................................................................................Mycena fuliginella
CAP 1.0-1.5 (2.0) cm, hygrophanous, fuscous on the disc with the rest drab or the margin pallid in some, becoming brown over margin before fading, fading to dingy brownish gray; smooth, bald, moist, translucent-striate with broad dark striations; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate with pronounced decurrent tooth, 9-12 reaching stem, broadest near stem (0.2 cm), one or two tiers of subgills; whitish but grayish toward bases. STEM 2-3 (5) x 0.1-0.15 cm, equal, fragile, solid, with a watery unchanging juice; whitish; bald or faintly frosted above, base densely white-hairy. HABITAT on logs and stumps of Douglas-fir. DISTRIBUTION found at least WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-10 x 4-4.5 um, somewhat cylindric or slightly curved, very faintly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 33-62 x (5) 7-12 um, clavate to narrowly fusoid-ventricose, the apex in many of the clavate individuals drawn out into a long neck, smooth, pleurocystidia not seen.
201a Cap dry (not viscid) or soon becoming so, no distinct odor or taste
................................................................................202
201b Cap viscid or soon becoming so, may have distinct odor or taste
................................................................................204
202a Narrow stem embedded in thick glutinous sheath when young, gradually collecting toward the base in large masses, cap dry, (cap cuticle a palisade of inflated clavate brown cells)
................................................................................Roridomyces roridus
slippery Mycena
| CAP 0.2-1.5 cm, rounded then bell-shaped or broadly convex, later flattening, often with depressed disc at maturity; gray brown on disc at first, brownish toward whitish margin, fading to whitish; dry, finely furfuraceous to pruinose, margin striate at times, becoming grooved, margin often scalloped; flesh moderately fragile. ODOR mild. GILLS adnate, arched, becoming decurrent, 14-18 reaching stem, narrow to moderately broad; white. STEM 2-3 (5) x 0.1 cm, elastic; bluish black near top soon fading to whitish; covered with a sheath of slime when fresh which gradually collects toward the base in large masses, base hairy and becoming dingy brownish. HABITAT on needle beds, on small sticks or branches of conifer wood, among plant remains. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA, on field trip lists from BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-12 x 4-6 um, narrowly elliptic, strongly amyloid; basidia 4-spored especially in Pacific Northwest or 2-spored especially in eastern North America, sometimes both on same specimen; cheilocystidia abundant, 26-34 x 6-10 um, smooth, fusoid-ventricose to nearly cylindric, often irregular in outline, pleurocystidia absent; cap cuticle a palisade of inflated brown cells with stems, cells 25-40 x 15-30 um, stems 12-30 x 3-5 um. REMARKS Maas Geesteranus does not consider this a Mycena because of the structure of the cap cuticle. | Roridomyces roridus Michael Beug |
202b Stem merely viscid, cap dry or moist or lubricous but not viscid when mature, (cap cuticle different)
................................................................................203
203a Cap dull white, buff on disc; cap and stem viscid at first but soon dull and dry; develops on conifer needles which become whitish around it
................................................................................Mycena insignis
CAP 0.5-1.0 cm, dull milk white or the disc light buff becoming dingier when old; surface at first somewhat viscid to viscid and shining when wet, soon dry and dull or faintly pruinose under a lens, striate, cap skin thin and tenacious but separable; flesh moderately fragile. GILLS adnate, becoming decurrent, 12-14 reaching stem, narrow but broadest at point of attachment (0.15-0.2 cm); whitish. STEM 2-3 x 0.1 cm, cartilaginous, pliant; watery grayish white, whitish in upper part; shining and viscid when wet, soon dry and dull, finely downy in upper part, becoming bald in lower part, base sparsely white-hairy. HABITAT on needle beds: the conifer needles on which it grows become whitish. DISTRIBUTION at least WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-7.5 x 3 um (Smith), (7.2) 8.1-9.2 x 3.6-4.6 um (Maas Geesteranus), amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 30-37 x 6-10 um, colorless, clavate to fusoid, (often forked), the tips evenly tapered to sharp points, often with occasional short projections arising anywhere from near the base to the tip and in an irregular manner, pleurocystidia not seen, (Smith).
203b Cap gray or more whitish or yellowish in age; stem viscid, glutinous when wet, slippery when attempting to pick; grows under conifers, but needles do not turn whitish around it
................................................................................Mycena clavicularis
| CAP (0.5) 1.0-2.0 cm, not hygrophanous, dark to light gray, often bluish gray at first, fading to dingy yellowish or whitish; dry or moist to greasy but not viscid, pruinose becoming bald and wrinkled to grooved, faintly striate when moist; flesh pliant, cartilaginous. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS bluntly adnate to slightly arched, sometimes with decurrent tooth, 15-20 reaching stem, 2-3 tiers of subgills, narrow to moderately broad (about 0.2 cm); white when young, becoming dingy pale gray; edges pallid. STEM 2-5 x 0.1-0.15 cm, elastic, cartilaginous; bluish black to dark gray-brown when fresh, usually cap-colored when old, becoming slightly tinged with yellowish gray; pruinose in upper part when young, soon bald, viscid, glutinous in wet weather. HABITAT under conifers, spring, summer and fall. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-8.5 (9) x 3-4 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored or rarely 2-spored; cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia similar, scattered to numerous, (22) 30-38 x 9-12 (14) um, broadly clavate, enlarged portion covered with short obtuse projections, colorless, (Smith); hyphae of cap cuticle 2.5-4.5 um wide, clamped, embedded in gelatinous matter, covered with simple to branched, cylindric projections 0.9-20 x 0.9-1.8 um, forming very dense masses that tend to dissolve when old; hyphae of cortical layer of stem 0.9-3.5 um wide, clamped, embedded in gelatinous matter, with sparse projections 1.8-7 x 0.9-1.8 um, the terminal cells 2.5-4.5 um wide, with sparse to dense projections up to 9 um long, (Maas Geesteranus). | Mycena clavicularis Steve Trudell |
204a (201b) On wood, may be cespitose
................................................................................205
204b Gregarious on the ground under conifers or oak
................................................................................208
205a No distinct odor or taste
................................................................................206
205b Farinaceous odor and taste
................................................................................207
206a Buttons dull lilac but changing to yellow, gills pale lilac, viscid cap with flattened or depressed center
................................................................................Chromosera cyanophylla
Mycena lilacifolia (Peck) A.H. Sm. is a synonym.
| CAP 0.3-2.6 cm, convex with a flattened to depressed center; dull orange-yellow, buttons often dull lavender but quickly changing to yellow, and larger caps may have faint rosy tints; viscid to greasy or slimy, bald, striate; flesh pale yellow. ODOR and TASTE not distinctive. GILLS arched decurrent, 23-26 reaching stem, with 1-2 tiers of subgills, narrow (about 0.2 cm); pale lilac to pale vinaceous or rosy, fading when old, edges colored as faces. STEM 1-3 (4.5) x 0.1-0.25 cm, equal above a slightly swollen base, cartilaginous-fragile; colored as gills when very young, lower part soon becoming pale yellow but the basal mycelium remaining lilac; slimy-viscid, bald. HABIT solitary, scattered or cespitose. HABITAT on decaying conifer wood, spring or fall. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, ID, not uncommon. MICROSTRUCTURES 6.5-9 (11) x 3.5-4.5 um, almond-shaped to elliptic, inamyloid, thin-walled; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia absent. | Chromosera cyanophylla Steve Trudell |
206b Buttons pale fuscous gray on the disc, at times pale bluish gray, margin whitish, cap soon fading to whitish, gills white
................................................................................Mycena laevigata sensu A.H. Sm.
Maas Geesteranus says Smith found cap colors not found in European material and might not be describing the same species. The description here is adapted from Smith's. Maas Geesteranus gives the cap colors of M. laevigata (Lasch) Gillet as "pure white to whitish, gradually discolouring cream to ochraceous and/or becoming stained with yellow-brown or rusty brown spots".
CAP 1-2 (4.5) cm, conic to convex or with a low umbo, often with small papilla, rarely slightly depressed, when young disc pale fuscous gray to watery gray or pale bluish gray, whitish toward margin, soon fading to whitish overall, with a tendency to become cream-colored or stained tawny when old; lubricous to viscid when old or wet, bald, becoming striate; flesh flaccid, cartilaginous. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS broadly adnate to somewhat decurrent, 22-25 reaching stem, broad (0.3-0.4 cm); white or occasionally flushed pink. STEM 2-5 (10) x 0.1-0.2 cm, cartilaginous and brittle, base somewhat rooting; bluish gray toward top when young and whitish in lower part, soon fading to grayish white all over; lubricous to somewhat viscid, bald except for white-hairy base. HABIT cespitose to subcespitose. HABITAT on wood of conifers. DISTRIBUTION WA, OR, CA, reported BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-8 x 3-4 um, strongly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia absent, cheilocystidia abundant, short and clavate or becoming subfusoid to cylindric, sometimes greatly elongated into a narrow lanceolate apex, tips occasionally forked and occasionally one or two short projections may develop either on the inflated part or on the neck, 30-40 x 9-12 um (clavate type) or 35-55 x 5-8 um (elongated type), both seen on gills of a single cap, pleurocystidia absent.
207a Farinaceous odor weak to strong, stem 4-6 cm, cheilocystidia club-shaped to irregularly shaped, and covered with short rodlike projections
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. lignicola
| CAP 0.8-1.5 cm, yellow with whitish margin; at first pruinose, viscid, covered with tenacious separable pellicle; flesh yellowish, not staining. ODOR farinaceous, rarely iodoform smell after a few hours or nitrous [bleach-like]. TASTE farinaceous. GILLS adnate by a tooth, subdistant to distant; white to pale yellow. STEM 4-6 x 0.1-0.15 cm, bright yellow fading to pale yellow; viscid, bald, base faintly hairy. HABITAT on conifer wood. DISTRIBUTION at least WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores (9) 10-12 (13) x 5.5-8 um, broadly elliptic to oval, amyloid; basidia 2-spored, 3-spored, 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, forming a sterile band on gill edge, club-shaped to irregularly shaped, and covered with short rodlike projections, pleurocystidia not seen. REMARKS Smith's description is followed here. | M epipterygia var. lignicola Michael Beug |
207b Farinaceous odor strong, stem 1-3 cm, cheilocystidia awl-shaped to somewhat wider in middle, smooth or with somewhat irregular walls (cheilocystidia only reliable differentiation)
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. 'cascadensis'
| Maas Geesteranus was reluctant to decide whether this is an independent variety: it was described by Smith as a variety of Mycena griseoviridis.
CAP 0.8-1.5 cm, color variable, a mixture of yellow, brown, and gray, dark on disc when young, pale yellow on margin, when old pale yellowish over all except the disc and striae; at first delicately pruinose but soon polished, viscid when wet, covered with thick tenacious separable pellicle, striate with dark striations, grooved when old; flesh pliant. ODOR and TASTE strongly farinaceous. GILLS adnate, ascending, hooked, subdistant; pallid yellowish. STEM 1-3 x 0.1-0.15 cm, short, pale clear yellow, slimy, bald, base faintly hairy. HABITAT on conifer logs (Abies fir). DISTRIBUTION at least WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-10 x 5-7 um, elliptic to oval or nearly round, amyloid; basidia 4-spored or 2-spored; cheilocystidia mixed with basidia, abundant, 32-48 x 5-9 um, subulate [awl-shaped] to subventricose, simple or seldom branched, smooth or with somewhat irregular walls, pleurocystidia embedded and difficult to locate, scattered, similar to cheilocystidia. REMARKS differs from var. griseoviridis in having more intense colors, different habitat, simple or seldom branched cystidia, and coarser projections on cheilocystidia. Smith's description for var. cascadensis is followed here. | M epipterygia var. 'cascadensis' Michael Beug |
208a (204b) Stem yellow or green
................................................................................209
These, with 207a and 207b, are the varieties of Mycena epipterygia (yellow-stemmed Mycena). It may be difficult or unnecessary to differentiate the varieties.
208b Stem gray or white
................................................................................213
209a Odor mild to faintly fragrant or faint of cucumber or farinaceous
................................................................................210
209b Odor and taste strong and disagreeable
................................................................................211
Note: if 211 fails to lead to a description that fits, try 210b Mycena epipterygia var. epipterygia, which may sometimes have a strong odor.
210a Cap dark olive gray and not fading to white
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. 'epipterygioides'
Maas Geesteranus throws doubt on whether this is the correct name for this variety, or even whether it is a single variety, as the original was characterized by 2-spored basidia while Smith's are 4-spored, with cheilocystidia that differ from each other in different specimens.
| CAP 1-2.5 cm, deep olive buff with very faint yellow cast at times, never white; surface pruinose when young, finally bald, viscid with pellicle completely separable, becoming grooved-striate often with scalloped edge; flesh thin, tenacious; dark olive brownish. ODOR faintly cucumber-like. TASTE mildly farinaceous. GILLS adnate, sometimes with decurrent tooth, 18-23 reaching stem, 2 tiers of subgills, moderately broad, sometimes separating from stem but remaining attached to each other like a collar; white to gray-tinged with pallid edges, often becoming reddish spotted in age. STEM 4-6 (7) x 0.15-0.25 cm, pale greenish yellow (variable), always pale yellow on dried specimens, whitish or grayish in upper part when old and base often reddish brown; viscid, bald, glutinous base with scattered fibrils. HABITAT under conifers, also oak, late in fall. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-10 (12) x 5-6 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia embedded in gelatinous matrix, narrowly club-shaped, the upper portion with obtuse contorted projections which may or may not be branched, the head 5-8 um thick, branches 2-4 um thick, no pleurocystidia. REMARKS Smith's description is followed here. The differentiation from the type variety (see 210b) is according to Smith. Maas Geesteranus separates var. epipterygioides from var. epipterygia on the basis of 2-spored basidia in the former. | Mycena epipterygia var. epipterygioides Kit Scates Barnhart |
210b Cap decidedly yellowish and fading to white or pale pearly gray
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. epipterygia
yellow-stemmed Mycena
| CAP 1.5-2.5 cm, pale grayish greenish yellow, yellowish gray, pale gray-brown, pale brown, but also whitish or with some olivaceous, pinkish or pale greenish yellow shade; at first pruinose then viscid, covered with separable tough gelatinous pellicle, striate, grooved, with edge scalloped; flesh watery. ODOR according to Maas Geesteranus "indistinctive, faintly fragrant to farinaceous or disagreeable and rancid when cut, sometimes reminiscent of iodoform (Mycena viscosa var. iodiolens A.H. Smith)". TASTE mild to rancid. GILLS adnate, with decurrent tooth, 17-23 reaching stem, up to 0.2 cm broad, smooth to somewhat ribbed; whitish at first, then very pale sepia grayish, not infrequently flushed with pink shade; edge gelatinized. STEM 4.5-8 x 0.1-0.2 cm, somewhat elastic to fragile; greenish yellow, gradually fading to watery whitish, at times reddening with age; smooth, viscid, minutely downy at least in upper part. HABITAT in needle duff under conifers. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8.1-10.8 x 4.5-5.8 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia (12.5) 27-55 x 4.5-5.8 um, forming a homogeneous band, embedded in gelatinous matter, clavate, clamped, covered with fairly few, unevenly spaced, rather coarse, simple to forked or branched, cylindric to somewhat inflated projections 2-14.5 x 2-4.5 um, pleurocystidia absent. REMARKS Maas Geesteranus's description is followed here. Note that unlike Smith's description, which says odor is "faintly fragrant or lacking", it allows for a stronger odor. | M. epipterygia var. epipterygia Boleslaw Kuznik |
211a (209b) Odor disagreeable, changing within an hour to strong iodoform, stem bright yellow, cap shades of gray becoming spotted reddish
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. epipterygia
This is Mycena viscosa var. iodiolens A.H. Sm., synonymized by Maas Geesteranus with Mycena epipterygia var. epipterygia: see 210b for description. Mycena epipterygia var. lignicola (207a) as described by Smith may rarely have iodoform odor after a few hours.
211b Odor strong of cucumber or more disagreeable, stem yellow to greenish yellow, cap various shades
................................................................................212
212a Cap color variable: deep olive to olive-brown to grayish greenish yellow; sometimes growing near snowbanks; cheilocystidia with one or more thorn-like projections and often quite irregular in shape
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. griseoviridis
| CAP 1-3.5 cm, deep olive to olive-brown to dark brown becoming blackish, sometimes dark grayish greenish yellow becoming greenish brown in age; at first white-pruinose but becoming bald and polished, glutinous, covered with separable pellicle, opaque to faintly striate, slightly grooved along margin when old age and edge scalloped. ODOR and TASTE strong of green cucumbers or more disagreeable. GILLS adnate, with slight decurrent tooth when old, 16-22 reaching stem, moderately broad; white with a greenish tinge, soon greenish gray and becoming spotted with reddish brown stains, edges pallid. STEM (3) 5-9 x 0.1-0.25 (0.35) cm, tenacious; greenish yellow, sometimes fading to pearly gray and usually dingy purplish toward base; very viscid, densely white pruinose over all at first, becoming bald and shining, base somewhat white-hairy. HABITAT in oak or pine woods, sometimes near snowbanks. DISTRIBUTION at least OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 9-11 x 5-6.5 um, elliptic, weakly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia 30-60 x 6-11 um, colorless, clavate at first but soon fusoid, with one to four long needle-like projections 15-30 x 2-3 um, the projections simple or forked, the enlarged portion of the cystidium sometimes covered with obtuse irregular projections in addition to the needle-like projections (a few cheilocystidia are club-shaped and more or less contorted), pleurocystidia absent. REMARKS Smith's description is followed here. | M. epipterygia var. griseoviridis Steve Trudell |
212b Cap variable in color but usually yellowish gray, yellowish, or greenish gray, when old becoming dingy brownish; cheilocystidia with long flexuous gelatinizing pedicels, tops club-shaped and covered with short contorted projections or obtuse finger-like processes (cheilocystidia needed for reliable differentiation)
................................................................................M. epipterygia var. 'viscosa'
Maas Geesteranus questions whether this is the correct name for this variety, as the original Mycena viscosa lacked yellowish and greenish colors and had a mild taste. Note that Smith's Mycena viscosa var. iodiolens is assigned by Maas Geesteranus to M. epipterygia var. epipterygia.
CAP 0.8-1.0 cm, variable in color but usually yellowish gray, yellowish, or greenish gray, when old becoming dingy brownish; very viscid, surface covered with a separable tenacious pellicle; white-pruinose when young but becoming bald and shiny, often striate-grooved when old; flesh tenacious; colored as surface, dingy reddish in age. ODOR strong, somewhat resembling fresh cucumber. TASTE rancid-farinaceous and very strong. GILLS adnate to arched or with decurrent tooth, 18-26 reaching stem, 2 tiers of subgills, narrow to moderately broad; whitish, yellowish or tinged greenish gray, often spotted reddish brown in age, edges pallid. STEM 3-7 (10) x 0.1-0.2 (0.3) cm, tenacious; lemon yellow or tinged greenish yellow, in age usually reddish at base; viscid, faintly pruinose overall when young but soon shining and slimy. HABITAT under oak and pine. DISTRIBUTION at least OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-11 x 5-8 um, amyloid; 2-spored or 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 40-60 x 6-9 um, with long flexuous gelatinizing pedicels, tops club-shaped and covered with short contorted projections or obtuse finger-like processes. REMARKS Smith's description is followed here.
213a (208b) Odor distinctive
................................................................................214
213b Odor not distinctive
................................................................................215
If cap 0.5-1.0 cm, consider also Mycena pusilla (see 734b in unabridged version) which has cap and stem lubricous when wet (slippery to tough) rather than viscid or slimy.
214a Odor and taste strongly disagreeable or watermelon or rancid-farinaceous; stem 5-7.5 cm long, at first brownish gray, somewhat viscid to viscid; cap relatively large; (pleurocystidia present, cheilocystidia with finger-like projections and gelatinizing)
................................................................................Mycena tenax
CAP 1-3 cm, cap center flattened or slightly depressed at maturity; grayish brown fading to pale gray; bald and greasy to somewhat viscid, pellicle separable, when old striate to the abruptly translucent-watery disc; flesh pliant, tough. ODOR and TASTE strong, disagreeable, rancid-farinaceous, or green watermelon or watermelon rind. GILLS adnate or with slight decurrent tooth, 24-27 reaching stem, narrow (0.2-0.3 cm); pallid to grayish. STEM 5-7.5 x 0.2-0.3 cm, tenacious consistency, colored as cap or paler; bald, somewhat viscid to viscid, pruinose toward top, base white-hairy. HABITAT under conifers. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6.5-8 x 3.5-4 um, narrowly elliptic, pointed at one end, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia club-shaped and with finger-like projections over the top, gelatinizing as in M. vulgaris, colorless, dimensions not given but Maas Geesteranus gives 9-21 x 4.5-10 um, pleurocystidia scattered, 60-70 x 8-12 um, (Maas Geesteranus gives 27-105 x 9-16 um), narrowly fusiform to subcylindric with abruptly pointed tops, some with slightly thickened walls. REMARKS Smith's description is followed except where indicated. M. vulgaris (see 215b) also has gelatinizing cheilocystidia but among other differences, there are no pleurocystidia and the odor is mild.
214b Persistent fruity odor developing shortly after picked; stem 1-2 cm long, at first dark gray to bluish gray, in age stem often covered with gluten that may collect at the base as in Roridomyces roridus; cap smaller; (pleurocystidia absent, cheilocystidia filamentous and smooth)
................................................................................Mycena odorifera
CAP 0.4-1.0 (1.5) cm, bluish gray or dark gray brown on disc, margin whitish, becoming gray or brownish all over; pruinose at first, not viscid to touch at first but soon becoming so; flesh tough, cartilaginous. ODOR strong developing soon after picked and persistent in dried material, fragrant (somewhat resembling that of Tricholoma caligatum), (Smith), subalkaline according to Peck, apparently at times faint and remaining unnoticed, (Maas Geesteranus). TASTE slight. GILLS adnate soon arched and when old distinctly decurrent, close to subdistant, narrow to moderately broad, tapering toward margin of cap; white to pale gray, edges pallid. STEM 1-2 (3) x 0.1-0.15 cm, elastic and cartilaginous; dark gray to bluish gray becoming pallid; at first finely white pruinose, soon bald and glutinous to touch, gluten may collect at base, base slightly hairy. HABITAT on conifer needles or among leaves, late spring and summer. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, rare. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 x (3) 4-4.5 um, broadly elliptic, strongly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia 38-46 x 6-7 um, filamentous, smooth; pleurocystidia not seen.
215a Cap 1-4 cm broad, stem 4-7 cm long, gill edge not gelatinous, (conspicuous cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia)
................................................................................Mycena quinaultensis
| CAP 1-4 cm, brownish black at first, becoming paler from margin and buffy brown; viscid to glutinous when young, bald, striate to disc, grooved to wrinkled when old; flesh pliant. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, developing slight decurrent tooth, 15-18 reaching stem, narrow but slightly broader in middle at times (0.3 cm); whitish becoming pallid to grayish, gill edge not gelatinous. STEM 4-7 x 0.15-0.25 (0.3) cm, rigid, colored as cap, often paler at top; viscid to glutinous when moist, bald at top, base sparsely hairy. HABITAT on needle beds under conifers. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6.5-8 x 3-3.5 um, narrowly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia abundant, 80-110 x 5-10 um, subcylindric or slightly inflated toward base, colorless, thin-walled except for slight irregular thickenings toward the base. REMARKS Viscid layer on cap and stem are easily washed away making it sometimes difficult to recognize. Mycena clavicularis might key out here if cap is greasy and regarded as viscid (see 203b). | Mycena quinaultensis Michael Beug |
215b Cap 0.8-1.5 cm, stem 2-3 cm long (cap smaller and stem shorter than 215a), gill edge gelatinous, (cheilocystidia cylindric much branched to clavate roughened, embedded in gelatinous matrix, pleurocystidia absent).
................................................................................Mycena vulgaris
common Mycena
CAP 0.8-1.5 cm, not hygrophanous, dark gray brown on cap center fading to smoke gray or yellow gray all over; bald, very viscid with moist separable skin, striate to disc, striations dark, grooved when faded; flesh pliant. ODOR slight, somewhat nauseous or radish-like, in Europe can be farinaceous according to Maas Geesteranus. TASTE slightly disagreeable. GILLS adnate, soon arched, becoming decurrent, 13-17 reaching stem, 1-2 tiers subgills, moderately broad (up to 0.2 cm), sometimes forking near base; whitish to pale gray, according to Maas Geesteranus the edge viscid, separable as elastic-tough thread. STEM 2-3 x 0.1 cm, (2-6 x 0.1-0.15 cm according to Maas Geesteranus), cartilaginous; color as cap or paler in upper part; bald, slimy or merely viscid, slightly hairy at base. HABITAT on needle beds under conifers. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, ID. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-8 (9) x 3.5-4 um, drop-shaped to somewhat elliptic, amyloid, (reaction may be weak according to Maas Geesteranus); basidia 4-spored; gill edges gelatinous with clavate-roughened cheilocystidia embedded in the matrix (these are often very indistinct), (Maas Geesteranus says embedded in gelatinous matter, simple to forked, cylindric, distally much branched and with a multitude of fine gelatinizing projections), pleurocystidia none. REMARKS this description adapted from Smith except where indicated.
301a Cap, stem, and bulb at first appearing pubescent from thick-walled setae (long hairs) visible under hand lens, cap 0.1-0.5 cm wide, dark bluish gray or brown gray, becoming pallid, whole fruiting body extremely fragile, (spores inamyloid, cheilocystidia with needle-like projections)
................................................................................Mycena longiseta
| CAP 0.1-0.5 cm, dark bluish gray or brownish gray, fading; surface at first appearing downy from setae (small hairs) under hand lens, becoming bald as setae are pressed down, striate, becoming grooved; flesh delicate, fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS narrowly attached to stem or nearly free, subdistant, narrow; grayish or pallid. STEM 1-3 x 0.1-0.3 cm, long and threadlike, separable from cap, soft and delicate, with small rounded bulb at base; gray turning white in age; covered with setae or nearly bald, base covered with setae. HABITAT on fallen leaves, needles, cones, decaying vegetable matter including grass stems. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA, not common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-8 x 3-4 um, elliptic, inamyloid; basidia 2-spored or 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 25-40 x 7-15 um, clavate to fusoid-ventricose, top drawn out to a needle-like projection or studded with several needle-like projections, some with enlarged middle part more or less finely spiny, pleurocystidia not seen; cap trama composed of a gelatinous pellicle and a tramal body of vesiculose cells, numerous long, pointed, colorless, thick-walled setae 150-200 x 8-14 um arising from the pellicle; stem and bulb covered with flexuous thick-walled setae up to 300 um long. REMARKS the fungus Spinellus fusiger grows on Mycena species, giving much longer projecting hairs with enlarged tips. | Mycena longiseta A and O Ceska |
301b Cap, stem, and bulb not bearing setae
................................................................................302
302a Growing on dead Gaultheria shallon (salal) leaves, cap yellowish, bulb (disc) at base of stem bright yellow
................................................................................Mycena gaultheri
CAP 0.1-0.3 (0.4) cm, greenish yellow overall, or center dingy yellow brown, buff-colored toward margin; bald, moist, when damp conspicuously striate to the disc, with dark striations; flesh membranous, not fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, 7-9 reaching a collar at stem, 0-1 tier of subgills; whitish. STEM 2-4 cm, threadlike, separable from cap, straight or curved both ways; whitish in upper part, pale yellowish in lower part; polished toward top; seated on flat or top-shaped basal disc up to 0.1 cm across which is pale orange yellow and hairy. HABIT singly or in groups of two or more. HABITAT on dead leaves of salal. DISTRIBUTION found at least WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-9 (10) x 4-5 um, narrowly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored or occasionally 1-, 2-, or 3-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 18-36 x 9-16 um, clavate to subcapitate, the enlarged part with short (and a few longer) mostly unbranched projections, colorless, pleurocystidia not seen; cap cuticle a gelatinized layer bearing a layer of lens-shaped to clavate cells 17-30 um wide, about 20 um deep on short stems, with dense projections on exposed surface.
302b Growing on woody debris, mossy trunks, needles, other leaves, herbaceous stems, fern rhizomes, or plant debris, or cap or stem base different
................................................................................303
303a Cap having chalky appearance with a sugar-like coating
................................................................................304
303b Cap bald or soon becoming so
................................................................................305
304a Stem short, 0.5-1.5 cm long, pruinose or finely hairy, stem base bulb-like becoming flattened into a disc, growing on woody debris or mossy trunks, (basidia (1-) 2-spored; cheilocystidia variable in shape, from smooth to warty to having rodlike projections up to 6.3 um long)
................................................................................Mycena adscendens
Mycena tenerrima (Berk.) Quél. is synonymized with this species.
| CAP 0.2-0.4 cm, sometimes becoming flattened on top; pale gray or gray brown fading to whitish; slightly viscid (judging from adherent material), sugary appearance under hand lens, becoming somewhat bald with age, grooved-striate to disc; flesh membranous, fragile. ODOR mild. GILLS free or narrowly adnate, adhering to each other and becoming collar-like, 7-12 reaching stem, broader in middle, up to 0.05 cm broad; white; fringed. STEM 0.5-1 (2.0) x 0.01-0.04 cm, widening toward base that springs from cushion-like white disc (bulb-like becoming flattened), fragile; white, becoming yellowish in lower part when old; shiny, finely downy throughout or bald in upper part and hairy further down including bulb, finely striate. HABIT single or in twos or threes or gregarious. HABITAT on twigs, bark, debris, or mossy trunks of conifers and hardwoods, spring and fall. DISTRIBUTION found at least WA to CA, not uncommon along the Pacific Coast. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8.1-9.6 x 5.4-5.8 um, broadly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 2-spored (rarely 1-spored); cheilocystidia 13.5-36 x 4.5-10 um, clavate or obpyriform to subglobose, or lageniform to fusiform with a slender neck 1.8-2.7 um wide, each type smooth to more or less covered with warts or cylindrical projections up to 6.3 um long, intermediate forms of the two types being common and occurring in all shapes, pleurocystidia none. Cap cuticle of narrow to partially inflated cells 2.7-15 um wide, smooth to warty, clamped, giving rise to terminal spherical or ellipsoid to obpyriform cells 24-40 x 10.5-30 um, which are covered with warts or cylindrical projections and sometimes concealed by gelatinous blobs. | Mycena adscendens A and O Ceska |
304b Stem 2-3 cm long, densely hairy, stem base thickened but no distinct disc, growing on fern rhizomes (especially in hothouses) or on needles, (basidia (2-) 4-spored; cheilocystidia clavate to fusiform, warty but rodlike projections not longer than 3 um)
................................................................................Mycena alphitophora
Mycena osmundicola Lange is synonymized with this species.
CAP (0.2) 0.3-0.6 cm, pale gray under white powdery covering, fading to chalk white; dry and powdery due to sugar-like covering seen under 10x lens; flesh thin, flaccid. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS free or with slight decurrent tooth, distant to subdistant, narrow; white. STEM 2-3 cm long and up to 0.1 cm thick, separable from cap, white downy from base upward, chalky in appearance in age, base thickened and abruptly inserted into debris. HABITAT on fern debris, conifer needles, (Smith), usually found on fern rhizomes in hothouses, only occasionally in nature, (Maas Geesteranus). DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 (10) x 4-5 um, elliptic, weakly amyloid; basidia usually 4-spored, rarely 2-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 18-28 x 9-15 um, clavate, the enlarged part covered with small blunt projections or densely warty, (Maas Geesteranus says 23-31 x 8-14.5 um, clavate to fusiform, rather sparsely covered with cylindrical projections 1.8-3 um long), pleurocystidia none; cap tissue covered with layer of inflated or round readily detachable warty cells 18-24 x 10-30 um. REMARKS description derived from that of Smith for Mycena osmundicola except where noted.
305a (303b) Cap 0.2-0.6 cm, pruinose to bald, pale gray to grayish brownish or vinaceous buff, gill edge gelatinous, growing on monocots (Carex, Juncus, Scirpus), (cheilocystidia narrow (up to 7.5 um), with one to several apical projections which are often branching)
................................................................................Mycena bulbosa
CAP 0.2-0.6 cm, pale avellaneous to vinaceous buff; moist, translucent-striate. GILLS adnate, moderately spaced, 2 tiers of subgills, moderately broad, narrowly ventricose; whitish. STEM 0.2-0.8 x 0.01-0.05 cm, cartilaginous arising from downy radially striate whitish basal disc up to 0.15 cm wide; stem colored as cap; dry, finely pubescent. HABITAT on basal sheaths of Carex (sedge), on herbaceous stems, e.g. Juncus (rush), Scirpus (club-rush), and Glyceria (mannagrass). DISTRIBUTION at least BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8.8-11.2 x 3.7-5.0 um, elliptic to cylindric, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, forming a sterile edge, embedded in a gelatinous matrix, 18-58 x 5-17 um, thin walled, colorless, polymorphic, usually with a coralloid apex, varying to an irregularly fusoid or clavate form with few outgrowths, often with a long pedicel, pleurocystidia not seen.
305b Cap 0.3-1.5 cm wide, bald or under hand lens may have scattered spines around disc, watery gray with paler margin, gill edge not gelatinous, growing on leaves, needles, and other plant debris, (cheilocystidia 8-13 um wide, fusoid-ventricose or with finger-like projections)
................................................................................Mycena stylobates
CAP 0.3-1.5 cm, somewhat hygrophanous, watery gray to gray brown with a whitish margin; fading to pallid or nearly white; moist, smooth or under a hand lens cap may have scattered coarse spines especially around disc, striate, becoming grooved; flesh not markedly fragile for such a small fruiting body. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS narrowly adnate, 8-16 reaching stem, 1-2 tiers of subgills, narrow becoming wider in middle or even very broad in age; pale gray becoming whitish. STEM (0.5) 1-6 x 0.05-0.1 cm, cartilaginous, attached to a flat circular cottony fringed disc up to 0.1 cm in diameter at the base, the disc striate from gill impressions and pruinose or finely pubescent, then bald; stem bluish gray to whitish when fresh, fading through watery gray to whitish; covered with fine white scattered fibrils or delicately pruinose, becoming bald. HABITAT on leaves, needles, and other plant debris, spring and summer or early fall. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, ID, reported from BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-10 x 3.5-4.5 um, narrowly elliptic, faintly amyloid; basidia 4-spored, rarely 2-spored; cheilocystidia abundant and variable, 26-38 x 8-13 um, usually clavate with thick obtuse projections (2-5) arising from near the apex, sometimes more or less covered with numerous projections over the enlarged part and the neck more or less contorted, pleurocystidia not seen; cap pellicle usually gelatinizes, the surface hyphae covered with short rodlike projections, occasionally some of the hyphae become aggregated into peg-like structures (which cause the appearance of scattered coarse spines under 10x lens).
Note: If none of these fit well, go back to 4. Several other mycenoid species have a somewhat enlarged base. For instance, Mycena culmigena (514a) has a 0.1-0.3cm cap that is grayish vinaceous or with a purplish tinge and grows on sedges and rushes, attaching by an inconspicuous disc.
401a Gill edge orange, cap center olive gray-brown to yellowish olive
................................................................................Mycena aurantiomarginata
| CAP 0.8-2.0 cm, not hygrophanous, dark olive gray-brown to yellowish olive on disc, margin orange shaded with gray-brown; moist, faintly pruinose, soon polished, becoming somewhat pleated when old; flesh rather pliant. ODOR and TASTE none. GILLS adnate with a decurrent tooth, close, narrow becoming broad in age; pallid to gray olive with edges bright orange. STEM 3-6 x 0.1-0.2 (0.3) cm, rigid, cartilaginous, round in cross-section or compressed; brownish to grayish olive, sometimes tinged orange; bald except orange powder toward top, base with orange hairs. HABIT scattered, gregarious or somewhat cespitose [tufted]. HABITAT under conifers on moss and needle carpets. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 x 4-5 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia abundant and similar, 28-36 x 7-12 um, clavate to somewhat capitate (with a head), the tops sparsely or densely echinulate [finely spiny], filled with a bright orange pigment. | Mycena aurantiomarginata Michael Beug |
401b Gill edge or cap center some other color
................................................................................402
402a Gill edge some shade of yellow
................................................................................403
402b Gill edge some other color
................................................................................406
403a Gill edge bright lemon yellow; cap bright yellow to orange; pruinose stem 1-3 cm long inserted into individual needle or oak leaf; (spores 7-10 x 2.5-4 um)
................................................................................Mycena oregonensis
| CAP 0.2-1.0 cm, blunt-conic to convex, often with papilla; bright yellow to yellow-orange, hardly fading with age; moist, not lubricous, faintly translucent-striate, delicately pruinose, becoming bald; flesh brittle; yellowish. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS broadly adnate developing decurrent tooth, 9-16 reaching stem, up to 3 rows of subgills, narrow; pale greenish yellow or whitish, the edge bright yellow. STEM 1-3 x 0.05-0.07 cm, colored as cap or paler yellow; not glutinous when wet, covered all over with yellowish pruinose-pubescence, becoming bald except at top, the base covered with coarse yellow fibrils. HABITAT attached to individual needles, also reported attached to oak leaves. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-10 x 2.5-4.4 um, nearly cylindric, tapered to a point at one end, often slightly curved, inamyloid; basidia either 2-spored or 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 30-45 x 9-12 um, subcylindric to fusoid-ventricose, smooth, rarely forked at top, outlines often wavy, filled with bright yellow substance, pleurocystidia similar, scattered to rare. | Mycena oregonensis Steve Trudell |
403b Gill edge greenish yellow, or cap olive or brown, or stem not pruinose, or stem not inserted into individual needle or oak leaf, spores various sizes
................................................................................404
404a Gill edge bright lemon yellow, cap 0.5-1.0 cm wide, stem 2-6 cm long, face of gill dingy yellow gray, spores 6.5-8 x 4-4.5 um (8-10 x 4-5 um in 2-spored form)
................................................................................Mycena olivaceobrunnea
Smith says this differs from M. citrinomarginata by consistently smaller size and smaller spores. Maas Geesteranus remeasured the spores of Smith's specimens at 7.6-9.8 x 4.6-5.4 um, and synonymized this species with Mycena citrinomarginata (even though these are still on the short side for his measurements on M. citrinomarginata); however, Michael Beug has found a Mycena in Washington with spore size and color fitting Smith's description.
CAP 0.5-1.0 cm, buff-brown to dark olive buff with pallid margin, fading to dingy yellowish gray; bald, moist, striate to disc with broad dark lines; flesh membranous; pallid. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, 14-16 reaching stem, narrow to moderately broad, about 0.1-0.15 cm; dingy yellowish gray; edges bright lemon yellow. STEM 2-6 x (0.05) 0.1-0.15 cm, weak and very fragile; olive brown toward the base, deep olive buff or dingy yellowish gray in upper part; bald and polished in upper part, base sparsely white-hairy. HABITAT on humus, moss carpets and needle beds under Douglas-fir, May to October. DISTRIBUTION WA to CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6.5-8 x 4-4.5 um (8-10 x 4-5 um when 2-spored), elliptic, amyloid; basidia 2-spored to 4-spored; cheilocystidia 30-44 x 8-18 um, fusoid-ventricose to clavate, with or without narrowed neck, the neck sometimes branched or sometimes with scattered blunt projections over enlarged part. REMARKS Maas Geesteranus remeasured spores at 7.6-9.8 x 4.5-5.4 um.
404b Gill edge greenish yellow or light yellow, cap (0.4) 1-3.5 (4) cm wide, stem 3-12 cm or longer, gill face whitish or gray, spores 8-11 x 4-5.5 um for 4-spored variety, 12-14 x 5-6 um if 2-spored
................................................................................405
405a Gill edge greenish yellow, stem 4-15 cm long, cap dark olive with light yellow margin, 21-28 gills reaching stem, gill face pale olive gray, often reddish stains on stem and gills
................................................................................Mycena chloranthoides
Mycena elegans (Fr.) Quél. sensu A.H. Sm. was synonymized by Maas Geesteranus with this species, but Mycena elegans (Fr.) Pers. is synonymous with M. aurantiomarginata.
CAP (0.4) 1.5-2.5 (3.5) cm, somewhat hygrophanous, blackish olive with pale yellow margin, fading to olive-gray or avellaneous with a white margin; white-pruinose, becoming bald; moist, translucent-striate; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, 21-28 reaching stem, 0.25-0.4 cm broad, broader in middle; pale olive-gray with pale green-yellow edge, gills sometimes staining purplish brown in age. STEM 4-12 (15) x 0.15-0.3 cm, equal or somewhat enlarged at base, fragile; pale or dark olive-gray with a yellow tinge, top pale yellow at times, often staining dull reddish brown from base upward; pruinose near top, mostly bald, base with pale green-yellow hairs. HABITAT under conifers, especially western red cedar. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8.5-9.2 x 4.6-5.3 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia 24-32 x 8-14.5 um, slender-clavate to broadly clavate, covered with comparatively few, fairly evenly spaced, cylindrical projections 1.8-2.7 um long, more rarely longer and somewhat irregularly shaped, pleurocystidia similar to cheilocystidia. REMARKS description derived from Maas Geesteranus except where noted.
405b Gill edge pale yellow (when cap yellow, dingy brown when cap brown), stem 3-8 cm long, cap color variable: grayish yellow or brownish yellow or bright yellow or dark brown or even white, fading to yellowish or olive gray, 14-20 gills reaching stem, gill face white or ash gray, reddish brown stains on gills not noted
................................................................................Mycena citrinomarginata
yellow-edged Mycena
| CAP (0.5) 1-3.5 (4) cm, hygrophanous, grayish yellow to brownish yellow or bright yellow or dark brown or even white, fading to yellowish or olive gray; surface pruinose becoming polished, moist, striate, grooved when old; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, 14-20 reaching stem, 2-3 tiers of subgills, narrow (about 0.2-0.3 cm), interveined; whitish or ash gray; edges yellow (when cap yellow) to dingy brown (when cap brown). STEM 3-8 x (0.05) 0.1-0.25 cm, fragile, round in cross-section or compressed; olivaceous gray or yellowish, pruinose at top at first, becoming bald, smooth or somewhat striate. HABITAT on moss, leaves, needles, or debris in deciduous and coniferous woods, spring and fall. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-14 x 4-6 um: in 4-spored variety 8-11 x 4-5.5 um, in 2-spored variety 12-14 x 5-6 um, elliptic to nearly cylindric, amyloid; basidia 2-, 3-, or 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant and variable, awl-shaped, fusoid-ventricose or clavate, all of these types either smooth, variously branched, or with finger-like prolongations over the upper part. REMARKS description derived from Smith's for M. citrinomarginata. Maas Geesteranus measured spores at 9.2-12 (14.4) x 4.6-5.6 (6.4) um. He provides even more variation in cap color, "pale yellowish, greyish yellow, pure yellow, sulphureous, greenish yellow, olivaceous yellow, yellowish with a brownish grey shade, greyish green, darker at the centre (ochraceous, orange-yellow, brownish yellow, grey-brown, pale date brown), paler toward margin, more rarely entirely white". | Mycena citrinomarginata Steve Trudell |
406a (402b) Gill edge scarlet when young, face of gill yellow to pale pinkish orange, cap fire-red fading to orange
................................................................................Mycena strobilinoides
flame Mycena, red-orange Mycena
CAP 1-2 cm, conic when young, either not expanding or becoming bellshaped; not hygrophanous, red, soon fading to scarlet, then slowly to orange and finally yellow or even whitish; moist, greasy but not viscid, margin striate when moist, becoming grooved, edge often scalloped; flesh pliant; yellowish. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate to slightly decurrent, 15-20 reaching stem, narrow, 0.2-0.3 cm; yellow to pale pinkish-orange, the edges scarlet, at least when young. STEM 3-6 x 0.1-0.2 cm, fragile, solid or with a very small lumen, pliant, cartilaginous; orange to yellow; with orange pruinose coating toward top, base with orange hairs. HABITAT in needle beds under conifers (especially pine), especially in mountains. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 x 4-5 (5.5) um, elliptic, strongly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 18-50 x 7-13.5 um, clavate to subfusoid, the upper portion covered with rod-like projections, contents bright to pale orange, pleurocystidia similar, scattered to abundant. REMARKS Red species include M. adonis, M. acicula, M. monticola, (gills not marginate in these three). M. rosella has pink cap, dingy rose gill edges and different pleurocystidia. M. aurantiidisca is orange from the start, and gills not marginate.
406b Gill edge some shade of pink, rose, brown, or purple, face of gill and cap various colors
................................................................................407
Note that Mycena haematopus and Mycena sanguinolenta may also key out here if the colored juice is missed, or if the identifier goes straight to the section for marginate gills without starting the key at the beginning. Species with blackish edged gills or brown-edged gills that do not key out here, should be keyed in the section for Gray, Brown, or Black species. Hydropus marginellus (see 104) could also key here if the clear juice from the cap is missed.
407a Odor nitrous (bleach-like)
................................................................................Mycena capillaripes
CAP (0.5) 1-2 (2.5) cm, margin may be lobed or scalloped; cap vinaceous gray, at times nearly fuscous with only margin reddish, occasionally dark grayish-red all over; smooth with hoary bloom at first, soon bald and appearing moist, translucent-striate, grooved when faded; flesh fragile. ODOR weakly or strongly nitrous [bleach-like] if fresh material crushed, occasionally mild or somewhat radish-like. TASTE slightly acid. GILLS ascending-adnate and usually with decurrent tooth, 12-18 reaching stem, 1 to 3 tiers of subgills; face pale or grayish, edge pale pink, rose color, pinkish brown, red-brown, or purplish brown at least on the larger gills, but sometimes colored as face, face densely punctate with minute pinkish brownish or dark red-brown to purple brown dots due to pleurocystidia. STEM (2) 3-6 (8) x 0.1-0.15 (0.25) cm, equal, very fragile; pale or dark grayish vinaceous, top sometimes pallid and base dingy; with a faint bloom at first, soon bald and polished, translucent, base with white hairs. HABITAT on needle beds (Maas Geesteranus says generally on fallen needles of conifers but occasionally on litter of hardwood trees such as oak). DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, ID, CA, often common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 (10) x 4-5 um, 10-13 (14) x 4.5-6 um in 2- and 3-spored forms, elliptic to slightly oval, amyloid; basidia 2-, 3-, and 4-spored; cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia similar, rare or more usually abundant, fusoid-ventricose with blunt tops or elongating or somewhat cylindric with slightly tapered tops, smooth, rarely forked, contents pale or dark pinkish brown. Maas Geesteranus says hyphae and hymenial elements clamped, clamps usually easy to find. REMARKS description derived from Smith except where noted. M. pelianthina may be similar in having purplish brown gill edge, densely punctate gill faces, and smooth cheilocystidia, and could be confused when the odor is radish-like, but M. pelianthina has at least 26 gills reaching the stem, and spores are smaller. M. rosella is more fragile, brighter in color, and mild in odor. M. renati shares a nitrous to radish-like odor, and some of Smith's M. 'elegantula' collections for North America are M. renati, but unconfirmed for Pacific Northwest.
407b Odor mild or radish-like
................................................................................408
408a Odor radish-like
................................................................................409
408b Odor mild
................................................................................411
409a 12-18 gills reaching stem
................................................................................Mycena capillaripes
See 407a for description.
409b More than 20 gills reaching stem
................................................................................410
410a Gill edge dingy reddish purple, apex of grayish stem may be bright or dingy yellow under purple fibrils, flesh of apex of stem yellow, (spores 8-10 x 4-5 um)
................................................................................Mycena rutilantiformis
| CAP (1.2) 2-7 cm, convex; hygrophanous, dark, dingy pinkish brown to dull pinky-buff or dull vinaceous buff, often becoming paler with yellowish tinges, dingy purplish tints often persistent; smooth, moist and lubricous, bald, striate when moist. ODOR radish. TASTE radish or bitter. GILLS adnate but becoming sinuate to adnexed, 30-38 reaching stem, broad, interveined, dull pinky fawn or paler, edges dingy reddish purple. STEM 3-8 x (0.3) 0.5-1.0 cm, equal or slightly enlarged toward the base, fragile; pallid grayish over all or the top yellowish beneath scattered appressed purplish fibrils; somewhat longitudinally striate-grooved, flesh of top of stem yellow. HABITAT on humus or rotten hardwood debris, spring and fall. DISTRIBUTION at least WA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-10 x (3.5) 4-5 um, elliptic to almost oval, pointed at one end, blunt at the other, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 40-60 x 9-15 um, smooth, narrowly ovoid to somewhat fusoid and with obtuse apices, contents dark reddish brown; pleurocystidia abundant, more elongated than cheilocystidia, 60-80 x 9-15 um, contents reddish brown. REMARKS M. pelianthina has no yellow at top of stem and has spores that are narrower than 4 um. | Mycena rutilantiformis A and O Ceska |
410b Gill edge dark purplish or dark purplish brown, apex of stem pallid with slight yellowish, brownish or lilaceous tint under purple fibrils, flesh of apex of stem pallid, (spores 5.5-7 x 3-3.5 um)
................................................................................Mycena pelianthina
CAP 1.5-5 cm, hygrophanous, dull dingy brown fading to pallid or avellaneous, sometimes with a dingy purplish or pinkish tint; bald, moist; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE distinctly of radish, or sometimes, at least in Europe, experienced as disagreeable, farinaceous. GILLS adnate or with a decurrent tooth, 26-32 reaching stem, 2-3 tiers of subgills, broad; dingy grayish-vinaceous or flushed purplish, edges dark purplish or dark purplish brown. STEM 2-6 x 0.2-0.8 cm, equal, sometimes enlarged at either end, fragile; top tinged purple from fibrils, otherwise pallid (not yellow) or with slight yellowish, brownish or lilaceous tint, pale beige, or pale brownish flesh-colored; innately appressed longitudinally fibrillose-striate, top bald or with fine fibrils or fibrillose points under hand lens, or may be lengthwise striate by raised, dark purplish brown fibrils; base white hairy; flesh of apex of stem pallid. HABITAT on humus in hardwood or coniferous forests. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 5.5-7 x 3-3.5 um, pointed at one end and blunt on the other, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia similar and very abundant, 46-64 x 9-15 um, with a dull purplish-brown content, smooth, fusoid-ventricose, apices acute. REMARKS M. rutilantiformis is more common and has spores 4 um or more broad, and often bright yellow tints at top of stem. M. capillaripes may be similar to M. pelianthina in having purplish brown gill edge, densely punctate gill faces, smooth cheilocystidia, and occasionally radish odor, but M. capillaripes has no more than 20 gills reaching the stem.
411a (408b) Gill edges pink to orange red, growing on previous year's dead moist fern fronds
................................................................................Mycena pterigena
| CAP 0.1-0.5 cm, at first coral (rose-colored) to apricot or peach-colored, soon whitish with coral tints centrally and on margins or fading to grayish vinaceous (rose tint may persist along margin); translucent and somewhat pleated-striate; flesh membranous but not fragile. ODOR mild. GILLS ascending, broadly adnate, moderately spaced, 1 tier of subgills; whitish or pale rose becoming whitish, with edges tinted cap color or fading. STEM 0.2-4 x 0.01-0.05 cm, threadlike, tough, not readily separable from cap; colored as cap or paler, becoming transparent and finally grayish brown; with slightly swollen base, attached by minute circular mat of radiating almost colorless hairs; bald except for a slight basal pubescence. HABITAT along fallen fronds of lady-fern (Athyrium filix-femina), mostly in very dense stands of the ferns with abundant accumulated litter. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, ID, generally rare. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-10 x 3.5-5 um, narrowly to broadly elliptic, strongly to weakly amyloid in the same mounts; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia abundant, 19-24 x 11-13 um, clavate to almost spherical, colorless to pale pinkish, covered apically by short to long finger-like projections up to 10 um long; pleurocystidia absent to scattered, similar to the cheilocystidia. REMARKS M. lohwagii (see unabridged version) also in fern habitat, but is larger, grayish sepia when young instead of coral-colored, colonizes rhizomes rather than frond tissue, has wider spores, and has shorter projections on the cheilocystidia. | Mycena pterigena Michael Beug |
411b Gill edges reddish, reddish brown, or purplish, growing on needle beds or wood
................................................................................412
If gill edge dull brown to olivaceous brown, consider the rare entity Mycena 'viridimarginata' sensu A.H. Sm. However, Maas Geesteranus says description is wrong for Mycena viridimarginata Karsten, and Smith says it is "almost the counterpart of M. rubromarginata in habit, color, stature, and consistency but differs in the dingy olive-gray to yellow-gray colors that develop, especially along the gill edges", the gill edges also described as "dull brown to olivaceous brown".
412a Growing on needle beds; gill edges reddish, reddish brown, or purplish brown
................................................................................413
412b Growing on wood; gill edges reddish, reddish brown, purple, grayish purple, or violet
................................................................................414
413a Cap color pink, tinged with gray or brown on disc, gill faces pink
................................................................................Mycena rosella
CAP 1-2 cm, bright pink to brownish pink tinged with gray or brown on disc; moist to lubricous, translucent-striate, somewhat grooved, at first white-pruinose; flesh pliant. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, sometimes slightly notched or with decurrent tooth, 15-24 reaching stem, 1 or 2 tiers of subgills, moderately broad (about 0.25 cm), interveined; pale to rather bright rose color, edges a darker dingy reddish to purplish color, faces with minute reddish dots. STEM 2.5-7 x 0.1-0.15 (0.25) cm, equal, rather flexible, translucent; pale rose or grayish rose; lubricous but not viscid, bald or reddish pruinose in upper part, base covered in rough whitish hairs. HABITAT on needle beds. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, ID, CA, common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 x 4-5 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia abundant, 60-80 x 10-14 um, narrowly fusoid-ventricose, smooth, with reddish contents when fresh, cheilocystidia 21-36 x 9-15 um, clavate to somewhat fusoid, covered over all with short blunt projections, the top occasionally elongated and smooth and then only the wider middle part roughened, contents dark reddish. REMARKS M. capillaripes has less bright colors, is less fragile, and usually has nitrous [bleach-like] odor.
413b Cap vinaceous gray, at times nearly fuscous with only margin reddish, occasionally dark grayish-red all over, gill faces gray
................................................................................Mycena capillaripes
See 407a for description.
414a (412a) Cap dark purplish, fading to purplish gray or purplish brown, and with lilac cast when faded, gill edges violet to dark grayish purple
................................................................................Mycena purpureofusca
CAP 0.5-2.5 cm, slightly hygrophanous, according to Smith dark purplish with a paler (lilac) margin when young, fading to purplish-gray (Maas Geesteranus says "at first violet… gradually becoming more purplish and becoming suffused with grayish or brownish tints, paler towards the margin"); hoary at first but soon bald, moist not viscid, translucent-striate when moist and mature; flesh pliant, cartilaginous. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS narrowly adnate, moderately close, 20-30 reaching stem, narrow; pallid to grayish with violet to dark grayish-purple edges. STEM 3-10 x 0.1-0.2 cm, equal, rather cartilaginous and tough, colored like cap or paler in upper part; bald, base with white hairs and sometimes prolonged into a 'root'. HABIT single or cespitose. HABITAT on conifer wood and debris (Maas Geesteranus says on decaying coniferous wood). DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, ID, MT, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-14 x 6-8.5 um, broadly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 2-spored or 4-spored; pleurocystidia not differentiated, cheilocystidia abundant and conspicuous, 30-50 (64) x 7-12 (15) um, fusoid-ventricose, the apices often becoming forked when old, filled with a dull-purplish sap.
414b Cap dark gray to dark brown, or vinaceous brown, with or without tinge of reddish pink, or lilac; gill edges reddish brown, dark purplish brown, vinaceous or pinkish
................................................................................415
415a Cap dark gray to dark brown, with or without tinge of vinaceous, reddish, pink, or lilac; gill edges bright to dingy reddish brown, or dark purplish brown
................................................................................Mycena rubromarginata
CAP 0.7-2.0 cm, dark gray to dark brown, with or without tinge of vinaceous, reddish, pink, or lilac, soon becoming paler, the disc remaining darker than the margin, sometimes the margin tinged reddish at first; moist, striate, densely pruinose, soon bald; flesh fragile, watery. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS broadly adnate with slight tooth, 12-17 reaching stem, 1 or 2 tiers of subgills, moderately broad (about 0.3 cm), interveined; pallid with edges that are bright to dingy reddish brown, or dark purplish brown. STEM 2-4 (7) x 0.1-0.35 cm, equal, fragile, round in cross-section or compressed; watery gray brown or sometimes pinkish or yellowish brown before fading, translucent; bald, base bald or nearly so. HABITAT grows on naked dead conifer or hardwood branches. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 10-12 x 5-7 um, broadly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia rare, cheilocystidia 28-42 x 8-12 um, broadly fusoid-ventricose when young, elongating and when old somewhat irregular or narrower, tops sometimes forked. REMARKS Mycena viridimarginata Karsten is recorded by Smith as rare for WA with dull brown to olivaceous brown gill edges but Maas Geesteranus says the description is wrong. M. sanguinolenta has similar gill margins, but the stem exudes reddish or dull orange fluid. Smith gives cap colors of M. rubromarginata as "dark gray with a vinaceous tinge, soon becoming paler gray, the disk remaining darker that the margin, sometimes the margin tinged reddish at first" and the gill edges as bright to dingy reddish brown; Maas Geesteranus gives cap colors (apparently referring first to the margin) as "café-au-lait, grey-brown, gray, and without or with pink, lilaceous to reddish tints, darker at the center, dark brown to dark red-brown", and gill edges as "reddish, red-brown to dark purplish brown".
415b Cap dark vinaceous brown cap center with margin brighter, fading or retaining pinkish tint; gill edges pale pink to dingy vinaceous
................................................................................Mycena 'elegantula' Peck sensu A.H. Sm.
Maas Geesteranus has cast doubt on Smith's identification of this species by finding that three of the North American collections at random were not Mycena elegantula. One was M. renati Quél. which grows on wood but odor is described as nitrous, alkaline, radish-like, or ammoniacal. A later collection is also M. renati. Perry and Desjardin also found his M. elegantula specimens contained several taxa; in addition, Perry and Desjardin have redescribed what was usually being identified as M. elegantula or M. sanguinolenta in California on leaves and fruits of oak as Mycena californiensis with M. elegantula Peck - described among fallen leaves under trees - as a synonym. Whether Smith is describing an independent taxon is difficult to determine.
CAP (0.5) 1-2.5 (5.0) cm, dark vinaceous brown cap center with margin brighter, fading or retaining pink tint; bald, moist, sometimes translucent-striate, sometimes grooved at margin; flesh rather firm. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate or hooked, 16-22 reach the stem, 2 tiers of subgills, narrow to moderately broad; whitish to grayish with pale pink to dingy vinaceous edges. STEM 2-6 (8) x 0.1-0.3 cm, equal, fragile, cartilaginous; variable color, but usually tinted as cap, fading, sometimes nearly white when old, sometimes with a strong pinkish tint; white hairy base, bald otherwise. HABIT usually single or gregarious, at times cespitose [tufted]. HABITAT on decayed wood, spring and fall. DISTRIBUTION according to Smith, at least WA, OR, ID, but species concept is questionable. MICROSTRUCTURES 8-12 x 5-7 um, broadly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored and 2-spored; pleurocystidia very rare or absent, similar to cheilocystidia, cheilocystidia scattered to fairly abundant, 40-75 x (5) 8-15 um, smooth or occasionally with two or three finger-like prolongations, clavate to fusoid-ventricose, contents usually pinkish. REMARKS description derived from Smith.
501a Cap with bluish tone
................................................................................Mycena amicta
| CAP 0.5-2.5 cm, dark olive on disc and grayish on the margin, often with strong bluish tints pervading through the olive gray, disc in large specimens dark blue and the margin light greenish blue, soon fading to gray, when old all forms becoming wood brown to pale avellaneous on the disc and pallid on the margin, in some the disc becoming tinged vinaceous gray; pruinose becoming polished then granular, skin gelatinous and peelable in patches; flesh cartilaginous. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate to free, 20-30 reaching stem, narrow; whitish becoming pale avellaneous. STEM 3-8 x 0.1-2.5 cm, equal, fairly fragile; pallid to greenish gray or bluish gray or dingy brownish gray; hoary from a dense pruinose-pubescent covering; base hairy with blue or white strands of mycelium. HABITAT on conifer needles or debris or on rotten conifer wood. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA, OR, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 (10) x 4-5 um, narrowly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia absent or not differentiated, cheilocystidia abundant, 28-44 x 5-7 um, narrowly fusoid [spindle-shaped] with only slightly tapered necks and obtuse [blunt] to somewhat acute tops, becoming somewhat filamentous when old. | Mycena amicta Michael Beug |
501b Cap red, pink, yellow, orange, lavender, or brick-colored
................................................................................502
502a Cap red
................................................................................503
502b Cap pink, yellow, orange, brick-colored, lavender, purplish, other
................................................................................504
503a Cap conic, scarlet to orange-red or pinkish, 0.6-2.2 cm; under conifers or hardwoods; (pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia smooth)
................................................................................Mycena adonis
Maas Geesteranus includes as synonyms M. amabilissima (Peck) Sacc., M. roseipallens Murrill, M. fusipes Murrill, and M. roseocandida (Peck) Sacc. Maas Geesteranus describes Mycena adonis as fading without yellow tints. Smith says that M. adonis becomes bright yellow as it fades as opposed to weak yellow or white for M. amabilissima. It is not clear where the yellow fading species fits in the Maas Geesteranus concept which is used for the description below except where specified
| CAP 0.6-2.2 cm, scarlet, orange-red, bright pink-salmon, incarnate [flesh-pink] or more rarely white, fading but without yellowish tints, especially toward margin, (according to Smith may be hygrophanous); shallowly grooved or smooth, little translucent-striate, slightly lubricous when moist. ODOR mild. TASTE mild according to Smith. GILLS adnate or attached by a tooth, 12-24 reaching stem, (2 or 3 tiers of subgills according to Smith), 0.1-0.25 cm broad, becoming ribbed and interveined; pink fading to whitish, whitish edge. STEM 1.4-3.5 x 0.05-0.2 cm, equal, fragile, straight but curved in lower part; watery pink to orange, more pronounced color at top, fading to watery whitish or becoming tinged yellowish; finely downy becoming bald, sometimes granular to almost flocculose in upper part, base slightly white-hairy. HABITAT needle beds, also under hardwoods, among grass or moss, on twigs or decayed wood; according to Smith both spring and fall. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA, according to Smith, and on field trip lists from BC, fairly common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6.3-8.1 x 3.6-4.5 (5.4) um for 4-spored, 8.1-10.8 x 5.4-7.2 um for 2-spored; basidia 2-spored and 4-spored; pip-shaped [elliptic], inamyloid; cheilocystidia (36) 45-70 (95) x 8-13.5 um, fusiform, usually with a somewhat extended narrowed part at top with sharp or blunt tip, long-stemmed to short-stemmed, mixed with basidia, pleurocystidia similar. REMARKS Besides being smaller and favoring different habitat, M. acicula has larger spores than the 4-spored form of M. adonis and different cystidia. M. monticola has no pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia are roughened. M. rosella has marginate gills. Smith's key differentiates the other species included by Maas Geesteranus in Mycena adonis as follows: M. adonis, M. roseipallens, and M. fusipes fall in the first group that are "yellow, orange or flame scarlet". Mycena roseipallens (not uncommon in NY, MI, MO, and WA) has pleurocystidia absent or rare and usually occurring near the gill edge, while the other two have abundant conspicuous pleurocystidia. M. fusipes (found in WA by Murrill but not found at all by Smith) has obtuse cystidia instead of the pointed ones in M. adonis (not uncommon in spring and fall, WA, OR, CA). The second group are pink to coral red: M. amabilissima grows on beds of moss, particularly sphagnum, and on needle beds (he mentions that a form of M. flavoalba with a pinkish disk keys out here as well), and M. roseocandida, given only for Michigan, grows on leaf mold under hardwoods, occasionally on bark of trees or on debris. The habitats for the other species separated by Smith are somewhat different as well. Smith gives "on needle beds under spruce and hemlock" for M. adonis, "on debris of elm and ash, and on alder debris in Washington, particularly on the bark of partly decayed logs" for M. roseipallens, and "on the ground, probably on dead wood" for M. fusipes. Maas Geesteranus gives the habitat of M. adonis for Europe as "among grass and moss, on fallen twigs or decayed wood, in open dry and wet places, under deciduous and coniferous trees". | Mycena adonis Michael Beug |
503b Cap convex, deep orange red fading to orange, pale salmon, or yellow, finally becoming pale, rarely over 0.7 cm; growing on hardwood debris in especially wet places around streams or edges of bogs; (pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia inconspicuous, tops often with resinous secretion)
................................................................................Mycena acicula
coral spring Mycena
| CAP 0.3-0.7 (1.0) cm, small, convex or bell-shaped, sometimes expanding when old, sometimes with small abrupt umbo; not hygrophanous, color according to Maas Geesteranus deep orange red fading to orange, pale salmon, or yellow, finally becoming pale, color according to Smith "coral-red" when young, soon fading (often from margin inward) to bright orange-yellow or yellow; slightly viscid, at first hoary-pruinose, soon bald, faintly translucent-striate when moist; flesh brittle. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate or slightly rounded next to stem, 10-14 reaching stem, 2-3 tiers of subgills, moderately broad; pale orange to yellow or whitish or may have white edges. STEM 1-6 x 0.05-0.1 cm, threadlike, equal, brittle, often curved both ways; orange-yellow to yellow; densely white-pruinose at first, smooth except for white hairy base, somewhat viscid. HABITAT single, gregarious or subcespitose [somewhat tufted] on debris in wet places, particularly along streams or the borders of swamps, occurs on fallen twigs and decayed wood of hardwood. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 9-11 x 3.5-4.5 um, somewhat fusoid, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia similar, inconspicuous, 25-32 x 6-9 um, clavate to somewhat fusiform or obovoid, tops often covered with a resinous secretion (when revived in KOH); hyphae of pileipellis 2.5-3.5 um wide, clamped, overlying a pseudoparenchymatous hypoderm, covered with simple, cylindrical projections of 2-9 x 1-3 um. REMARKS Elements of the descriptions of Smith and Maas Geesteranus are used here. M. adonis, M. monticola, and M. strobilinoides are all larger with smaller spores and different cystidia. Maas Geesteranus notes "It is precisely because of the pseudoparenchymatous structure of its hypoderm that I would not be surprised one day to see M. acicula segregated from Mycena and placed in a genus of its own." | Mycena acicula Boleslaw Kuznik |
503c Cap conic to bell-shaped, pinkish red (purplish red on disc, flame red to pinkish red toward margin), 1-3cm; growing abundantly under conifers (especially pine) in the fall, above 1000 m. altitude; (no pleurocystidia, cheilocystidia with short rod-like projections on enlarged part)
................................................................................Mycena monticola
See 507a for description.
504a (502b) Cap pink or rose color
................................................................................505
504b Cap yellow, orange, brick-colored, lavender, purplish, other
................................................................................508
505a Scattered to gregarious on decaying fern fronds
................................................................................Mycena pterigena
See 411a for description.
505b Growing on monocots in wet places or growing on needle beds
................................................................................506
506a Growing on monocots in wet places
................................................................................Mycena tubarioides
CAP 0.2-0.7 cm, pale vinaceous or lilaceous pink or pink, darker at center, becoming paler; pruinose becoming bald, margin translucent-striate and grooved. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS broadly adnate to decurrent with a tooth, 6-12 reaching stem, no subgills or 1 tier, rarely 2, whitish to pale vinaceous or pale reddish brown or pale pink, edges colored as faces or whitish. STEM 0.7-2.3 x 0.02-0.12 cm, cartilaginous, equal or widening slightly downwards, straight or curved; cap-colored at base and paler in upper part; pruinose becoming bald. HABIT and HABITAT cespitose [tufted] to scattered on decayed leaf sheaths of Juncus (rush) and Typha (cat-tail) and decayed stems of Scirpus (club-rush) in wet places. DISTRIBUTION at least BC. MICROSTRUCTURES 10-12.2 x 4-5 um, elongate elliptic to almond-shaped, thin-walled, colorless, amyloid, with a prominent apiculus; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia none, cheilocystidia abundant, 13-23 x 5.5-9.5 um, capitate-pedicellate to clavate, with cylindric knobs at top, the cheilocystidia embedded in a gelatinous matrix. REMARKS M. culmigena (see 514a) might key out here but grows on Carex (sedge) culms and Juncus, and averages smaller, the stem arising from an inconspicuous disc.
506b Growing in needle beds
................................................................................507
507a Cap 1-3cm, pinkish red, usually darker on the disc; growing abundantly under conifers (especially pine) in the fall, above 1000 m. altitude; (pleurocystidia none, cheilocystidia with short rod-like projections on enlarged part)
................................................................................Mycena monticola
| CAP 1-3 cm, hygrophanous, purplish red on the disc and flame red to pinkish red toward the margin, sometimes the disc not darker, cap fading to flesh color; bald, moist, translucent-striate when moist, becoming grooved; flesh brittle. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate, slightly decurrent toothed, 23-28 reaching stem, moderately broad (about 0.3 cm); pale flesh-colored pink, edge colored as sides or whitish. STEM 4-7 x 0.1-0.35 cm, equal; pink all over at first, turning dingy brown from base upwards; sparsely fibrillose, top faintly frosted but soon naked and polished. HABIT and HABITAT restricted to conifer forests above 1000 m. (3300 ft.), particularly those with pine, and usually in gregarious cespitose clusters in duff. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-10 x 4-5 um, elliptic or pointed at one end, inamyloid or weakly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia none, cheilocystidia embedded, 28-35 x 9-12 um, clavate, the enlarged part covered with short rodlike projections. REMARKS M. rosella has marginate gills. M. adonis has abundant pleurocystidia among other differences. M. acicula is smaller with somewhat larger spores and different cystidia. | Mycena monticola Michael Beug |
507b Cap 1-2.5cm, brilliant pinkish red; growing on moss or needle beds or woody debris, spring, summer, fall; (abundant pleurocystidia, smooth cheilocystidia)
................................................................................Mycena adonis
See 503a for description.
507c Cap 2-5(6.5) cm, pink, lilac, purple, or other colors; growing on humus under conifers or hardwoods, spring, summer, fall; (pleurocystidia rare to abundant, cheilocystidia smooth or with a few cylindric projections)
................................................................................Mycena pura
See 513b for description.
508a (504b) Cap bright orange or dull orange
................................................................................509
508b Cap yellow, brick-colored, lavender, purplish, other
................................................................................510
509a Cap orange to buff with a depressed disc
................................................................................Rickenella fibula
Mycena fibula (Fr.) Kühner, Omphalina fibula (Bull.:Fr.) Quél., and Gerronema fibula (Bull.: Fr.) Singer are synonyms.
| CAP (0.3) 0.8-1.2 (1.5) cm, slightly convex, flat or the disc faintly depressed at first, the margin straight or curved in slightly, when old the disc deeply depressed but the margin remaining downcurved; bright orange or ochraceous orange, soon changing to dingy ochraceous or buff, in some collections dull pale brown colors appear from the first; moist when fresh, striate; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS long-decurrent, 17-20 reaching stem, 1 or 2 tiers of subgills, narrowed at extremities but broad in the notch between cap and stem, often interveined; white or whitish. STEM 1-4 x 0.1-0.15 (0.2) cm, equal, fragile; colored as cap and fading in the same manner; finely downy, becoming bald when old. HABITAT on beds of moss. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, ID, common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 4.5-6 x 2-2.5 um, narrowly elliptic, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia scattered to abundant, 36-56 x 6-10 um, subcylindric to subfusoid, the apex tending to be more rounded than pointed, at times subcapitate. REMARKS Rickenella swartzii has different coloring but occurs in the same habitat and is associated with it fairly often (see 703a). Omphalina and Chrysomphalina species may have cap with similar appearance, but Rickenella fibula has long stem, always grows with moss, and has conspicuous pileocystidia and pleurocystidia. | Rickenella fibula Ben Woo |
509b Cap bright orange, disc not depressed
................................................................................Mycena aurantiidisca
| CAP 0.7-2 cm, bright orange becoming more yellowish then yellowish with white edges or whitish overall; bald, moist, striate; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS adnate to slightly hooked, 20-24 reaching stem, narrow to slightly broader in the middle; white gradually tinged with yellow, edges colored as faces. STEM 2-3 cm long and about 0.1 cm wide, equal, straight, fragile; white in upper part, yellowish at base; top of stem faintly pruinose, base is very slightly covered in fine fibers. HABITAT under Douglas-fir and pine, spring and fall, common. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, ID, frequent on field trip lists in BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-8 x 3.5-4 um, elliptic, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia similar, 38-47 x 5-14 um, fusoid with a long narrow neck, smooth in mounts of fresh material, very often having the neck or apex incrusted with an amorphous mass in mounts of revived material. REMARKS Maas Geesteranus calls this Mycena aurantiidiscus, perhaps on the basis that "aurantiidiscus" should be regarded as a noun rather than an adjective, and therefore should not be made to agree with Mycena. Mycena acicula may be orange as it fades but is rarely over 0.7cm across. | Mycena aurantiidisca Michael Beug |
510a (508b) Cap yellow
................................................................................511
510b Cap brick-colored, lavender, purplish, other
................................................................................512
511a Cap tiny, 0.2-1.0 cm wide, bright yellow to orange, growing on individual needles
................................................................................Mycena oregonensis
See 403a for description.
511b Cap 1-2 (2.5) cm wide, creamy buff or clearer yellow, margin almost white, growing on needle beds or on humus
................................................................................Mycena flavoalba
Mycena citrinomarginata might also key to 511 if the gills are not marginate.
CAP 1-2 (2.5) cm, hygrophanous, yellowish buff to clearer yellow at first, the margin paler and almost white, fading to whitish on the disc and yellowish white along the margin (buttons pink in one variation); smooth, bald, translucent-striate; flesh moderately fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS ascending and somewhat uncinate [hooked] or with decurrent tooth, 18-24 reaching stem, 2 tiers of subgills, narrow becoming rather broad (0.25cm becoming 0.3-0.4cm), interveined at times; whitish. STEM 3-8 x 0.1-0.25 cm, equal, not particularly fragile, somewhat elastic, cartilaginous; white to pale yellow; bald, when moist translucent, pruinose toward top, base white-hairy or surrounded by matted white mycelium. HABITAT scattered to densely gregarious on needle beds or humus under oaks. DISTRIBUTION WA, OR, ID, on field trip lists from BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 7-9 x 3-4.5 um, elliptic, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia similar and abundant, 46-62 x 9-14 (18) um, fusoid-ventricose with long rather narrow necks, the neck often incrusted with a mucilaginous substance, otherwise smooth, colorless. REMARKS The description is derived from Smith's. M. adonis might be confused if fading to yellow as Smith describes. Mycena acicula and Mycena aurantiidisca also fade to yellow.
512a (510b) Cap brick-colored
................................................................................Mycena adonis
This describes Mycena roseipallens Murrill, which Maas Geesteranus synonymizes with Mycena adonis (Fr.) Gray.
See 503a for description.
512b Cap lavender, purplish, vinaceous, or other color
................................................................................513
513a Growing only on monocots; cap less than 0.8 cm wide, pinkish, vinaceous, or with purplish tinge
................................................................................514
513b Common under conifers and hardwoods, not growing only on monocots; medium to large, cap 2-4 (6.5) cm wide, color variable: lilac, pink, beige, purple, yellow, gray, blue-gray, pale blue, blue-green with a yellowish center, pale yellow flushed pale bluish or pale violet at margin, whitish tinged purple or blue at center, or white
................................................................................Mycena pura
Mycena subaquosa A.H. Sm. is considered a synonym of Mycena pura forma alba.
lilac Mycena
| CAP 2-5 (6.5) cm, hygrophanous, various shades or mixtures of lilac, pink, beige, purple, yellow, gray, blue-gray, pale blue, blue-green with a yellowish center, pale yellow flushed pale bluish or pale violet at margin, whitish tinged purple or blue at center, or white; striate, more or less grooved. ODOR and TASTE radish-like. GILLS adnate, adnexed; hooked, or short decurrent, close to subdistant, broad, becoming broader in middle, interveined; usually tinged cap-color, but sometimes grayish or white, edges whitish. STEM 4-10 x 0.2-0.7 cm, equal or wider in lower part, tough, straight to curved, round in cross-section to somewhat compressed; whitish to cap-colored or paler; pruinose in upper part, bald further down, the base with whitish fibrils, or stem sometimes somewhat scaly. HABITAT single or in groups or small tufts in humus in woods, spring, summer, fall. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR, ID, MT, CA, common. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6-10 x 3-5 um, narrowly elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; cheilocystidia forming a homogeneous band on gill edge, 35-70 (90) x 7-18 um, fusiform, utriform, clavate, rounded or narrowing at top, occasionally mucronate, short- to long-stemmed, sometimes with a few cylindric projections, pleurocystidia similar, scattered, rare or abundant; caulocystidia 30-300 x 6.5-21.5 um, fusiform, elliptic, smooth. | Mycena pura Michael Beug |
514a Cap 0.1-0.3 cm wide, scattered on Carex (sedge) culms and Juncus (rush), arising from inconspicuous disc
................................................................................Mycena culmigena
Maas Geesteranus synonymizes Mycena juncicola (Fr.) Gillet sensu A.H. Sm. with this species.
CAP 0.1-0.3 cm, grayish vinaceous or with a purple tinge, paler to whitish at the margin; minutely downy, not or little translucent-striate to grooved; flesh fragile. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS broadly adnate to decurrent with a tooth, 8-10 reaching stem, narrow; pale grayish vinaceous, with grayish to whitish edge. STEM 0.3-1.0 x 0.01-0.02 cm, equal, fragile, arising from an inconspicuous flat vinaceous to brownish disc up to 0.1 cm across; stem watery grayish white to grayish vinaceous; pruinose in upper part, bald lower down. HABITAT on decaying sedge leaves and stems and on rushes, along lake, river, and ocean shores. DISTRIBUTION BC, WA, OR. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 9.4-12.1 x 4.6-5.4 um, broadly elliptic to somewhat elongate, weakly amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia absent, cheilocystidia abundant, 22-27 x 8-14.5 um, obpyriform to clavate, fairly evenly covered with cylindric, simple or sometimes branched projections. REMARKS M. pterigena (see 411a) has different habitat and no gelatinous pellicle.
514b Cap 0.2-0.7 cm wide, on decayed leaf sheaths of Juncus (rush) and Typha (cat-tail) and stems of Scirpus (club-rush) in wet places, not arising from disc
................................................................................Mycena tubarioides
See 506a for description.
Introduction These species are often difficult to identify and in most cases a microscope is needed. Usually the right species can be found by checking the size and shape of the spores and the shape of the cheilocystidia (sterile cells on the edges of the gills) and the pleurocystidia (on their faces). In the unabridged key, the cheilocystidia are illustrated diagrammatically in each case in this section.
Smooth spores are assumed in the descriptions unless otherwise stated. The spore ornamentation is diagnostic in Mycenella nodulosa, Gamundia striatula, and Fayodia gracilipes.
Note on species with bleach-like odor The most prominent character of a grayish brown Mycena is sometimes a bleach-like odor, and these Mycenas are common in the Pacific Northwest, especially on wood. In the technical literature, the odor may be described as alkaline or nitrous or of chlorine. Though apparently distinguishable, the odors are close. For instance, Maas Geesteranus gives the odor of M. stipata as "nitrous (also stated to be alcaline or even of chlorine)". In A.H. Smith's scheme, most of these would be Mycena 'alcalina', or Mycena 'leptocephala', but it is not easy to distinguish his concepts of the two, and Maas Geesteranus calls both concepts into question. Some other species may have bleach-like odor at times, especially if weak. (H. delectabilis is a white species with a nitrous odor, and M. capillaripes a marginate one.) It may be possible to confirm microscopically that collections fit the Maas Geesteranus description of Mycena leptocephala (including inflated terminal cells of stem cortex) or another of his species concepts. Other collections may best be designated on identification lists as "Mycena sp." with a description of the odor in parentheses.
701a Gray striate cap 2-5 cm wide, gray stem 4-10 cm long which becomes reddish brown toward base, stem base with coarse whitish hairs, and cespitose (tufted) growth in spring on conifer logs
................................................................................Mycena overholtsii
large Mycena
| CAP 2-5 cm, convex; somewhat hygrophanous, blackish gray-brown, becoming pale gray to pallid; slightly lubricous when moist, bald, somewhat translucent-striate; flesh cartilaginous. ODOR pungent and yeast-like or fungusy. TASTE mild or distinct and strange. GILLS broadly adnate, decurrent with a long line, up to 0.5 cm broad, somewhat broader in middle, interveined; white to pale gray, staining yellow when bruised, edges colored as faces; smooth or ribbed. STEM 4-10 x 0.2-0.6 cm, widening below, round to flattened, more or less curved; pallid in upper part, darker and becoming reddish brown in lower part; smooth, finely hairy in upper part at first, base covered with fairly coarse whitish fibrils which later collapse to form a close fitting silky covering, otherwise bald. HABIT cespitose, forming dense clusters. HABITAT on well decayed conifer logs and stumps in spring and early summer, at altitude near melting snow. DISTRIBUTION WA, CA. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 6.3-7.2 x 3.1-4.4 um, elliptic, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia uncommon, similar to cheilocystidia; cheilocystidia more or less widely scattered, little protruding, 45-(at least)65 x 2-5.5 um, subcylindric to subfusiform, smooth, clamped (but clamps hard to detect). | Mycena overholtsii Michael Beug |
701b Not as above
................................................................................702
702a Grayish brown cap which is often centrally depressed, grayish brown stem, whitish gills, growing on burnt soil and debris
................................................................................Myxomphalia maura
| CAP 1-3.5 (5) cm, convex or centrally depressed with an incurved margin, becoming flat or centrally depressed; dark grayish-brown or olive-brown to blackish-brown, fading to gray or paler; viscid when moist but soon dry, smooth, cap skin separable, margin finely striate at first; flesh pliant, dark watery gray. ODOR mild or farinaceous or fruity. TASTE mild or farinaceous. GILLS adnate to slightly decurrent, close, 3 tiers of subgills, broad, white or grayish but always much paler than cap or stem. STEM 2-6 x 0.2-0.6 cm, cartilaginous, brittle; colored more or less like cap, smooth, top pruinose but soon becoming bald and polished overall. HABIT solitary, scattered or in groups. HABITAT on burned soil and debris, especially under conifers, fall or spring. DISTRIBUTION at least BC, WA, ID. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 4.5-6.5 x 3.5-4.5 um, broadly elliptic to nearly round, smooth or with minute scattered warts, amyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia similar, 30-90 x 6-9 um, subcylindric above an abruptly narrowed pedicel, colorless. | Myxomphalia maura Kit Scates Barnhart |
702b Not as above
................................................................................703
703a Stem dark at top and lighter (pinkish brown to grayish) over lower half, cap 0.6-0.2 cm, violet-brown to violet-gray, the margin pinkish brown and fading, gills long decurrent, growing on moss
................................................................................Rickenella swartzii
Synonyms include Rickenella setipes (Fr.) Raith. and Mycena swartzii (Fr.) A.H. Sm.
| CAP 0.6-1.2 cm, flat when young with margin downcurved, at maturity disc slightly depressed and the margin flat or slightly raised; violet brown to violet gray on disc, the margin paler pinkish brown; moist, striate, at first pruinose, becoming bald; flesh readily splitting radially. ODOR and TASTE mild. GILLS decurrent, 17-20 reaching stem, 1-2 tiers of subgills, narrow near cap margin but broad near stem; whitish. STEM 2-7 x 0.1 cm, cartilaginous, violet brown at top and pinkish brown over lower half; pruinose. HABITAT on beds of moss or occasionally debris, spring, summer, or fall. DISTRIBUTION at least WA, OR, CA, and on field trip lists from BC. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 4-5 x 2-2.5 um, narrowly elliptic, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia scattered to abundant, 42-66 x 10-18 um, colorless, thin-walled, ventricose-subcapitate. REMARKS Rickenella fibula (see 509a) is normally bright orange or ochraceous orange, soon changing to dingy ochraceous or buff, but according to Smith, in some collections dull pale colors appear from the first. | Rickenella swartzii Sharon Godkin |
703b Not as above
................................................................................not included Unabridged Version
acidulous - slightly acid
acuminate - gradually narrowing to a point
adnate - referring to gills, attached to the stem without a notch, and usually implies broad attachment, the lower edge of the gill being attached at the line at which a straight gill edge would intersect the stem: if attached above this line it would be adnexed or notched, if attached below this line it would be decurrent; if ascending adnate, gills attach at much less than a right angle, appearing to curve upward toward stem; if horizontal adnate, gills attach at about a right angle; if depressed adnate, a portion of the gill is lower than the outer edge; if broadly adnate, they are attached to the stem along their entire height
adnexed - refers to gills that are narrowly attached to the stem: the gill edge curves gradually upward along the inner half of the gill and is attached to the stem by a narrow upper portion of the gill
alkaline - of odor, smelling like bleach
almond-shaped - of spores, with top end broader than base (where hilar appendage located), thus like an almond
amorphous - shapeless, formless, often in reference to incrusting materials on hyphae
ampullaceous - flask-shaped
ampulliform - of cystidia, flask-shaped: lower and middle parts swollen, upper part narrowed into a long extension
amyloid - staining bluish to gray to black in Melzer's reagent
anastomosing - forming a network, connecting by cross-veins
annulus - ring or collar of tissue on stem formed by ruptured of the veil that initially joins the stem to the cap edge
apex (pl. apices) - top, highest part
apical - near top
apiculus - nipple-like projection on basidiospore which corresponds to the area that was attached to the basidium where the spore develops
appressed - flattened down
arched - forming an arch, curved or arc-like; of gills, means that the middle of the lower edge of the gill is higher than a line drawn between the ends of its edges, often referred to as "arcuate"
ascending - refers to gills that curve upwards from the margin of the cap to the attachment at the stem, as in conic or unexpanded cap
astringent - causing a contraction or pucker of the mouth membranes
avellaneous - dull grayish brown, hazel-brown, or light gray yellow brown, or closer to drab, or gray tinged with pink, in Ridgway 1912 closer to pinkish buff, with a slight orange tint but without gray
bald - no warts or hairs, or raised scales, fibers or patches, same as glabrous and as used here equivalent to naked, some authors include pruinose surfaces and some exclude them
basal - near the base
bell-shaped - in the shape of a bell (like the Liberty bell), with rounded top and flaring lower edges, same as campanulate
bloom - minutely velvety or powdery surface
brittle - breaking easily, rigid and breaking with a snap; of stem, forming a sharp non-fibrous edge when broken
broad - when used of gills, refers to the height (depth) of the gill, which may be narrow, moderately broad or broad
button - young fruiting body before it has opened up
capitate - with a head or cap, abruptly enlarged at top
cartilaginous - of tissue, tough, like cartilage, not fibrous; of stems: firm, tough and pliant (flexible), sometimes used even of fragile stems and implying brittle, not pliant
caulocystidium (pl. caulocystidia) - cystidia occurring on surface of stem, see also cystidium for details
cespitose - growing in tufts or close clusters from a common base, but not grown together
cheilocystidium (plural cheilocystidia) - sterile cell occurring on margin (edge) of gill, see also cystidium for details
clamp - same as clamp connection
clamp connection - small tubular elbow-like bypass across the walls between fungal cells, used to distinguish genera and species, functionally providing a bypass for one of two nuclei to insure their equal distribution in new cells
clamped - with clamp connections
clavate - like a caveman's club; when used of stems, implies base is thicker and stem tapers upward; when used of cystidia, implies part that extends outward beyond the hymenium is thicker, same as club-shaped
clay-color - colored as clay, resembling dull ochraceous-cinnamon-brown, but sometimes apparently used to indicate the color of gray clay
close - of gill spacing, nearly touching but with visible space between, intermediate between crowded and distant, the order being crowded, (subcrowded), (subclose), close, subdistant, distant
club-shaped - like a caveman's club; when used of stems, implies base is thicker and stem tapers upward; when used of cystidia, implies part that extends outward beyond the hymenium is thicker, same as clavate
collybioid - resembling in general form a mushroom of the genus Collybia, typically with expanded caps (convex to broadly convex to flat) often with downcurved to incurved margin, cartilaginous or brittle stems not more than two or three times in length the diameter of the caps, without annulus (ring)
compressed - of a stem, elliptical to flattened in cross section
convex - regularly rounded, domed, like an inverted bowl
coralloid - like branching coral
cortex - a dense outer covering
cortical - pertaining to cortex
crowded - of gill spacing, very close, touching or with almost no space between, the order being crowded, (subcrowded), (subclose), close, subdistant, distant
cuticle - the skin or surface layer of cells, of cap or stem in this case; same as pellis, and thought by some to be incorrectly used in this situation as it refers in botany to the waxy surface of certain leaves
cylindric - of the same diameter throughout its length; of stem, terete (not compressed); of spores, according to one set of criteria ratio of length to width over 2: less would be elliptic or oblong
cystidium (pl. cystidia) - a sterile cell frequently of distinctive shape, at any surface of a fruiting body: pileocystidium (cap), pleurocystidium (gill face), cheilocystidium (gill edge), caulocystidium (stem); often further described by shape: aciculate (needle-shaped), aculeate (spine-shaped, with a slightly wider base than aciculate and tapered evenly), ampulliform (flask-shaped, lower and middle parts swollen, upper part narrowed into a long extension: ventricose-rostrate would have narrower beak), capitate (with a head), clavate (club-shaped, with top somewhat enlarged), cylindric (with uniform width but wider than filamentous), filamentous (thread-like, long and thin), fusoid (spindle-shaped, narrowing evenly to both ends), furcate (forking), lageniform (gourd-shaped, with swollen base, and middle and top tapered into a long beak), globose (spherical or nearly so), lanceolate (lance-shaped, slightly swollen at or near middle and tapered at both ends), lecythiform (bowling pin shape, wider in middle, with middle tapering upwards into a narrow neck and top swollen into a smaller head), napiform (turnip-shaped), obpyriform (pear-shaped, with the narrower part below), pedicellate (with a stem), pyriform (pear-shaped, usually with narrower part below, so more properly obpyriform), rostrate (with a beak-like extension at top), saccate (like a sac, similar to vesiculate), subulate (awl-shaped, swollen from base to middle then tapering to a point), tibiiform (like a tibia, with a cylindric or slightly ventricose body and swollen head), torulose (cylindric with swellings at intervals), turbinate (top-shaped, wide at top, with narrowing from middle to base), urticoid (with a swollen base and a long gradually narrowed apex), utriform (bladder-shaped, with a small constricted area below a large round body), ventricose (wider in middle), vesiculate or vesiculose (bladder-shaped, whole cystidium inflated like a large sac), Largent et al. used here as source
deciduous - in this context referring to trees that seasonally shed their leaves, and equivalent to hardwood
decurrent - refers to gills that run down stem, the attachment at stem being wider than the average height of gill
decurrent tooth - refers to gills with a lower edge that abruptly curves down near stem to leave a short "tooth" on stem that falls below the imaginary line running straight along the lower gill edge to the stem
dendroid - irregularly branched, tree-like in form
depressed - of cap, having the middle lower than the edge; of gills, sinuate; depressed adnate refers to an adnate gill with a portion of the gill lower than its outer edge
differentiated - developed so as to be different from surrounding cells; of cystidia, distinguishable from surrounding cells
disc - center of the cap, or sometimes referring to disc-shaped attachment of stem base to substrate
distant - of gill spacing, meaning the gills are spaced far apart, the order being crowded, (subcrowded), (subclose), close, subdistant, distant
drab - a dull medium or brownish gray, dark gray with shades of yellow; gray with violet overtones; in Ridgway 1912, a gray-brown
dry - surface not sticky or slimy or hygrophanous, feeling as if there is no moisture on surface
duff - decaying vegetable matter on the ground in a forest
echinate - having sharply pointed spines, like a sea-urchin
echinulate - having small or slender sharply pointed spines
elastic - springing back to its original shape
ellipsoid - like an oblong sphere, often referring to the three dimensional shape of a spore or cystidium
elliptic - like an oblong circle, often referring to the outline (as opposed to the three dimensional shape) of a spore, according to one set of criteria, ratio of length to width is 1.15-1.60
elongate - of spores, same as oblong, at least according to one definition (ratio of length to width is 1.6-2: shorter would be elliptic and longer cylindric)
emarginate - of gills, with a notch near stem, Largent & Baroni equate it with abruptly adnexed, but Ainsworth's Dictionary of the Fungi appears to equate it to sinuate (notched at the proximal end at junction with stem), and Hansen illustrates it as a deeper notch of the sinuate type, Lawrence Leonard wrote an excellent article in McIlvainea 14 (2): 15-26 outlining the ambiguities in the use of this term
equal - of a stem, the same diameter throughout its length, cylindric; of gill, broad (high) to same extent throughout length or alike in length
eroded - of the margins of cap or gills, developing irregular jagged edges as a result of deterioration, irregularly broken
even - of gill edges, means not toothed, eroded, fringed etc.
face - of gills, the side as opposed to the edge (margin)
farinaceous - of odor, with the smell of fresh ground meal from whole grain, especially wheat, same as mealy; of texture, mealy, with a loose powdery appearance
fibrillose - composed of delicate fibers which are long and evenly arranged on the surface
filamentous - long and thin or thread-like
filiform - threadlike, long and slender
flaccid - not firm, flabby
fleeting - quickly disappearing, used here as equivalent to evanescent or fugacious
flexuous - of the stem, or of cystidia, curving alternately in opposite directions
flocculose - with fine, easily removed cottony or woolly tufts; finely woolly or cottony
form - a consistent appearing variation of a species, with less variation than a variety, often not sufficiently hereditary as to characterize homogeneous populations
forma (abbreviated f.) - see form
free - refers to gills that are not attached to stem
fulvous - fox-colored, deep orange to reddish orange, reddish cinnamon brown
furfuraceous - scurfy, surface covered with bran-like particles resembling scales, coarser than granular
fuscous - color of a very dark storm cloud: variously described as combinations of gray, brown, purple, or black
fusiform - spindle-shaped, fairly slender and narrowing more or less evenly from middle to both ends
fusoid - somewhat spindle-shaped, almost spindle-shaped or fusiform
gelatinize - become gelatinous
gelatinous - jelly-like in consistency or appearance; applied to tissue whose hyphae become partially dissolved and glutinous in wet weather and when mounted in water under the microscope appear more transparent and wider, loosening from one another
glaucous - sea-gray; sea-blue-green; of cap, covered with white bloom, easily rubbed off
globose - spherical or nearly spherical
gluten - the dissolved gelatinous hyphae of certain tissues
glutinous - slimy, having a highly viscid gelatinous layer, more than viscid
greasy - slippery or oily but not viscid (sticky) or slimy, same as lubricous
gregarious - growing in close groups but not tufted or clustered
habit - the general external and characteristic appearance of mushrooms, and manner in which they are found growing
hardwood - any tree that is not a conifer
hazel - light to moderate yellowish brown; the color of the shell of the ripe hazelnut
herbaceous - said of those flowering plants that die annually at least down to the roots (i.e. non-woody flowering plants)
herbarium - a collection of dried plants or fungi arranged systematically
heterogeneous - composed of unlike tissues; composed of more than one cell type
hoary - covered with dense silky down; canescent; with a silvery sheen as if covered with frost
homogeneous - composed of like tissues; composed of one cell type
hooked - of gill attachment, same as uncinate
horizontal - of gills, attached in straight line perpendicular to stem
humus - decaying organic material in or on soil
hygrophanous - cap surface changing color markedly as it dries, usually having a water-soaked appearance when wet and turning a lighter opaque color on drying
hymenium - fertile area of fruiting body where spores are produced (in gilled mushrooms the surface of the gills), or the surface cell layer that produces the spores
hypha (pl. hyphae) - threadlike fungal cell
inamyloid - remaining clear or becoming yellow in Melzer's reagent, not amyloid or dextrinoid, same as nonamyloid
incarnate - flesh-colored
incrusted - covered with a thin, hard crust; of hyphae, with matter located on their outer wall; of cystidia, covered with crystalline or amorphous deposit, particularly at the top
inflated - enlarged in some part; of a cell, enlarged at either the tip, middle or base
innate - usually of fibrils or scales, meaning that they are not raised from the surface or readily removed from it
inserted - of stem, devoid or any fibrils or hyphae at point of attachment to substrate
interveined - of gills, connected by "veins" (ridges) that run between gills
iodoform - with odor of iodine
KOH - potassium hydroxide, an agent commonly used to revive dried mushroom material, or show chemical reactions on the surface of the mushroom, or chemical reactions under the microscope
lageniform - of cystidia, gourd-shaped, with swollen base, and middle and top tapered into a long beak
lanceolate - like a lance, many times longer than broad, and tapering; of cystidia, slightly swollen at or near middle and tapered at both ends
lubricous - greasy or slippery or oily but not viscid (sticky) or slimy
marasmioid - resembling the genus Marasmius
margin - of gills, refers to the edges; of cap, refers to the area of the cap near the edge or the upper surface near the edge
marginate - having a distinct margin: of gill, the edge having a different color (usually darker rather than paler)
membranous - like a membrane or skin-like or somewhat like Kleenex
micaceous - like flecks of mica
mixed - referring to forests containing both conifer and broadleaved trees
monocot - short for monocotyledon, flowering plant with single cotyledon, including grasses, sedges, rushes, lilies, and many other groups
mucronate - pointed, tipped with an abrupt, short point from a flatter surface
mycenoid - resembling a mushroom of the genus Mycena: mushrooms with slender cartilaginous or fragile stems (no ring or volva), and comparatively small conic to bellshaped caps with attached but usually not decurrent gills. Almost all of the species in the key have been included in the genus Mycena by at least one authority.
narrow - of gills, the opposite of broad, refers to the height of the gill, which may be narrow, moderately broad or broad
nitrous - of odor, like nitric acid, similar to alkaline bleach-like odor
notched - refers to gills that are uncinate or sinuate, as if a wedge of gill had been removed near the stem: if the line of the bottom edge of the gill curves down sharply, gills are uncinate, if it curves gradually toward the stem reaching it more or less horizontally, gills are sinuate
obovoid - ovoid with the larger end in the opposite direction to the usual
obpyriform - pear-shaped in the opposite direction to the usual one; of cystidia, pear-shaped with the narrower part below
obtuse - blunt, not pointed; greater than a right angle
oleocystidium - cystidium having an oily resinous exudate
omphalinoid - of general form of the genus Omphalina, with broadly convex to depressed cap, decurrent or subdecurrent gills, cartilaginous stem, and no ring or volva; or loosely applied to indicate agarics with decurrent gills and small fruitbodies (clitocyboid referring to those with large fruitbodies)
opaque - not transparent or translucent, often used of cap margin where gills do not show through as striations
oval - like the outline of an egg
ovate - similar to oval but some regard as more pointed at the narrower end
ovoid - shaped like an egg, same as oval, but usually implying 3-dimensional shape
palisade - a parallel and close arrangement
pallid - very pale in color, almost a dull whitish
papilla (pl. papillae) - a small nipple-like protuberance
papillate - with papilla or papillae on surface
parabolic - of cap, with the height greater than the width, the top rounded with an outline shaped like a mathematical parabola
pedicel - of cystidia, a slender stalk
pedicellate - with a pedicel
pellicle - an upper surface layer on cap surface that can undergo gelatinization, making the cap viscid (sticky) to the touch; often it can be peeled away from the cap, may be thought of as covering cuticle; same as cuticle or as thinner and more definite
pellis - surface layer of cells, same as "cuticle"
pileipellis - the outer cellular layer of the cap (pileus), excluding veils, used in microscopic descriptions: it may be undifferentiated from the underlying tissue, or arranged parallel to surface (cutis) or arranged perpendicularly to surface (derm), also know as cap cuticle
pileocystidium (pl. pileocystidia) - sterile cell on cap surface, same as pilocystidium, see also cystidium for details
pip-shaped - (of spores), shaped like an apple seed; sometimes used to describe spores (with a smooth spot above a hilar appendage at one end) that would be described as elliptic by other authors
pleurocystidium - cystidium on face of gill, see also cystidium for details
pliant - being pliable without breaking, flexible, not rigid or firm
polymorphic - with many forms or shapes
powdery - looking finely powdered or very finely granular, used here as equivalent to pruinose
projection - here used to indicate the appendages on cystidia also referred to as protuberances, diverticula, excrescences, etc.
pruinose - looking finely powdered or finely granular or hoary or with a bloom
pseudoparenchymatous - indicating thick tissue formed by hyphae becoming twisted and fixed together, in which the hyphal elements are not seen to be hyphae
pseudorhiza - a long rootlike extension of the lower stem
pubescence - a covering of soft short downy hairs
pubescent - covered with soft short downy hairs, but "downy" may differ by having slightly larger hairs
punctate - marked with dots consisting of hollows, depressions, spots, raised-joined scales, or agglutinated fibrils, all very small
refractive - of hyphal or cystidial contents, light-deflecting
repent - of hyphae, prostrate, lying flat
resinous - of consistency or appearance or taste, like resin, as if impregnated with resin
rimose - cracked, referring to surface of cap or stem
rostrate - with a beak-like extension
saccate - of a cystidium, like a sac, the whole cystidium inflated like a large sac
scabrous - roughened by short projecting rigid scales
seceding - refers to gills that have separated in their attachment to the stem and have the appearance of being free, often leaving longitudinal lines on the stem where the gills were once connected
senescent - old or becoming old
sensu - in the sense of, referring to a particular author's concept of a species
septum (pl. septa) - cross-wall in hyphae
septate - partitioned with cross-walls
seta (pl. setae) - pointed, elongated, thick-walled sterile cell
setiform - with the shape of a seta, usually implying thick-walled as well
sinuate - of gill attachment, refers to gills with a lower edge that curves up close to the stem then curves back to reach the stem more or less horizontally
slimy - having a thick layer of slime, more than viscid or glutinous
solid - not hollow; feeling hard
spermatic - resembling the odor of human sperm or semen
spheropedunculate - somewhat spherical with a stem
spindle-shaped - fairly slender and narrowing more or less evenly from middle to both ends, equivalent to fusoid or fusiform
stature - characteristic shape
sterile - not producing spores
strangulate - constricted
stria (pl. striae) - lines or fine grooves which may be parallel or radiating
strigose - having long stiff hairs
sub - (prefix) - near, nearly, more or less, somewhat, slightly; below or under; subdivision of
subcapitate - with a less obvious head than capitate
subdistant - of gill spacing, intermediate between close and distant, the order being crowded, (subcrowded), (subclose), close, subdistant, distant
subgill - the short gill that does not span the entire distance from margin to stem, the same as lamellula
subglobose - of spores, nearly spherical or round; according to one set of criteria ratio of length to width 1.05-1.15
subhymenium - a differentiated tissue just beneath the hymenium
substratum - substrate, the material that a fungus is growing on
subulate - awl-shaped (subula = awl); of cystidia, awl-shaped, swollen from base to middle then tapering to a point
subviscid - slightly sticky, thinly viscid
sulcate - grooved, furrowed
tawny - approximately the color of a lion, between yellow brown and rusty brown; used by some as more orange, fox-colored, equivalent to fulvous
tenacious - tough; holding on tight
thick - term used for width of stem, depth of cap flesh, or the distance between the faces of one gill
thin - term used for width of stem, depth of cap flesh, or the distance between the faces of one gill
tibiiform - of cystidia, like a tibia, with a cylindric or slightly ventricose body and swollen head
tier - in reference to subgills, group of subgills, interspersed with gills usually at regular intervals, each tier being of roughly a certain length
tomentose - covered with soft hairs, often soft densely matted hairs, like a woollen blanket
tomentum - a covering of densely matted woolly hairs
toothed - serrate on the edges; toothlike on the edges; of gills, with toothlike edges or decurrent by a short tooth
trama - the tissue under the surface cell layers of cap, stem, or gills, usually referring to the flesh (context) as seen through the compound microscope
translucent-striate - refers to a cap that allows some light to pass through and which, as a result, shows the gills as darker radiating lines in the translucent area of the cap's surface
troops - hundreds of fruiting bodies growing within a few square yards
tufted - as used here, the same as cespitose
turf - a structure consisting of hair-like elements projecting perpendicularly from a surface
type - the element on which the descriptive matter fulfilling the conditions of valid publication of a scientific name is based; in the case of mushroom species, the collection of fruiting bodies from which the original concept of the taxonomic group (e.g. family, genus, species, variety, etc.) is derived
um - micrometer, 1/1000,1000 of a meter, same as micron, the 'u' often replaced by the Greek letter mu.
umbilicate - refers to a cap with a narrow, moderate to deep depression in center which may or may not have a small umbo in the bottom
umbo - a raised knob or mound at the center of the cap
umbonate - having a raised knob or mound at the center of the cap
uncinate - refers to gills with a lower edge that curves up as it comes close to the stem, then abruptly curved down to leave a "tooth" on stem, not proceeding further down stem than the imaginary line running straight along the lower gill edge to the stem, but sometimes used as equivalent to "decurrent with tooth"
undulate - wavy
utriform - of cystidia, bladder-shaped, with a small constricted area below a large round body
variety (abbreviated var. or v.) - a consistent appearing variation of a species, with more variation than a form, sufficiently hereditary as to characterize homogeneous populations
ventricose - wider in the middle
verrucose - with warts; or with outgrowths smaller than if warted but larger than if verruculose
vesiculose - of cystidia, with entire cell swollen or appearing inflated like a large sac or bladder (vesicle), with only the base abruptly tapered, same as vesiculate
vinaceous - the color of red wine or red wine stains; a paler or grayish red; dull pinkish brown to dull grayish purple
viscid - sticky but not slimy or lubricous: the mushroom usually feels somewhat slimy or slippery when wet but when dry may need to be wetted slightly to feel sticky; sometimes used to include slimy
| GENUS AND SPECIES | KEY ENTRIES |
| CHROMOSERA Redhead, Ammirati, & Norvell | |
| C. cyanophylla (Fr.) Redhead, Ammirati, & Norvell | 206a |
| = Omphalina cyanophylla (Fr.) Quél. | |
| = Mycena lilacifolia (Peck) A.H. Sm. | |
| = Clitocybe lilacifolia Singer | |
| HYDROPUS Kühner ex Singer | |
| H. marginellus (Pers. ex Fr.) Singer | 104a, 406b |
| = Mycena marginella (Fr.) Quél. | |
| MYCENA (Pers.) Roussel | |
| M. acicula (Fr.) Quél. | 406a, 503a, 503b, 507a, 509b, 511b |
| M. adonis (Fr.) Gray | 406a, 503a, 503b, 507a, 507b, 511b, 512a |
| = Mycena amabilissima (Peck) Sacc. | |
| = Mycena roseipallens Murrill | |
| = Mycena roseocandida (Peck) Sacc. | |
| = Mycena fusipes Murrill | |
| M. adscendens (Lasch) Maas Geest. | 304a |
| = Mycena tenerrima (Berk.) Quél. | |
| M. alphitophora (Berk.) Sacc. | 304b |
| = Mycena osmundicola Lange | |
| M. amabilissima (Peck) Sacc. - see Mycena adonis | |
| M. amicta (Fr.) Quél. | 501a |
| M. atroalboides (Peck) Sacc. | 105a |
| M. aurantiidisca Murrill | 406a, 509b, 511b |
| M. aurantiomarginata (Fr.) Quél. | 401a, 405a |
| M. bulbosa (Cejp) Kühner | 305a |
| M. californiensis (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Sacc. | 103b, 415b |
| = Mycena elegantula Peck | |
| M. capillaripes Peck | 407a, 409a, 410b, 413a, 413b |
| M. chloranthoides Maas Geest. | 405a |
| = Mycena elegans (Fr.) Quél. sensu A.H. Sm. | |
| M. citrinomarginata Gillet | 404a, 405b, 511b |
| = Mycena olivaceobrunnea A.H. Sm. | |
| M. clavicularis (Fr.) Gillet | 203b, 215a |
| M. culmigena Maas Geest. | 506a, 514a |
| = Mycena juncicola (Fr.) Gillet sensu A.H. Sm. | |
| M. 'elegantula' Peck sensu A.H. Sm. | 407a, 415b |
| M. elegantula Peck - see Mycena californiensis | |
| M. elegans (Fr.) Quél. sensu A.H. Sm. - see Mycena chloranthoides | |
| M. elegans (Fr.) Pers. - see Mycena aurantiomarginata | |
| M. epipterygia var. 'epipterygioides' (Pearson) Kuhn. sensu A.H. Sm. | 210a |
| = Mycena 'epipterygioides' Pearson sensu A.H. Sm. | |
| M. epipterygia var. 'cascadensis' A.H. Sm. | 207b |
| M. epipterygia (Fr.) Gray var. epipterygia | 208a, 209b, 210b, 211a, 212b |
| = Mycena viscosa var. iodiolens A.H. Sm. | |
| M. epipterygia var. griseoviridis (A.H. Sm.) Maas Geest. | 207b, 212a |
| = Mycena griseoviridis A.H. Sm. | |
| M. epipterygia var. lignicola A.H. Sm. | 207a, 211a |
| M. epipterygia var. 'viscosa' (Maire) Ricken sensu A.H. Sm. | 212b |
| = Mycena viscosa (Sec.) Maire sensu A.H. Sm. | |
| M. 'epipterygioides' Pearson ss. A.H. Sm. - see M. epipterygia v. 'epipterygioides' | |
| M. fibula (Fr.) Kühner - see Rickenella fibula | |
| M. flavoalba (Fr.) Quél. | 503a, 511b |
| M. fuliginella A.H. Sm. | 105b |
| M. fusco-ocula A.H. Sm. - see Mycena galopus | |
| M. fusipes Murrill - see Mycena adonis | |
| M. galopus (Pers.:Fr.) P. Kumm. | 101a |
| = Mycena fusco-ocula A.H. Sm. | |
| M. gaultheri A.H. Sm. | 302a |
| M. haematopus (Pers.: Fr.) P. Kumm. | 103a, 406b |
| = Mycena hematopoda (Fr.) Quél. | |
| M. insignis A.H. Sm. | 203a |
| M. juncicola (Fr.) Gillet sensu A.H. Sm. - see M. culmigena | |
| M. laevigata (Lasch) Quél. sensu A.H. Sm. | 206b |
| M. lilacifolia (Peck) A.H. Sm. - See Chromosera cyanophylla | |
| M. longiseta Höhn. | 301a |
| M. marginella (Fr.) Quél. - see Hydropus marginellus | |
| M. maura Kühner - see Myxomphalia maura | |
| M. melleidisca Murrill - see M. vulgaris | |
| M. militaris sensu A.H. Sm. - see Mycena vulgaris | |
| M. monticola A.H. Sm. | 406a, 503a, 503b, 503c, 507a |
| M. odorifera (Peck) Sacc. | 214b |
| M. olivaceobrunnea A.H. Sm. - see Mycena citrinomarginata | |
| M. oregonensis A.H. Sm. | 403a, 511a |
| M. osmundicola Lange - see Mycena alphitophora | |
| M. overholtsii A.H. Sm. & Solheim | 701a |
| M. pelianthina (Fr.) Quél. | 407a, 410a, 410b |
| M. plicosa sensu A.H. Sm. - see Mycena atroalboides | |
| M. pterigena (Fr.: Fr.) P. Kumm. | 411a, 505a, 514a |
| M. pura (Pers.:Fr.) P. Kumm. | 507c, 513b |
| = Mycena subaquosa A.H. Sm. | |
| M. purpureofusca (Peck) Sacc. | 414a |
| M. quinaultensis Kauffman apud A.H. Sm. | 215a |
| M. rorida (Fr.) Quél. - see Roridomyces roridus | |
| M. rosella (Fr.) Quél. | 406a, 407a, 413a, 503a, 506a |
| M. roseipallens Murrill - see Mycena adonis | |
| M. roseocandida (Peck) Sacc. - see Mycena adonis | |
| M. rubromarginata (Fr.) Quél. | 411b, 415a |
| M. rutilantiformis Murrill | 410a, 410b |
| M. sanguinolenta (Fr.) Quél. | 103b, 406b, 415a, 415b |
| = Mycena subsanguinolenta A.H. Sm. | |
| M. strobilinoides Peck | 406a, 503b |
| M. stylobates (Fr.) Quél. | 305b |
| M. subaquosa A.H. Sm. - see Mycena pura | |
| M. subplicosa sensu A.H. Sm. - see Mycena atroalboides | |
| M. subsanguinolenta A.H. Sm. - see Mycena sanguinolenta | |
| M. swartzii (Fr.) A.H. Sm. - see Rickenella swartzii | |
| M. tenax A.H. Sm. | 214a |
| M. tenerrima (Berk.) Quél. - see Mycena adscendens | |
| M. tubarioides (Maire) Kühner | 506a, 514b |
| M. vestita Velen. - see Mycena amicta | |
| M. 'viridimarginata' Karsten sensu A.H. Sm. | 411b, 415a |
| M. viscosa var. iodiolens A.H. Sm. - see Mycena epipterygia | |
| M. vulgaris (Fr.) Quél. | 214a, 215b |
| = Mycena melleidisca Murrill | |
| = Mycena militaris Karsten sensu A.H. Sm. | |
| MYXOMPHALIA Hora | |
| M. maura (Fr.) Hora | 214a, 702a |
| = Mycena maura Kühner | |
| RICKENELLA Raithelh. | |
| R. fibula (Bull. ex Fr.) Raithelh. | 509a, 703a |
| = Mycena fibula (Fr.) Kühner | |
| = Omphalina fibula (Bull.: Fr.) Quél. | |
| = Gerronema fibula (Bull.: Fr.) Singer | |
| R. setipes (Fr.) Raithelh. - see R. swartzii | |
| R. swartzii (Fr.) Kuyper | 509a, 703a |
| = Rickenella setipes (Fr.) Raithelh. | |
| = Mycena swartzii (Fr.) A.H. Sm. | |
| = Omphalina setipes (Bull.: Fr.) Quél. | |
| = Gerronema setipes (Fr.: Fr.) Singer | |
| RORIDOMYCES Rexer | |
| R. roridus (Scop.) Rexer | 202a, 214b |
| = Mycena rorida (Fr.) Quél |
- END -