Pacific Northwest species of Phaeocollybia, revised 2010
Species	(Norvell & Exeter 2008 page reference)
Phaeocollybia ammiratii Norvell 2000 	 45
Phaeocollybia attenuata (A.H. Sm.) Singer 1951 	 51
Phaeocollybia benzokauffmanii Norvell 2000 	 57
Phaeocollybia californica A.H. Sm. 1957 	 63
Phaeocollybia dissiliens A.H. Sm. & Trappe 1972 	 71
Phaeocollybia fallax A.H. Sm. 1957 	 77
Phaeocollybia gregaria A.H. Sm. & Trappe 1972 	 85
Phaeocollybia kauffmanii (A.H. Sm.) Singer 1940 	 91
Phaeocollybia lilacifolia A.H. Sm. 1957 	 99
Phaeocollybia luteosquamulosa Norvell 2000 	 107
Phaeocollybia ochraceocana Norvell & Exeter 2007 	 113
Phaeocollybia olivacea A.H. Sm. 1957 	 119
Phaeocollybia oregonensis A.H. Sm. & Trappe 1972 	 125
Phaeocollybia phaeogaleroides Norvell 2002 	 131
Phaeocollybia piceae A.H. Sm. & Trappe 1972 	 137
Phaeocollybia pleurocystidiata Norvell & Redhead 2000 	 143
Phaeocollybia pseudofestiva A.H. Sm. 1957 	 149
Phaeocollybia radicata (Murrill) Singer 1951 	 155
Phaeocollybia redheadii Norvell 2000 	 161
Phaeocollybia rifflipes Norvell 2002 	 169
Phaeocollybia scatesiae A.H. Sm. & Trappe 1972 	 181
Phaeocollybia sipei A.H. Sm. 1957 	 187
Phaeocollybia spadicea A.H. Sm. 1957 	 193
Synonyms and misapplications
Naucoria attenuata Smith 1937 	 see P. attenuata
Naucoria festiva sensu Smith (1937) 	 see P. fallax
Naucoria kauffmanii Smith 1937 	 see P. kauffmanii
Naucoria lugubris sensu Smith (1937) 	 see P. spadicea
Phaeocollybia carmanahensis Redhead & Norvell 1993 	 see P. oregonensis
Phaeocollybia rufotubulina Norvell 2004 (Norvell & Exeter 2008*, p. 175) 	 see P. californica
Phaeocollybia similis sensu Smith (1957b), Smith & Trappe (1972) 	see P. attenuata
Phaeocollybia tibiikauffmanii Norvell 2004 (Norvell & Exeter 2008*, p. 199) 	 see P. spadicea
Excluded species
Phaeocollybia perplexa Orton 1960
See Stagnicola perplexa (Orton) Redhead & A.H. Sm. 1986
Phaeocollybia deceptiva A.H. Sm. & Trappe 1972
Not a phaeocollybia; believed to represent an unknown species of Cortinarius (see also Norvell 1998a, Norvell & Exeter 2007)

Key to the Phaeocollybia species of Pacific Northwest North America
Note — I have adapted our published key to reflect DNA sequence data received after it was too late to send in major text revisions for Norvell & Exeter (2008), then in press. Although we indicated the problems with P. rufotubulina and P. tibiikauffmanii in the key and the species treatments, the published key retained both species. Subsequent DNA sequence analyses suggest there are at least four new species, which we hope to name in the near future. — Lorelei Norvell
1a.	Fruitbody small; stipe apex usually ≤ 4 mm across, never drab apically; 
cap usually ≤ 50 mm broad, orange, tawny, or yellow-brown, but never green or drab 	 2
1b.	Fruitbody medium to large; stipe apex usually > 5 mm across, color varied; 
cap usually ≥ 50 mm broad, varied in color, including green or drab 	 5
2a.(1)	Basidiospores ellipsoid, minutely punctate ornamentation and slightly pointed apical callus 
visible under high power oil immersion; clamp connections present 	 3
2b.	Basidiospores limoniform, verrucose to warty ornamentation and protruding apical beak 
visible without oil immersion lens; clamp connections absent	 4
3a.(2) 	Spores small, ~5.8 × 3.2 µm; cheilocystidia thick-walled, tibiiform with narrow necks, 
abundant but inconspicuous and difficult to see; fruitbody collybioid with stipe pliable, 
not easily broken; phenology autumnal (October–December) 	 P. radicata
3b.	Spores large, ~10.3 × 6 µm; cheilocystidia thin-walled, narrowly clavate, extending well 
beyond hymenium; fruitbody mycenoid with stipe fragile and easily broken; 
phenology vernal (April–May) or autumnal (October–December) 	 P. phaeogaleroides
4a.(2)	Stipe and pseudorhiza fleshy, not shiny or brittle; cheilocystidia thick-walled, tibiiform; 
pleurocystidia similar, frequent on gill faces; spores tapering to straight beaks, ~9.2 × 6 µm; 
phenology vernal (February–May) 	 P. pleurocystidiata
4b. 	Stipe polished, corneous; pseudorhiza brittle and wire-like (criniform); cheilocystidia thin-walled, clavate; pleurocystidia absent; spores big-bellied with abrupt tilted beaks, ~9 × 5.75 µm; 
phenology late autumn and winter (October–January) 	 P. attenuata
5a.(1)	Young cap green, often aging brownish olive or brown; spores limoniform 	 6
5b.	Young cap ochre, orange, tawny, brownish, or drab (never green); spore shape varied 	 8
6a.(5)	Young gills violet; spores moderately beaked, in face view fusoid or naviculate, verrucose to marbled, 
~9 × 5.3 µm; cheilocystidia thin-walled, clavate with swollen to subcapitate heads, rarely forming 
filiform apical outgrowths	 P. fallax
6b.	Young gills creamy to yellowish buff; spores with pronounced beaks, +/- ovate in face view, 
heavily rugulose warty roughened, size varied; cheilocystidia varied, 	 7
7a.(6)	Spores ~8 × 5 µm, with long, projecting beaks; cheilocystidia thick-walled, tibiiform with 
narrow refractive necks 	 P. pseudofestiva
7b.	Spores ~10 × 6 µm, ‘turtle-backed’ with abruptly protruding eccentric refractive beaks; cheilocystidia 
thin-walled, clavate, in age often with apical filiform outgrowths 	 P. olivacea
8a.(5)	Spores ellipsoid or limoniform, length |x| = < 7.5 µm; cheilocystidia uniformly thin-walled	 9
8b.	Spores limoniform, length |x| = > 7.5 µm; cheilocystidia walls thin or thick 	 13
9a.(8)	Spores limoniform, marbled to verrucose; clamps absent; pileipellis 2- or 3-layered	 10
9b.	Spores ellipsoid, punctate-roughened; clamps present or not; pileipellis 2-layered 	 11

10a.(9)	Fruitbody small to medium, fragile (stipe ≤ 7 mm & cap ≤ 60 mm diam); cap bald, glutinous, tawny to 
dark brown; stipe polished, drab to violet (apex); stuffed to hollow, often insect-infested; pileipellis 
2-layered with colorless top layer, dull brownish bottom layer; spores ~6.9 × 4.3 µm	P. rifflipes
10b. 	Fruitbody large, robust (stipe ≤ 28 mm & cap ≤ 120 mm diam); cap appressed-scaly, subviscid 
(never glutinous), ochraceous tawny to tawny; stipe matte, tan to brown, firmly stuffed, never 
insect infested; pileipellis 3-layered with yellow-orange top and bottom layers, colorless middle layer; 
spores ~7.4 × 4.7 µm 	 P. ochraceocana
11a.(9)	Fruitbody overall drab to gray, robust with stout firmly stuffed pink to drab stipe (≤ 20 mm diam) 
and fleshy pseudorhiza; taste and odor cucumber-farinaceous; all tissues soon deep magenta in 
syringaldazine; spores ~6.8 × 4 µm 	 P. oregonensis
11b. 	Fruitbody overall orange, lacking drab colors, fragile with slender hollow tan stipe (≤ 13 mm diam) 
and cord-like pseudorhiza; taste and odor mild; cap & gills syringaldazine negative 	 12
12a.(11)	Clamp connections abundant; cap bright to dull orange with yellowish margin; cheilocystidia irregularly filamentous to narrowly clavate; spores ~6.7 × 4.3 µm 	 P. dissiliens
12b.	Clamp connections absent; cap uniformly brownish orange to auburn; cheilocystidia narrowly clavate 
with long pedicels and swollen (subcapitate) heads; spores ~6.5 × 3.8 µm 	 P. sipei
13a.(8)	Cap minutely scaly (appressed), dry to subviscid (never glutinous), color ochre to tawny (never gray- or 
dark brown); pileipellis 3-layered with colorless gelatinized middle layer between yellow to yellow-orange 
top and bottom layers;	14
13b.	Cap bald, smooth, subviscid to glutinous and never appressed scaly, colors varied; pileipellis 2-layered, 
with colorless top layer and variously pigmented lower layer 	 15
14a.(13) Spores large, ~10 × 6 µm; cap dry to greasy, generally ochre (yellow-ochre, ochre-gold); 
frequently associated with Abies 	 P. luteosquamulosa
14b.	 Spores small, ~7.4 × 4.7 µm; cap greasy to subviscid, tawny ochraceous or tawny; 
associated with Pseudotsuga or Tsuga 	 P. ochraceocana
15a.(13) 	Cheilocystidia tibiiform, with thin-walled broad bases and narrow, refractive, thick-walled necks and capituli; stipes hollow or stuffed; clamp connections absent 	 16
15b.	Cheilocystidia variably cylindrical to clavate, occasionally showing filamentous apical secondary growth 
in older specimens, but always lacking refractive thick-walled necks; stipes stuffed with firm pith; 
clamp connections present or absent 	 18
16a.(15)	Cap viscid, tawny to dark chestnut brown; mature stipe stuffed with firm compact pith; 
fruitbodies scattered to closely gregarious, arising from unbranched fleshy (not cord-like) pseudorhizas; 
spore median short, < 8 µm long	 P. spadicea
16b. 	Cap moist to glutinous, tawny orange to dull brown; mature stipe tubular and hollow; 
fruitbodies closely gregarious to fasciculate, arising from a rooting branching rhizomorphic cord; 
spore median medium-sized, > 8.5 µm long 	 17
17a.(16) 	Cap heavily glutinous, acutely conic-campanulate, yellow- to dark-brown; densely fasciculate, with 
scores of variably aged fruitbodies arising from one point on the subterranean cord; suprapellis thick, 
colorless with hyphae submerged in thick gel matrix and not spirally pigment-encrusted; 
spores ~8.5 µm long 	 P. scatesiae
17b.	Cap moist to viscid, obtusely convex-campanulate, red orange to tawny; clustered in troops or arcs 
(rarely in fasciculate mounds); suprapellis compact, pale amber to orange with hyphae spirally encrusted 
and with refractive septa; spores ~9 µm long 	 P. californica
18a.(15)	Clamp connections frequent throughout all tissues, most easily seen on the pileus suprapellis hyphae 
and cheilocystidia; cap convex-campanulate with an acutely pointed or often papillate umbo, 
tawny ochraceous to tawny; cheilocystidia cylindrical to narrowly clavate; spores ~9 × 5.5 µm 	 P. ammiratii
18b.	Clamp connections lacking or rare (then only in stipe pellis); young cap shape & color, 
cheilocystidial shape, and spore sizes varied 	 21

19a.(18) 	Young gills whitish, smoky gray, or deep violet; young caps tawny, brownish-pink or drab; 
cap & gills magenta in syringaldazine 	 22
19b.	 Young gills pinkish, orangish, or yellowish; young caps varied, but rarely pink or drab; 
cap & gills magenta or not in syringaldazine 	 23
20a.(19) 	Young gills intensely bluish lilac to violet; cap tawny when young, soon darkening to dark brown; 
pseudorhiza syringaldazine negative; taste not farinaceous; spores ~8 × 5 µm 	 P. lilacifolia
20b.	Young gills white (occasionally pinkish) or ash gray, never lilac or violet; cap pinkish, drab, or purple-brown; 
all tissues soon deep magenta in syringaldazine; taste ‘bitter cucumber’ farinaceous; 
spores ~9 × 5.5 µm 	 P. benzokauffmanii
21a.(19) 	Young cap yellow tan, usually lacking orange colors and zonate with darker banded edge, soon chestnut- 
or cocoa brown (rarely grayish or drab); young stipe ivory tan, with lower stipe staining orange with 
orange band at ground level; habit fasciculate, densely gregarious; young gills dark under UV; 
all tissues syringaldazine negative; spores moderately large, ~9.5 × 5.7 µm 	 P. gregaria
21b.	Cap orangish to tawny, when young either overall orange, red-orange, or tawny or zonate with tawny to apricot-brown disc and pale amber margin; young stipe orange, buff, or pale cinnamon, lower stipe color 
varied; habit solitary, scattered, or gregarious; young gills fluoresce under UV; syringaldazine reactivity 
and spore size varied 	 24
22a.(21) 	Fruitbody moderately small to large; stipe slender (apex ≤ 12 mm diam), stuffed but soon insect-eaten 
at ground level; cap subviscid, uniformly bright apricot- to peach-colored, with conic umbo; all tissues 
negative in syringaldazine; pileipellis hyphae colorless, spirally gel-incrusted, subpellis pigments diffuse, 
not encrusting; spores ~9.4 × 6 µm, beaks short (≤ 5 µm), straight 	 P. piceae
22b.	Fruitbody moderately large to massive; stipe robust (apex ≤ 25 mm diam), stuffed with firm, insect-free pith; 
cap viscid to glutinous, orange, tawny, or orange-/red-brown or zonate with tawny disc, amber margin, 
tan edge, umbo obtuse; all tissues strongly magenta in syringaldazine; pileus subpellis hyphae 
pigment-encrusted; spores varied in size, beaks long (≤ 1.5 µm), tilted or straight 	 25
23a.(22) 	Young to mature cap +/- uniformly orange, tawny, or dark orange-brown; lower stipe and pith staining 
first orange, then orange-brown; spores medium (~8.5 × 5 µm), lemon-shaped with tilted beak; 
cheilocystidia cylindrical or narrowly to broadly clavate, rarely pedicellate and subcapitate 	 P. kauffmanii
23b.	Young cap zonate with reddish tawny umbo, amber margin and tan edge, aging to overall tawny brown 
to dark red-brown; lower stipe and pith staining red-brown; spores large (~10.5 × 6 µm), almond-shaped 
with long ‘belly’ and slightly tilted beak; cheilocystidia usually pedicellate and catenulate, subcapitate 
with subglobose apices 	 P. redheadii

FOOTNOTE 2023. Lorelei Norvell has died after a life wonderfully lived, leaving some of her questions to be answered by those she inspired. A poster presentation after the date of this key revealed some questions from molectular sequencing. Preliminary results were discussed on the poster. Phaeocollybia rifflipes may be a synonym of P. lilacifolia. “[phylogenetic] trees reveal that the name P. rifflipes has been misapplied to numerous P. lilacifolia collections; missing type sequences will establish whether P. rifflipes is independent”. Sequences of Phaeocollybia rufotubulina nested among sequences of P. californica, “confirming the later named P. rufotubulina as a synonym”. Phaeocollybia rifflipes may be declared a synonym of P. lilacifolica. According to D. Miller in 2023, the type of P. tibiikauffmanii turned out to be P. spadicea, necessitating a different name for the collections fitting more closely the description of P. tibiikauffmanii. He says also that there are other species in the Pacific Northwest, some of them close enough to described species to form groups of species. More work, including multi-gene sequencing will be required to clarify species concepts.  Ian Gibson