Mycena leptocephala, commonly known as the nitrous bonnet, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. The mushrooms have conical grayish caps that reach up to 3cm (1.2in) in diameter, and thin fragile stems up to 5cm (2.0in) long. The gills are gray and distantly spaced. The spores are elliptical, typically measure 7–10 by 4–6μm, and are white in deposit. When viewed under a light microscope, the gills have abundant spindle-shaped cystidia on the gill edges, but few on the gill faces. The mushroom is found in North America, Asia, and Europe where it grows singly or in groups on conifer needles, cones and sticks on the forest floor. It has a distinctive odor of bleach; the edibility is unknown. Similar species include Mycena alcalina, M.austera, and M.brevipes.
Taxonomy
The species was first called Agaricus leptocephalus by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1800,[2] and was transferred to the genus Mycena in 1876 by French mycologist Claude-Casimir Gillet.[3]Synonyms include Agaricus alcalinus var. leptocephalus (Fries, 1821),[4]Mycena alcaline var. chlorinella (J.E. Lange, 1914),[5] and Mycena chlorinella (Singer, 1936).[6] The latter was reduced to synonym in a 1980 publication by Dutch Mycena specialist Maas Geesteranus.[7]
The specific epithetleptocephala is derived from the Greek λεπτος leptos, "thin" and κεφαλη kephale, "head",[9] and refers to the delicate cap.[10] The mushroom is commonly known as the "nitrous bonnet".[11]
Description
The distantly-spaced, pallid gills have an ascending-adnate attachment to the stem, and one or two tiers of interspersed lamellulae.
The cap of M.leptocephala is 1–3cm (0.4–1.2in) in diameter, and initially a fat conical shape with the margin pressed close to the stem. As the cap expands, it becomes broadly conic to convex, sometimes broadly bell-shaped, and sometimes convex with a flaring margin. The cap surface has a whitish sheen because of its pruinose coating. The coating gradually sloughs off, leaving the surface smooth and moist. The cap shows radial grooves that outline the position of the gills underneath. Its color is initially dusky brownish-gray to blackish (after the pruinose coating has sloughed off), soon fading from dark to light gray and finally ashy-gray. The flesh is thin and fragile, grayish, and has a slightly sour (acidulous) taste, and a weakly alkaline odor that strengthens in intensity if the flesh is crushed. The gills are narrow, equal in width throughout, ascending-adnate (the gills attach at much less than a right angle, appearing to curve upward toward stem) and toothed. They are subdistantly spaced, with 18–27 gills reaching the stem, and one or two tiers of lamellulae (short gills that do not extend fully from the cap edge to the stem) interspersed between them. The color of the gills is pallid or cinereous, with pallid and even edges. The stem is 3–8cm (1–3in) long,[12] 1–2mm thick, equal in width throughout, hollow, and very fragile. It is usually bluish-black initially (darker than the cap) but gradually turns sordid brownish-gray, and finally fades to pallid or cinereous. The surface is densely white-pruinose overall, but soon polished and translucent when the pruinose coating wears off. The stem base is nearly smooth to rather densely white-strigose.[13] The species has a distinctive bleach-like odor.[14] Its edibility is currently unknown,[15] but it is too small to be of interest.[12]
Microscopic characteristics
The spores are broadly ellipsoid.
The spores are broadly ellipsoid, amyloid (meaning they will adsorb iodine when stained with Melzer's reagent), and measure 7–10 by 4–6μm.[13] The basidia (the spore-bearing cells) are usually four-spored, although two- and three-spored forms have been found on which the spores measure 11–14 by 6–6.5μm or 8–10 by 3.5–4.5μm, respectively.[16] The pleurocystidia (cystidia on the face of a gill) are scattered, rare or absent, 30–44 by 9–13μm, variable in shape, fusoid-ventricose to club-shaped, with some having a forked apex. The pleurocystidia that are club-shaped occasionally have two or three finger-like prolongations. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) are numerous, and similar in morphology to the pleurocystidia. The flesh of the gill is homogenous, composed of enlarged hyphae that stain vinaceous-brown in iodine. The flesh of the cap has a well-differentiated pellicle, the cells of which bear numerous rodlike prolongations. The hypoderm (a layer of tissue immediately below the pellicle) is well-formed, while the remaining tissue is floccose; all but the pellicle are vinaceous-brown in iodine stain.[13]
Similar species
M. alcalina is a lookalike species.
The "stump fairy helmet" Mycena alcalina is a common species that is similar in appearance and odor to M.leptocephala. However, it grows on conifer wood and rarely on the ground. Microscopically, it has numerous cystidia on the gill edges.[17] Although M.leptocephala usually has a weaker alkaline odor and a more fragile stem, the strength of the odor of M.alcalina is also quite variable,[18] so differences in odor cannot be used as the sole distinguishing characteristic. M.austera, described from southern Norway in 1994, differs from M.leptocephala by the lack of a nitrous odor, and differently shaped cheilocystidia and terminal cells of the cortical layer of the stem.[19]Alexander H. Smith considers M.brevipes close to M.leptocephala, but the former mushroom has a short stem up to 3.5cm (1.4in) long, typically grows singly, and lacks an odor.[20]
Other similar species include M. stipata and M. capillaripes.[12]
Habitat and distribution
Mycena leptocephala is a saprobic species,[21] meaning it derives nutrients from the breakdown of organic matter. Fruit bodies are found growing scattered to gregarious on fallen sticks and on needle carpets under conifers, and are rather common during early summer and again in the autumn.[13] Fruit bodies may be infected by the bonnet mold Spinellus fusiger.[22]
↑ Lange JE. (1914). "Studies in the Agarics of Denmark. Part I. Mycena". Dansk Botanisk Arkiv. 1 (5): 1–40.
↑ Singer R. (1936). "Bemerkungen über einige Basidiomyceten". Annales Mycologici (in German). 34: 423–34.
↑ Maas Geesteranus RA. (1980). "Studies in Mycenas 1–4". Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Series C Biological and Medical Sciences. 83 (2): 167–74. ISSN0023-3374.
↑ Oria-de-Rueda JA, Hernández-Rodríguez M, Martin-Pinto P, Pando V, Olaizola J (2010). "Could artificial reforestations provide as much production and diversity of fungal species as natural forest stands in marginal Mediterranean areas?". Forest Ecology and Management. 260 (2): 171–80. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.04.009.
↑ Smith AH. (1935). "Studies in the genus Mycena. I". American Journal of Botany. 22 (10): 858–77. doi:10.2307/2435962. JSTOR2435962.
1 2 Meulder H de. (2002). "Experimenteel onderzoek naar de successie van paddestoelen op dood hout (9de vervolg)" [Experimental investigation into the succession of fungi on dead wood (9th. continuation)]. AMK Mededelingen (in Dutch) (1): 2–10. ISSN0771-9884.
↑ Jing M, Tolgor B. "Observation of morphology of Spinellus fusiger". Journal of Fungal Research. 6 (1): 4–6.
↑ Willis JH. (1952–54). "Land Flora". Expedition to the Archipelago of the Recherche, Western Australia (Report). Australian Geographical Society reports. Australian Geographical Society. p.31.
↑ Llimona X, Blanco MN, Dueñas M, Gorris M, Gràcia E, Hoyo P, Llistosella J, Marti J, Martín MP, Muntañola-Cvetkovic M, Quadrada R, Rocabruna A, Salcedo I, Sierra D, Tabarés M, Vila J (1978). "Els fongs de Catalunya occidental segons les prospeccions recents. II"[The fungi of occidental Catalonia after recent prospections. II]. Acta Botanica Barcinonensia (in Portuguese). 46: 5–29.
↑ Deharita P, Choubey A, Wagay JA, Vyas D (2010). "Wild mushrooms of Pantheria Forest of Sagar". Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology. 40 (2): 179–86. ISSN0971-9393.
↑ Fan YG, Tolgor B (2010). "Checklist of macrofungi collected from different forests in Changbai Mountain (I): Alpine Zone". Journal of Fungal Research (in Chinese). 8 (1): 32–34, 47. ISSN1672-3538.
Mycena galopus, commonly known as the milky mycena, milking bonnet or milk-drop mycena, is an inedible species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae of the order Agaricales. It produces small mushrooms that have grayish-brown, bell-shaped, radially-grooved caps up to 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. The gills are whitish to gray, widely spaced, and squarely attached to the stem. The slender stems are up to 8 cm (3 in) long, and pale gray at the top, becoming almost black at the hairy base. The stem will ooze a whitish latex if it is injured or broken. The variety nigra has a dark gray cap, while the variety candida is white. All varieties of the mushroom occur during summer and autumn on leaf litter in coniferous and deciduous woodland.
Mycena acicula, commonly known as the orange bonnet, or the coral spring Mycena, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. It is found in Asia, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, of the fungus grow on dead twigs and other woody debris of forest floors, especially along streams and other wet places. They have small orange-red caps, up to 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter, held by slender yellowish stems up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long. The gills are pale yellow with a whitish edge. Several other Mycena species look similar, but may be distinguished by differences in size and/or microscopic characteristics. M. acicula is considered inedible because of its small size.
Atheniella adonis, which has the recommended name of scarlet bonnet in the UK, is a species of agaric in the family Cyphellaceae. Found in Asia, Europe, and North America, it produces small orangish to reddish mushrooms with caps up to 1.2 cm (0.5 in) in diameter and thin pinkish-white stems reaching 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The fungus typically grows in conifer woods and peat bogs, suggesting a preference for acidic environments. The appearance of several atypical fruitings on deciduous wood in the Netherlands in the late 1970s was attributed to increases in atmospheric pollution that raised the acidity of the wood substrate.
Mycena cinerella, commonly known as the mealy bonnet, is an inedible species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. It is found in Europe and the United States, where it grows in groups on fallen leaves and needles under pine and Douglas fir. The small grayish mushrooms have caps that are up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) wide atop stipes that are 5 cm (2.0 in) long and 2.5 mm (0.10 in) thick. Its gills are grayish-white and adnate, with a "tooth" that runs slightly down the stipe. The fungus has both two- and four-spored basidia. As its common name suggests, it smells mealy.
Atheniella flavoalba, which has the recommended name of ivory bonnet in the UK, is a species of agaric in the family Cyphellaceae. The cap is initially conical, before becoming convex and then flat; it may reach up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) across. The cap is ivory-white to yellowish white, sometimes more yellowish at the center. The tubular stems are up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long and 2.5 mm (0.10 in) thick, and have long, coarse white hairs at their bases. Atheniella flavoalba is found in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, where it grows scattered in pastures or in dense groups under conifers and on humus in oak woods.
Mycena inclinata, commonly known as the clustered bonnet or the oak-stump bonnet cap, is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. The doubtfully edible mushroom has a reddish-brown bell-shaped cap up to 4.5 cm (1.8 in) in diameter. The thin stem is up to 9 cm (3.5 in) tall, whitish to yellow-brown at the top but progressively becoming reddish-brown towards the base in maturity, where they are covered by a yellowish mycelium that can be up to a third of the length of the stem. The gills are pale brown to pinkish, and the spore print is white. It is a widespread saprobic fungus, and has been found in Europe, North Africa, Asia, Australasia, and North America, where it grows in small groups or tufts on fallen logs and stumps, especially of oak. British mycologist E.J.H. Corner has described two varieties of the mushroom from Borneo. Lookalike species with which M. inclinata may be confused include M. galericulata and M. maculata.
Mycena vitilis, commonly known as the snapping bonnet, is a species of inedible mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. It is found in Europe and North America, where it grows on the ground among leaves in damp places, especially under alder. The small pale gray to whitish fruit bodies are usually attached to small sticks buried in the leaves and detritus. They are distinguished by their long, slender stems that root into the ground, and by the grooved cap that reaches diameters of up to 2.2 cm (0.9 in). The grayish-white gills on the underside of the cap are distantly spaced, and adnately attached to the stem. M. vitilis contains strobilurin B, a fungicidal compound with potential use in agriculture.
Mycena sanguinolenta, commonly known as the bleeding bonnet, the smaller bleeding Mycena, or the terrestrial bleeding Mycena, is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. It is a common and widely distributed species, and has been found in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The fungus produces reddish-brown to reddish-purple fruit bodies with conic to bell-shaped caps up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) wide held by slender stipes up to 6 cm (2.4 in) high. When fresh, the fruit bodies will "bleed" a dark reddish-purple sap. The similar Mycena haematopus is larger, and grows on decaying wood, usually in clumps. M. sanguinolenta contains alkaloid pigments that are unique to the species, may produce an antifungal compound, and is bioluminescent. The edibility of the mushroom has not been determined.
Mycena nargan, commonly known as the Nargan's bonnet, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae, and the sole member of the section Nargan in the genus Mycena. Reported as a new species in 1995, it is known predominantly from Southern Australia. The saprobic fungus produces mushrooms that grow on well-decayed wood, often on the underside of wood lying in litter. The dark chestnut-coloured caps are covered with white, easily removed scales, and reach diameters of up to 2 cm (0.8 in) wide. The pale, slender stems are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and have white scales at the base. On the underside of the cap, the cream-coloured gills are widely spaced and bluntly attached to the stem. The edibility of the mushroom is unknown.
Mycena stylobates, commonly known as the bulbous bonnet, is a species of inedible mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. Found in North America and Europe, it produces small whitish to gray fruit bodies with bell-shaped caps that are up to 15 mm (0.6 in) in diameter. The distinguishing characteristic of the mushroom is the fragile stipe, which is seated on a flat disk marked with distinct grooves, and fringed with a row of bristles. The mushrooms grow in small troops on leaves and other debris of deciduous and coniferous trees. The mushroom's spores are white in deposit, smooth, and ellipsoid-shaped with dimensions of 6–10 by 3.5–4.5 μm. In the development of the fruit body, the preliminary stipe and cap structures appear at the same time within the primordium, and hyphae originating from the stipe form a cover over the developing structures. The mycelia of the mushroom is believed to have bioluminescent properties.
Mycena clariviolacea is a mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. First reported as a new species in 2007, it is known only from Kanagawa, Japan, where it fruits on dead fallen twigs in forests dominated by oak and chinquapin trees. Distinctive features of this species are found in its medium-sized, dark violet fruit bodies, with caps up to 25 mm (0.98 in) in diameter and slender stems that are about 30 to 40 mm long. Microscopic characteristics include the amyloid spores, the club-shaped cheilocystidia that are covered with one or more, knob-like, apical protuberances, the absence of pleurocystidia, and the cylindrical, diverticulate caulocystidia.
Mycena fuscoaurantiaca is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. First reported as a new species in 2007, the diminutive mushroom is only found in Kanagawa, Japan, where it grows on dead fallen twigs in lowland forests dominated by hornbeam (Carpinus) and Chinese evergreen oak trees. The mushroom has a brownish-orange conical cap that has grooves extending to the center, and reaches up to 11 mm (0.43 in) in diameter. Its slender stem is colored similarly to the cap, and long—up to 60 mm (2.4 in) tall. Microscopic characteristics include the weakly amyloid spores, the smooth, swollen cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia with long rounded tips, the diverticulate hyphae of the cap cuticle, and the absence of clamp connections.
Mycena intersecta is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. First reported as a new species in 2007, it is known only from central Honshu, in Japan, where it is found growing solitarily or scattered, on dead leaves in lowland forests dominated by oak. The mushrooms have olive-brown caps up to 12 mm (0.47 in) in diameter atop slender stems that are 50 to 80 mm long by 0.7 to 1.2 mm thick. On the underside of the cap are the distantly spaced, whitish gills that have cross-veins running between them. Microscopic characteristics of the mushroom include the smooth, irregularly cylindrical cheilocystidia, the absence of pleurocystidia, the diverticulate elements of the cap cuticle, the broadly club-shaped to irregularly shaped caulocystidia, the weakly dextrinoid flesh, and the absence of clamp connections. The edibility of the mushroom is unknown.
Mycena lanuginosa is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. First collected in 2000 and reported as a new species in 2007, it is known only from lowland oak-dominated forests in central Honshu in Japan. The small mushroom is characterized by its grooved, grayish-brown to violet-brown cap up to 11 mm (0.43 in) in diameter, and the slender grayish-brown to reddish-brown stem covered with minute, fine, soft hairs. The mushroom produces amyloid spores. Microscopic distinguishing features include the smooth, spindle-shaped cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia and the diverticulate elements in the outer layer of the cap and the stem.
Mycena multiplicata is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. First described as a new species in 2007, the mushroom is known only from the prefecture of Kanagawa, Japan, where it grows on dead fallen twigs in lowland forests dominated by oak. The mushroom has a whitish cap that reaches up to 13 mm (0.51 in) in diameter atop a slender stem 15 to 20 mm long and 1 to 1.3 mm thick. On the underside of the cap are whitish, distantly spaced gills that are narrowly attached to the stem. Microscopic characteristics of the mushroom include the amyloid spores, the pear-shaped to broadly club-shaped cheilocystidia which are covered with a few to numerous, unevenly spaced, cylindrical protuberances, the lack of pleurocystidia, and the diverticulate hyphae in the outer layer of the cap and stem. The edibility of the mushroom is unknown.
Mycena mustea is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. First described as a new species in 2007, the fungus is known only from Kanagawa, Japan, where it grows on dead fallen twigs in lowland forests. The mushroom's dull violet to grayish-violet cap, initially covered with a fine whitish powder, becomes smooth as it matures, and eventually reaches a diameter of up to 10 mm (0.39 in). The stem is slender, up to 90 mm (3.5 in) long, and is covered with stiff white hairs at the base. Underneath the cap are distantly spaced pale brownish gills that are narrowly attached to the stem. Microscopic characteristics of the mushroom include the weakly amyloid spores, the club-shaped cheilocystidia featuring one or more short knob-like protuberances, the absence of pleurocystidia, the diverticulate cap cuticle hyphae, and the absence of clamp connections.
Mycena nidificata is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae of the Agaricales. First collected in 2000 and reported as a new species in 2007, it is known only from Kanagawa, Japan, where it grows on the floor of oak forests. The dark brown irregularly wrinkled cap measures up to 25 mm (1.0 in) in diameter. The cap is supported by a thin stem up to 50 mm (2.0 in) long, which is covered at the base by a whitish hairlike growth, and attached to white, cord-like rhizomorphs—aggregations of mycelium that resemble plant roots. The underside of the cap features thin, distantly spaced grayish gills that have distinct veins running between them. At a microscopic level, distinguishing characteristics include the inamyloid spores, the club-shaped cheilocystidia with finger-like appendages, the diverticulate cells in the outer layer of cap and stem, and the presence of clamp connections.
Mycena maculata, commonly known as the reddish-spotted Mycena, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, have conic to bell-shaped to convex caps that are initially dark brown but fade to brownish-gray when young, reaching diameters of up to 4 cm. They are typically wrinkled or somewhat grooved, and have reddish-brown spots in age, or after being cut or bruised. The whitish to pale gray gills also become spotted reddish-brown as they mature. The stem, up to 8 cm (3 in) long and covered with whitish hairs at its base, can also develop reddish stains. The mycelium of M. maculata has bioluminescent properties. The saprobic fungus is found in Europe and North America, where it grows in groups or clusters on the rotting wood of both hardwoods and conifers. The edibility of the fungus is unknown. Although the species is known for, and named after its propensity to stain reddish, occasionally these stains do not appear, making it virtually indistinguishable from M. galericulata.
Mycena semivestipes is a species of agaric fungus in the family Mycenaceae. It is found in eastern North America.
Mycena alcalina, commonly known as the alkaline mycena, or stump fairy helmet mushroom, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. It grows widely, ranging from North America to Europe.
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