Mycena

Not to be confused with Mycenae.

Mycena
Mycena amicta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Mycenaceae
Genus: Mycena
(Pers.) Roussel (1806)
Type species
Mycena galericulata
(Scop.) Gray (1821)
Species

See text

Mycena sp.
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is conical
Hymenium is adnate
Stipe is bare
Spore print is white
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is unknown
Mycena rubroglobulosa, Wellington, New Zealand.
The blue pixies' parasol (Mycena interrupta) growing on a log in East Gippsland (Australia).
Mycena seynesii

Mycena is a large genus of small saprotrophic mushrooms that are rarely more than a few centimeters in width. The name Mycena comes from the Ancient Greek μύκης mykes, meaning "fungus".[1] Species in the genus Mycena (and in Hemimycena) are commonly known as bonnets.[2]

They are characterized by a white spore print, a small conical or bell-shaped cap, and a thin fragile stem. Most are grey or brown, but a few species have brighter colours. Most have a translucent and striate cap, which rarely has an incurved margin. The gills are attached and usually have cystidia. Some species, like Mycena haematopus, exude a latex when the stem is broken, and many species have a chlorine or radish-like odour. Recent discoveries show that Mycena can not only grow from a rotting wood, but also from a living plant root and a living frog.[3][4]

  1. ^ Rea, Carleton (1922). British Basidiomycetaceae: a Handbook to the Larger British Fungi. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 373.
  2. ^ "Recommended English Names for Fungi in the UK" (PDF). British Mycological Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16.
  3. ^ Harder, C.B.; Hesling, E.; Botnen, S.S.; Lorberau, K.E.; Dima, B.; von Bonsdorff-Salminen, T.; Niskanen, T.; Jarvis, S.G.; Ouimette, A.; Hester, A.; Hobbie, E.A.; Taylor, A.F.S.; Kauserud, H. (2023). "Mycena species can be opportunist-generalist plant root invaders". Environmental Microbiology. 25 (10): 1875–1893. Bibcode:2023EnvMi..25.1875H. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.16398. hdl:2164/20916. PMID 37188366.
  4. ^ Chinmay C. Maliye; Lohit Y. T. (2024). "Mushroom Sprouting out of a Living Frog". Reptiles & Amphibians. 31. e20966.