Mycena adonis
Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 1: 620. 1821.
Common Name: none
Scattered to gregarious on bark, leaf, and needle debris and on the twigs of both hardwoods and conifers; fall and winter in North and Central Coast Ranges and the northern Sierra Nevada.
Way too small to be considered for the table.
Mycena adonis could be confused with other brightly colored Mycenas: Mycena acicula, Mycena aurantiidisca, Mycena oregonensis, and Mycena strobilinoides. Mycena acicula typically is a smaller mushroom with a deep orange red cap rather than the typical bright salmon pink of Mycena adonis. Since the colors and sizes of Mycena acicula and Mycena adonis are close, the microscope is the best way to distinguish them, with spore size and shape being differnt. Mycena aurantiidisca can be distinguished from Mycena adonis by it lack of scarlet to pinkish tones in the cap and lack of gelatinized cortical hyphae. Mycena oregonensis is distinguished from Mycena adonis by its orange to yellow cap and lack of scarlet to pinkish tones. Mycena strobilinoides can be distinguished from Mycena adonis by its orange cap and amyloid spores.
Perry, B.A. (2002). A Taxonomic Investigation of Mycena in California. Masters Thesis, San Francisco State University: San Francisco, CA. 157 p.
Mass Geesteranus, R. A. (1992). Mycenas of the Northern Hemisphere. II. Conspectus of the Mycenas of the Northern Hemisphere. Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Vetenschappen: Amsterdam, Netherlands. 493 p.
Robich, G. (2003). Mycena D'Europa. Associazione Micologica Bresadola: Trento, Italy. 728 p.
Smith, A.H. (1936). Studies in the Genus Mycena. III. Mycologia 28(5): 410-430.
Smith, A.H. (1947). North American Species of Mycena. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI. 521 p.
