Mycena capillaripes
Ann. Rep. NY State Mus., 41: 63. 1888.
Common Name: none
Misapplied name: Mycena alcalina
Cap 1-2 cm broad, convex, becoming bell-shaped, slightly knobbed or umbonate at maturity; margin entire to slightly scalloped; surface smooth, translucent-striate when moist, grey-brown, sometimes tinged pale vinaceous, fading to pale grey, then slightly furrowed; flesh thin, grey, unchanging; odor of bleach; taste mild.
Gills adnate, moderately broad, close, in age subdistant, ashy-grey, edges pinkish.
Stipe 4-6 cm long, 1-2 mm thick, thin, fragile, hollow; equal or slightly enlarged at the base; apex faintly pruinose, otherwise smooth or polished, colored like the cap but the apex usually paler; veil absent.
Spores 8-11 x 4-6.5 µm, smooth, elliptical, amyloid; spore print white.
Scattered or in troops under conifers; especially common in needle duff of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) and Bishop pine (Pinus muricata); fruiting in moist weather throughout the mushroom season.
Unknown. The bleach odor is a deterrent and the small size is even more of a deterrent!
Mycena capillaripes is one of several grey-brown, bleach-odored Mycenas that occur in our area. Its most distinguishing feature is pink-edged (marginate) gills, best seen with a hand lens. Mycena leptocephala, also common on conifer needles, is similar but lacks marginate gills. Another bleach-odored species, Mycena alcalina, fruits primarily on rotting conifer wood. It also lacks marginate gills.
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. (Protologue)
Smith, A.H. (1947). North American Species of Mycena. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI. 521 p.
— closeup of cap
— usually grows in large troops
