Mycena griseoviridis A. H. Smith
N. Amer. Species of Mycena: 418. 1947.

Common Name: none

Synonyms: Mycena epipterygia var. griseoviridis (A. H. Smith) Maas Geesteranus; Mycena nivicola Desjardin & Perry (Nom. Prov.)

• Pileus

  Cap 1.5-3.0 cm broad, obtuse-conic to convex, eventually plano-convex; margin incurved, then decurved, translucent striate, at maturity inconspicuously striate-sulcate; surface glabrous, lubricous when moist, dull yellowish-olive, olive-brown, to tan-brown; context thin, up to 2.0 mm at disc; whitish to pale yellow; odor and taste slightly farinaceous.

• Lamellae

  Gill ascending-adnate, close, pale-yellow to pale-grey, becoming cream-buff; edges and faces minutely fringed (use hand lens), not marginate; lamellulae 2-3 seried.

• Stipe

  Stipe 2.5-9.0 cm long, 2.0-3.0 mm thick, more or less equal, round, cartilaginous, at first stuffed, then hollow; surface viscid when moist, pruinose, becoming glabrous except at the apex, upper portion pallid, buff, to pale-yellow, shading to mahogany-brown below, context not bleeding a colored juice; whitish hairs at the base; partial veil absent.

• Spores

  Spores 8.5-11.5 x 5.0-6.0 µm, elliptical in face-view, in profile slightly flattened on one side, smooth, thin-walled, hilar appendage inconspicuous; amyloid; spore print whitish.

• Habitat

  Solitary to gregarious on woody debris under montane conifers; fruiting in the spring near melting snow; common.

• Edibility

  Unknown; too small to have culinary value.

• Comments

  This snowbank Mycena is easily recognized by the contrasting colors of cap and stipe. Young, fresh caps are typically olivaceous and viscid, while the stipe is pale-yellow at the apex and reddish-brown at the base. Older caps fade to a nondescript brown, but the stipe usually retains much of its original color. Also found near melting snow and sometimes confused with Mycena griseoviridis is Strobiluris albipilatus. The cap of this small, lignicolous species is moist, not viscid, and despite the species name, is not white, but usually some shade of brown. Additionally, the stipe color is straw-yellow to tan-brown.

  Mycena griseoviridis from the Sierra Nevada differs in several respects from Smith's original description that was based on material collected under oak in the fall in Michigan. These differences, possibly worthy of species recognition, are noted by Brian Perry in a forthcoming monograph of California mycenas. In addition to dissimilar habitat and fruiting season, they include a glabrous, not pruinose cap, lamellae lacking olivaceous tints, and a faint, rather than strong farinacous odor and taste.

• References

  Perry, Brian 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.
  Smith, Alexander H. (1947). North American Species of Mycena. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI. 521 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Fred Stevens: Mycena griseoviridis (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Mycena griseoviridis (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Mycena griseoviridis (CP)
  • Orr & Orr: Mycena griseoviridis (CP)
  • Orr & Orr: Mycena griseoviridis (CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)