Mycena maculata
Encyclopedia
Mycena maculata, commonly known as the reddish-spotted Mycena, is a species of fungus
in the Mycenaceae
family. The fruit bodies
, or mushroom
s, 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 (1.6 in). 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 (3.1 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 hardwood
s 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
.
by the German mycologist Petter Karsten in 1890. The name Mycena maculata was also used by the Australian mycologist John Burton Cleland
in 1934, but that usage was considered illegitimate, and the species he described has since been renamed to Mycena austromaculata by Cheryl Grgurinovic and Tom May
in 1997.
The specific epithet maculata is derived from the Latin
word "spotted". The mushroom is commonly known as the "reddish-spotted Mycena".
of M. maculata varies in shape from broadly conic to convex initially, soon expanding to bell-shaped or broadly convex at maturity; when expanded the cap diameter is typically between 2 and 4 cm (0.78740157480315 and 1.6 in). It usually has a distinct umbo
, which can be abruptly convex in some individuals and very broad and low in others. The cap margin closely approaches the stem when young, but often flares or curves upward with age. The cap surface is smooth, slimy to the touch, often opaque when young but becomes partially translucent so that the outlines of the gills underneath the cap may be seen nearly to the center, before fading. It is often somewhat wrinkled or has the radial gill grooves deepening with age. It is initially dirty blackish-brown or nearly black, becoming paler dirty brown to brownish-gray with age, and usually with reddish-brown spots. The flesh
is somewhat thick under the umbo, but becomes abruptly thinner over the area of the margin (about 0.15 mm). It is cartilaginous and firm, dark or pale watery gray, changing slowly to dirty reddish-brown when cut or bruised. It has no distinguishable odor, and a taste ranging from mild to slightly farinaceous (like flour).
The gills are bluntly adnate
, later becoming toothed and somewhat sinuate. The gills are narrow, becoming moderately broad (4–5 mm), whitish to pale gray in color, soon staining with reddish spots. Sometimes the gills separate slightly from the cap, but remain attached to each other to form a collar. The gill spacing is close to subdistant, with about 17–24 gills reaching the stem; there are additionally about three tiers of lamellulae (short gills that do not extend fully from the cap margin to the stem). The stem is usually 4 – long and 2 – thick, occasionally much longer, often with a long pseudorhiza (a cordlike structure resembling a plant root) 1 – that can root into the substrate
. The stem is densely covered with sharp, stiff white hairs on the lower portion, and smooth above. It is sometimes twisted, nearly equal in width throughout, hollow, and cartilaginous. The top portion of the stem is pallid, while the remainder is the same color or paler than the cap. The stem base becomes stained reddish-brown to purplish, or the entire lower portion turns a dirty vinaceous. The edibility
of the mushroom is unknown.
(meaning they turn bluish-black to black when stained with Melzer's reagent
), and measure 7–9 by 4–5 μm
. The basidia
(spore-bearing cells in the hymenium
) are 30–35 by 7–8 μm, and four-spored. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) are embedded in the hymenium and inconspicuous, measuring 20–28 by 6–12 μm. They are irregular in form; some have short rodlike projections on the upper part, others have irregular branched finger-like protuberances, while others have wavy walls and an elongated contorted apex. There are no pleurocystidia (cystidia on the gill face) in Mycena maculata. The gill tissue is hyaline
or very faintly vinaceous-brown when stained in iodine. The cap tissue has a thin pellicle, and the region directly under it is made of hyphae with only slightly enlarged cells, while the remainder is filamentous, and stains yellowish to slightly vinaceous-brown in iodine. The mycelium
of M. maculata is bioluminescent; this property has not been reported for the fruit bodies.
, which also tends to grow in groups or tufts on wood. Microscopically, the latter species has larger spores, ranging from 8–12 by 5.5–9 μm. Another Mycena that stains reddish is M. inclinata
; it can be distinguished by its slightly larger spores, typically 7–9 by 5–6.5 μm, and the white flecks that develop on the lower part of the stem. It is common in eastern North America, and prefers to grows on decaying hardwood. M. haematopus
also grows in clusters on wood, but can be differentiated by its scalloped cap margin, a stem which bleeds a reddish juice when cut or broken, and a preference for growing on hardwoods. M. purpureofusca has a purplish cap, gills with purple edges, and usually grows on pine cones. M. atrochalybaea, a species known from Italy and Switzerland, has more gills that reach the stem (usually between 30 and 40), smooth hyphae in the cortical layer of the stem, and smooth, uninflated cystidia.
, Canada, south to Mexico. Mycena specialist Alexander H. Smith
, in his 1947 monograph
on the genus, called it "the most abundant Mycena on conifer wood in the Pacific Northwest." It has also been recorded as a new species in Turkey (Kahramanmaraş
district) in 2006.
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
in the Mycenaceae
Mycenaceae
The Mycenaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi , the family contains 10 genera and 705 species. This is one of several families that were separated from the Tricholomataceae as a result of phylogenetic analyses...
family. The fruit bodies
Basidiocarp
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome or basidioma , is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not produce such structures...
, or mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, have conic to bell-shaped to convex caps
Pileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
that are initially dark brown but fade to brownish-gray when young, reaching diameters of up to 4 cm (1.6 in). 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
Stipe (mycology)
thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...
, up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long and covered with whitish hairs at its base, can also develop reddish stains. The mycelium
Mycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
of M. maculata has bioluminescent
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in...
properties. The saprobic fungus is found in Europe and North America, where it grows in groups or clusters on the rotting wood of both hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
s and conifers. The edibility
Edible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
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 galericulata
Mycena galericulata is a mushroom species commonly known as the common bonnet, the toque mycena, or the rosy-gill fairy helmet. The type species of the genus Mycena was first described scientifically in 1772, but was not considered a Mycena until 1821...
.
Taxonomy and naming
The species was first described scientificallySpecies description
A species description or type description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species which have been described previously, or are...
by the German mycologist Petter Karsten in 1890. The name Mycena maculata was also used by the Australian mycologist John Burton Cleland
John Burton Cleland
Sir John Burton Cleland CBE was a renowned Australian naturalist, microbiologist, mycologist and ornithologist.-Early Life and education:...
in 1934, but that usage was considered illegitimate, and the species he described has since been renamed to Mycena austromaculata by Cheryl Grgurinovic and Tom May
Tom May (mycologist)
Thomas William May is a mycologist and the curator of the fungal collection at the National Herbarium of Victoria where he specialises in the taxonomy and ecology of Australian macrofungi. He is most notable for the comprehensive bibliographical lists of all Australian fungi published thus far;...
in 1997.
The specific epithet maculata is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word "spotted". The mushroom is commonly known as the "reddish-spotted Mycena".
Description
The capPileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
of M. maculata varies in shape from broadly conic to convex initially, soon expanding to bell-shaped or broadly convex at maturity; when expanded the cap diameter is typically between 2 and 4 cm (0.78740157480315 and 1.6 in). It usually has a distinct umbo
Umbo (mycology)
thumb|right|[[Cantharellula umbonata]] has an umbo.thumb|right|The cap of [[Psilocybe makarorae]] is acutely papillate.An umbo is a raised area in the center of a mushroom cap. Caps that possess this feature are called umbonate. Umbos that are sharply pointed are called acute, while those that are...
, which can be abruptly convex in some individuals and very broad and low in others. The cap margin closely approaches the stem when young, but often flares or curves upward with age. The cap surface is smooth, slimy to the touch, often opaque when young but becomes partially translucent so that the outlines of the gills underneath the cap may be seen nearly to the center, before fading. It is often somewhat wrinkled or has the radial gill grooves deepening with age. It is initially dirty blackish-brown or nearly black, becoming paler dirty brown to brownish-gray with age, and usually with reddish-brown spots. The flesh
Trama (mycology)
In mycology trama is a term for the inner, fleshy portion of a mushroom's basidiocarp, or fruit body. It is distinct from the outer layer of tissue, known as the pileipellis or cuticle, and from the spore-bearing tissue layer known as the hymenium....
is somewhat thick under the umbo, but becomes abruptly thinner over the area of the margin (about 0.15 mm). It is cartilaginous and firm, dark or pale watery gray, changing slowly to dirty reddish-brown when cut or bruised. It has no distinguishable odor, and a taste ranging from mild to slightly farinaceous (like flour).
The gills are bluntly adnate
Adnation
Adnation in plants is the "union of unlike parts; organically united or fused with another dissimilar part, e.g. an ovary to a calyx tube, or stamens to petals". This is in contrast to connation, the fusion of similar organs....
, later becoming toothed and somewhat sinuate. The gills are narrow, becoming moderately broad (4–5 mm), whitish to pale gray in color, soon staining with reddish spots. Sometimes the gills separate slightly from the cap, but remain attached to each other to form a collar. The gill spacing is close to subdistant, with about 17–24 gills reaching the stem; there are additionally about three tiers of lamellulae (short gills that do not extend fully from the cap margin to the stem). The stem is usually 4 – long and 2 – thick, occasionally much longer, often with a long pseudorhiza (a cordlike structure resembling a plant root) 1 – that can root into the substrate
Substrate (biology)
In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon and grows on. A substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials and animals. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives on top of the algae. See also substrate .-External...
. The stem is densely covered with sharp, stiff white hairs on the lower portion, and smooth above. It is sometimes twisted, nearly equal in width throughout, hollow, and cartilaginous. The top portion of the stem is pallid, while the remainder is the same color or paler than the cap. The stem base becomes stained reddish-brown to purplish, or the entire lower portion turns a dirty vinaceous. The edibility
Edible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
of the mushroom is unknown.
Microscopic characteristics
The spores are ellipsoid, amyloidAmyloid (mycology)
In mycology the term amyloid refers to a crude chemical test using iodine in either Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, to produce a black to blue-black positive reaction. It is called amyloid because starch gives a similar reaction, and that reaction for starch is also called an amyloid reaction...
(meaning they turn bluish-black to black when stained with Melzer's reagent
Melzer's Reagent
Melzer's reagent is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi.-Composition:...
), and measure 7–9 by 4–5 μm
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
. The basidia
Basidium
thumb|right|500px|Schematic showing a basidiomycete mushroom, gill structure, and spore-bearing basidia on the gill margins.A basidium is a microscopic, spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main...
(spore-bearing cells in the hymenium
Hymenium
The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some cells develop into sterile cells called cystidia or...
) are 30–35 by 7–8 μm, and four-spored. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) are embedded in the hymenium and inconspicuous, measuring 20–28 by 6–12 μm. They are irregular in form; some have short rodlike projections on the upper part, others have irregular branched finger-like protuberances, while others have wavy walls and an elongated contorted apex. There are no pleurocystidia (cystidia on the gill face) in Mycena maculata. The gill tissue is hyaline
Hyaline
The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...
or very faintly vinaceous-brown when stained in iodine. The cap tissue has a thin pellicle, and the region directly under it is made of hyphae with only slightly enlarged cells, while the remainder is filamentous, and stains yellowish to slightly vinaceous-brown in iodine. The mycelium
Mycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
of M. maculata is bioluminescent; this property has not been reported for the fruit bodies.
Similar species
In the absence of the characteristic reddish staining (particularly in young specimens), M. maculata is indistinguishable in the field from M. galericulataMycena galericulata
Mycena galericulata is a mushroom species commonly known as the common bonnet, the toque mycena, or the rosy-gill fairy helmet. The type species of the genus Mycena was first described scientifically in 1772, but was not considered a Mycena until 1821...
, which also tends to grow in groups or tufts on wood. Microscopically, the latter species has larger spores, ranging from 8–12 by 5.5–9 μm. Another Mycena that stains reddish is M. inclinata
Mycena inclinata
Mycena inclinata, commonly known as the clustered bonnet, is a species of mushroom in the Mycenaceae family. The doubtfully edible mushroom has a reddish-brown bell-shaped cap up to in diameter...
; it can be distinguished by its slightly larger spores, typically 7–9 by 5–6.5 μm, and the white flecks that develop on the lower part of the stem. It is common in eastern North America, and prefers to grows on decaying hardwood. M. haematopus
Mycena haematopus
Mycena haematopus, commonly known as the bleeding fairy helmet, the burgundydrop bonnet, or the bleeding Mycena, is a species of fungus in the Mycenaceae family, of the order Agaricales. It is widespread and common in Europe and North America, and has also been collected in Japan and Venezuela...
also grows in clusters on wood, but can be differentiated by its scalloped cap margin, a stem which bleeds a reddish juice when cut or broken, and a preference for growing on hardwoods. M. purpureofusca has a purplish cap, gills with purple edges, and usually grows on pine cones. M. atrochalybaea, a species known from Italy and Switzerland, has more gills that reach the stem (usually between 30 and 40), smooth hyphae in the cortical layer of the stem, and smooth, uninflated cystidia.
Distribution and habitat
The fruit bodies of M. maculata grow in groups to clumps on the wood and debris of both coniferous and deciduous trees. The fungus is found in North America and Europe (Germany and Norway). The North American distribution ranges north from QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada, south to Mexico. Mycena specialist Alexander H. Smith
Alexander H. Smith
Alexander Hanchett Smith was an American mycologist known for his extensive contributions to the taxonomy and phylogeny of the higher fungi, especially the agarics.-Early life:...
, in his 1947 monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
on the genus, called it "the most abundant Mycena on conifer wood in the Pacific Northwest." It has also been recorded as a new species in Turkey (Kahramanmaraş
Kahramanmaras
-Industry:Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city...
district) in 2006.