Mycena mustea
Encyclopedia
Mycena mustea is a species of mushroom
in the Mycenaceae
family. First described as a new species in 2007, the fungus is known only from Kanagawa, Japan, where it grows on dead fallen twigs in lowland forests. The mushroom's dull violet to grayish-violet cap
, initially covered with a fine whitish powder, becomes smooth as it matures, and eventually reaches a diameter of up to 10 mm (0.393700787401575 in). The stem
is slender, up to 90 mm (3.5 in) long, and is covered with stiff white hairs at the base. Underneath the cap are distantly spaced pale brownish gills that are narrowly attached to the stem. Microscopic characteristics of the mushroom include the weakly amyloid
spores (turning bluish to black when stained with Melzer's reagent
), the club-shaped cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) featuring one or more short knob-like protuberances, the absence of pleurocystidia (cystidia on the gill face), the diverticulate
cap cuticle
hyphae, and the absence of clamp connection
s.
word mustea, meaning "fresh". The Japanese name is Sumire-ashinagatake.
The infrageneric classification of the fungus is unclear, and depends on what taxonomic
characters are deemed most important. According to Takahashi, the mushroom's violet pigment
, the inamyloid (not staining when treated with Melzer's reagent
) hymenophoral tissue (hymenium
-bearing tissue), and the smooth hyphae of the outer layer of stem suggest a placement in the section Adonideae (Fr.) Quel., as defined by the Dutch Mycena specialist Maas Geesteranus
. However, if greater taxonomic emphasis is placed on the weakly amyloid basidiospores, it would be more appropriate in the section Fragilipedes (Fr.) Quél.
is conical to convex to bell-shaped, occasionally with a low and broad umbo
, and reaches 7 to 10 mm (0.275590551181102 to 0.393700787401575 in) in diameter. When moist, it is partly translucent, and grooves corresponding to the position of the gills under tha cap can be seen. The surface is somewhat hygrophanous
—it changes color as it loses or absorbs moisture. The surface is initially pruinose—covered with what appears to be a fine white powder (remnants of the universal veil
that covered the immature fruit body)—but this soon sloughs off, leaving it smooth. The cap surface is a dull violet color when young, then becomes somewhat paler near the margin. The flesh
is up to 0.5 mm thick, white, and lacks any distinctive odor and taste. The slender stem
is 40 to 90 mm (1.6 to 3.5 in) long by 0.5 to 1.5 mm (0.0196850393700787 to 0.0590551181102362 in) thick, cylindrical, centrally attached to the cap, and hollow. Its surface is dry, dull violet to grayish-violet over the entire length. Like the cap surface, it is initially entirely pruinose, but becomes smooth in maturity. The base of the stem is covered with sharp, straight, and stiff white hairs. The gills are narrowly attached to the stem, and distantly spaced, with between 15 and 19 gills reaching the stem. The gills are up to 1.2 mm broad, thin, and pale brownish. The gill edges are pruinose, and the same color as the gill faces.
s are roughly ellipsoid and measure 11–12 by 6–7 µm. They are smooth, colorless, inamyloid to weakly amyloid, and thin-walled. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are 28–37 by 8–10 µm, club-shaped, and mostly four-spored. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) are club-shaped, abundant, and measure 30–45 by 8–11 µm. They form a sterile gill edge. Near their tips they have one or more short knob-like excrescences (outgrowths) that are colorless, and thin-walled. M. mustea does not have cystidia on the gill face (pleurocystidia). The hymenophoral tissue is made of hyphae that are 5–16 µm wide, cylindrical (often somewhat inflated) with thin walls, smooth, colorless, and inamyloid. The cap cuticle
is made of parallel, bent-over hyphae that are 2–6 µm wide, cylindrical, and covered with scattered, warty or finger-like hyaline (translucent) thin-walled diverticulae
. The layer of hyphae under the cap cuticle are parallel, hyaline or pale violet, dextrinoid (turning reddish to reddish-brown in Melzer's reagent), and contain short and inflated cells that are up to 25 µm wide. The stem cuticle is made of parallel, bent-over thin-walled hyphae that are 2–6 µm wide, cylindrical, smooth, and hyaline or pale violet. The stem tissue is made of longitudinally running, cylindrical hyphae that are 8–15 µm wide, smooth, colorless, and dextrinoid. Clamp connection
s are absent in all tissues.
, which differs in its blackish-violet cap, broadly club-shaped cheilocystidia covered with numerous, evenly spaced warts, and clamp connections. Mycena mustea also resembles the Japanese M. fonticola
, a species described concurrently with M. mustea. Unlike that of M. fonticola, the cap of M. mustea typically becomes pale grayish-purple when mature; the cheilocystidia have several short finger-like excrescences at their tips; and the stem cuticle is made up of smooth hyphae. In contrast, the cap of M. fonticola becomes dark violet-brown when mature; there are no excrescences on the cheilocystidia; and the hyphae of the stem cuticle are sparsely covered with diverticulae that resemble warts or fingers.
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...
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. First described as a new species in 2007, the fungus is known only from Kanagawa, Japan, where it grows on dead fallen twigs in lowland forests. The mushroom's dull violet to grayish-violet cap
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...
, initially covered with a fine whitish powder, becomes smooth as it matures, and eventually reaches a diameter of up to 10 mm (0.393700787401575 in). 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...
is slender, up to 90 mm (3.5 in) long, and is covered with stiff white hairs at the base. Underneath the cap are distantly spaced pale brownish gills that are narrowly attached to the stem. Microscopic characteristics of the mushroom include the weakly amyloid
Amyloid (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...
spores (turning bluish 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:...
), the club-shaped cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) featuring one or more short knob-like protuberances, the absence of pleurocystidia (cystidia on the gill face), the diverticulate
Diverticulum
A diverticulum is medical or biological term for an outpouching of a hollow structure in the body. Depending upon which layers of the structure are involved, they are described as being either true or false....
cap cuticle
Pileipellis
thumb|300px||right|The cuticle of some mushrooms, such as [[Russula mustelina]] shown here, can be peeled from the cap, and may be useful as an identification feature....
hyphae, and the absence of clamp connection
Clamp connection
A clamp connection is a structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is created to ensure each septum, or segment of hypha separated by crossed walls, receives a set of differing nuclei, which are obtained through mating of hyphae of differing sexual types...
s.
Taxonomy, naming, and classification
The species was first collected in Japan by Hiraku Takahashi in 1999, and reported as a new species in a 2007 publication. The specific epithet is the LatinLatin
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 mustea, meaning "fresh". The Japanese name is Sumire-ashinagatake.
The infrageneric classification of the fungus is unclear, and depends on what taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
characters are deemed most important. According to Takahashi, the mushroom's violet pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
, the inamyloid (not staining when treated 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:...
) hymenophoral tissue (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...
-bearing tissue), and the smooth hyphae of the outer layer of stem suggest a placement in the section Adonideae (Fr.) Quel., as defined by the Dutch Mycena specialist Maas Geesteranus
Rudolph Arnold Maas Geesteranus
Rudolph Arnold Maas Geesteranus, born 20 January 1911 in The Hague, died May 18 2003 in Oegstgeest, was a Dutch mycologist.-References:...
. However, if greater taxonomic emphasis is placed on the weakly amyloid basidiospores, it would be more appropriate in the section Fragilipedes (Fr.) Quél.
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...
is conical to convex to bell-shaped, occasionally with a low and broad 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...
, and reaches 7 to 10 mm (0.275590551181102 to 0.393700787401575 in) in diameter. When moist, it is partly translucent, and grooves corresponding to the position of the gills under tha cap can be seen. The surface is somewhat hygrophanous
Hygrophanous
The adjective hygrophanous refers to the color change of mushroom tissue as it loses or absorbs water, which causes the pileipellis to become more transparent when wet and opaque when dry....
—it changes color as it loses or absorbs moisture. The surface is initially pruinose—covered with what appears to be a fine white powder (remnants of the universal veil
Universal veil
In mycology, a universal veil is a temporary membranous tissue that fully envelops immature fruiting bodies of certain gilled mushrooms. The developing Caesar's mushroom , for example, which may resemble a small white sphere at this point, is protected by this structure...
that covered the immature fruit body)—but this soon sloughs off, leaving it smooth. The cap surface is a dull violet color when young, then becomes somewhat paler near the margin. 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 up to 0.5 mm thick, white, and lacks any distinctive odor and taste. The slender 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...
is 40 to 90 mm (1.6 to 3.5 in) long by 0.5 to 1.5 mm (0.0196850393700787 to 0.0590551181102362 in) thick, cylindrical, centrally attached to the cap, and hollow. Its surface is dry, dull violet to grayish-violet over the entire length. Like the cap surface, it is initially entirely pruinose, but becomes smooth in maturity. The base of the stem is covered with sharp, straight, and stiff white hairs. The gills are narrowly attached to the stem, and distantly spaced, with between 15 and 19 gills reaching the stem. The gills are up to 1.2 mm broad, thin, and pale brownish. The gill edges are pruinose, and the same color as the gill faces.
Microscopic characteristics
The sporeSpore
In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
s are roughly ellipsoid and measure 11–12 by 6–7 µm. They are smooth, colorless, inamyloid to weakly amyloid, and thin-walled. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are 28–37 by 8–10 µm, club-shaped, and mostly four-spored. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) are club-shaped, abundant, and measure 30–45 by 8–11 µm. They form a sterile gill edge. Near their tips they have one or more short knob-like excrescences (outgrowths) that are colorless, and thin-walled. M. mustea does not have cystidia on the gill face (pleurocystidia). The hymenophoral tissue is made of hyphae that are 5–16 µm wide, cylindrical (often somewhat inflated) with thin walls, smooth, colorless, and inamyloid. The cap cuticle
Pileipellis
thumb|300px||right|The cuticle of some mushrooms, such as [[Russula mustelina]] shown here, can be peeled from the cap, and may be useful as an identification feature....
is made of parallel, bent-over hyphae that are 2–6 µm wide, cylindrical, and covered with scattered, warty or finger-like hyaline (translucent) thin-walled diverticulae
Diverticulum
A diverticulum is medical or biological term for an outpouching of a hollow structure in the body. Depending upon which layers of the structure are involved, they are described as being either true or false....
. The layer of hyphae under the cap cuticle are parallel, hyaline or pale violet, dextrinoid (turning reddish to reddish-brown in Melzer's reagent), and contain short and inflated cells that are up to 25 µm wide. The stem cuticle is made of parallel, bent-over thin-walled hyphae that are 2–6 µm wide, cylindrical, smooth, and hyaline or pale violet. The stem tissue is made of longitudinally running, cylindrical hyphae that are 8–15 µm wide, smooth, colorless, and dextrinoid. Clamp connection
Clamp connection
A clamp connection is a structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is created to ensure each septum, or segment of hypha separated by crossed walls, receives a set of differing nuclei, which are obtained through mating of hyphae of differing sexual types...
s are absent in all tissues.
Similar species
Mycena mustea is similar to the North American species M. umbrinovinosa, which is distinguished by having a vinaceous-brown to purplish-black cap, irregularly shaped cheilocystidia that are covered at their tips with long, flexuous excrescences, and clamp connections. Mycena mustea is also similar to the European species M. uraniaMycena urania
Mycena urania, commonly known as the violet bonnet, is a species of mushroom in the Mycenaceae family. First named Agaricua uranius in 1818 by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries, it was assigned its current name in 1872 by the French naturalist Lucien Quélet.-Description:The cap is initially...
, which differs in its blackish-violet cap, broadly club-shaped cheilocystidia covered with numerous, evenly spaced warts, and clamp connections. Mycena mustea also resembles the Japanese M. fonticola
Mycena fonticola
Mycena fonticola is a species of fungus in the Mycenaceae family. First reported in 2007, it is known only from central Honshu, in Japan, where it grows on dead leaves and twigs in low-elevation forests dominated by oak trees. The fruit body of the fungus has a smooth, violet-brown cap up to in...
, a species described concurrently with M. mustea. Unlike that of M. fonticola, the cap of M. mustea typically becomes pale grayish-purple when mature; the cheilocystidia have several short finger-like excrescences at their tips; and the stem cuticle is made up of smooth hyphae. In contrast, the cap of M. fonticola becomes dark violet-brown when mature; there are no excrescences on the cheilocystidia; and the hyphae of the stem cuticle are sparsely covered with diverticulae that resemble warts or fingers.
Habitat and distribution
Mycena mustea is known only from Kanagawa, Japan. The mushroom is found growing solitary to scattered on dead fallen twigs in lowland forests dominated by the hornbeam carpinus (Carpinus tschonoskii) and the Chinese evergreen oak (Quercus myrsinaefolia).External links
- The Agaricales in Southwestern Islands of Japan Images of the holotypeHolotypeA holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
specimen