{{Short description|Genus of fungi}} {{distinguish|Mycenae}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = 2020-11-23_Mycena_amicta_(Fr.)_Quél_1282158.jpg | image_caption = ''Mycena amicta'' | taxon = Mycena | authority = (Pers.) Roussel (1806) | subdivision_ranks = Species | type_species = ''Mycena galericulata'' | type_species_authority = (Scop.) Gray (1821) }} '''''Mycena''''' is a genus of about 500 species of fungi.
Rarely more than a few centimeters in width, the mushrooms are characterized by a small conical or bell-shaped cap and a thin fragile stem. Most are grey or brown, but a few species have brighter colours. Most have a translucent and striate cap, which rarely has an incurved margin. The gills are attached and usually have cystidia. Some species, like ''M. haematopus'', exude a latex when the stem is broken, and many species have a chlorine or radish-like odour. They produce a white spore print.
The species are saprotrophic. Their edibility varies, with some members containing toxins.
== Taxonomy == ''Mycena'' is a rich genus, considered one of the most abundant genera of mushrooms within the Agaricales and with species distributed across the world.<ref name="arora">{{cite book |last1=Arora |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JGTEAAAQBAJ |title=Mushrooms Demystified |date=1 October 1986 |publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed |isbn=978-0-89815-169-5 |language=en |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>
Alexander Smith's 1947 ''Mycena'' monograph identified 232 species; the genus is now known to include about 500 species worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Geographic Photo in the News article |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061026-fungi-glow.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072433/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061026-fungi-glow.html |archive-date=2018-01-23 |access-date=2006-11-02}}</ref> Maas Geesteranus divided the genus into 38 sections in 1992, providing keys to each for all the species of the Northern Hemisphere.
Many new species have since been discovered, and four new sections have been proposed. The taxonomy is complex, as most sections are not truly homogeneous, and the keys fail for some species, especially those that satisfy some criteria for only part of their life cycle. Some sections contain only one species.
=== Selected species === {{Main|List of Mycena species|l1 = List of ''Mycena'' species}} {{clear}} {{Div col|colwidth=15em}} * ''M. abramsii''<ref>{{cite web |title=Mycena abramsii(Murrill) |url=https://mushroomobserver.org/observations/481498 |website=Mushroom Observer}}</ref> * ''M. acicula'' * ''M. adonis'' * ''M. adscendens'' * ''M. aetites'' * ''M. albidocapillaris'' * ''M. alcalina'' * ''M. alnicola'' * ''M. alphitophora'' * ''M. amicta'' * ''M. atkinsonii'' * ''M. atkinsoniana'' * ''M. aurantiomarginata'' * ''M. austrofilopes'' * ''M. austrororida'' * ''M. arcangeliana'' * ''M. aspratilis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. asterina'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. atrata'' * ''M. brunneospinosa'' * ''M. cahaya'' (bioluminescent)<ref name="Chew 2014"/> * ''M. californiensis'' * ''M. capillaripes'' * ''M. chlorophos'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. chlorophanos'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. cinerella'' * ''M. citricolor'' * ''M. citrinomarginata'' * ''M. clariviolacea'' * ''M. clarkeana'' * ''M. coralliformis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. cristinae'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. crocata'' * ''M. cyanorrhiza'' * ''M. cystidiosa'' * ''M. daisyogunensis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. deeptha'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. deformis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. deusta'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. discobasis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. domingensis'' * ''M. epipterygia'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. erubescens'' * ''M. fera'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. flavescens'' * ''M. flavoalba'' * ''M. fonticola'' * ''M. fuhreri'' * ''M. fulgoris'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. fusca'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. fuscoaurantiaca'' * ''M. galericulata'' * ''M. galopus'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. griseoviridis'' * ''M. globulispora'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. gombakensis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. guldeniana'' * ''M. guzmanii'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. haematopus'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. holoporphyra'' * ''M. illuminans'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. inclinata'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. indigotica'' * ''M. interrupta'' * ''M. intersecta'' * ''M. kentingensis'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. kuurkacea'' * ''M. lacrimans'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. lazulina'' (bioluminescent)<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Agaric flora in Southwestern Japan|last=Takahashi|display-authors=etal|year=2016|pages=209}}</ref> * ''M. leaiana'' * ''M. lacrimans'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. lanuginosa'' * ''M. leptocephala'' * ''M. lucentipes'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. lumina'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. luteopallens'' * ''M. luxaeterna'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. luxarboricola'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. lux-coeli'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. luxfoliata'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. luxfoliicola'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. luxperpetua'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. maculata'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. manipularis'' * ''M. margarita'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. marasmielloides'' * ''M. mariae'' * ''M. metata'' * ''M. minirubra'' * ''M. multiplicata'' * ''M. mustea'' * ''M. nargan'' * ''M. nebula'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. nidificata'' * ''M. nocticaelum'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. noctilucens'' * ''M. oculisnymphae'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. olida'' * ''M. olivaceomarginata'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. oregonensis'' * ''M. overholtsii'' * ''M. perlae'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. pelianthina'' * ''M. polygramma'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. pruinosoviscida'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. pseudostylobates'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. pura'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. pura'' complex * ''M. purpureofusca'' * ''M. renati'' * ''M. rosea'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. rosella'' * ''M. roseoflava'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. sanguinolenta'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. seminau'' (bioluminescent)<ref name="Chew 2014"/> * ''M. semivestipes'' * ''M. seynesii'' * ''M. silvaelucens'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. sinar'' (bioluminescent)<ref name="Chew 2014"/> * ''M. sinar var. tangkaisinar'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. singeri'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. spinosissima'' * ''M. stipata'' * ''M. strobilinoides'' * ''M. stylobates'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. subcaerulea'' * ''M. subcyanocephala'' * ''M. sublucens'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. tenuispinosa'' * ''M. tintinnabulum'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. urania'' * ''M. vinacea'' (bioluminescent) * ''M. viscosa'' * ''M. vitilis'' * ''M. vulgaris'' * ''M. zephirus'' (bioluminescent) {{div col end}}
===Etymology=== The name ''Mycena'' comes from the Ancient Greek μύκης ''{{lang|grc-Latn|mykes}}'', meaning "fungus".<ref name=Rea1922>{{cite book|title=British Basidiomycetaceae: a Handbook to the Larger British Fungi|author=Rea, Carleton|year=1922|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|page=373|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/17128208|author-link=Carleton Rea}}</ref> Species in the genus ''Mycena'' (and in ''Hemimycena'') are commonly known as '''bonnets'''.<ref name=BMS>{{cite web|url=http://www.fungi4schools.org/Reprints/ENGLISH_NAMES.pdf|title=Recommended English Names for Fungi in the UK|publisher=British Mycological Society|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716083053/http://www.fungi4schools.org/Reprints/ENGLISH_NAMES.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-16}}</ref>
{{Mycomorphbox | name = ''Mycena'' sp. | whichGills = adnate | capShape = conical | hymeniumType = gills | stipeCharacter = bare | ecologicalType = saprotrophic | sporePrintColor = white | howEdible = unknown }} ==Description== [[File:Small pink fungi.jpg|thumb|''Mycena rubroglobulosa'', New Zealand]] [[File:Mycena interrupta 01 Pengo.jpg|thumb|The blue ''M. interrupta'' (pixies' parasol) growing on a log in Australia]] [[File:ItzrubalitMushroom.jpg|thumb|''Mycena seynesii'']]
''Mycenas'' are hard to identify to species and some are distinguishable only by microscopic features such as the shape of the cystidia. In terms of morphology, ''Mycena'' mushrooms are notably minute in their size (anywhere from 0.5 to ~15 cm in cap-size). Pileate-stipitate in form, there can exist a wide range in both the anatomical characteristics and color of the basidiocarps—though most often basidiocarps are grey or brown.<ref name=arora/> Veils and volva presence in the morphology is not observed. The hymenium is most often either lamellate or poroid, dependent upon the species.<ref name=pps/> Spores are smooth and can be amyloid or non-amyloid, also dependent upon the species. Some species also secrete a latex-like fluid when damaged at the base of the stem.<ref name=arora/>
Over 58 species are known to be bioluminescent,<ref name=Desjardin2010>{{cite journal|vauthors=Desjardin DE, Perry BA, Lodge DJ, Stevani CV, Nagasawa E |title=Luminescent Mycena: new and noteworthy species|journal=Mycologia|volume=102|issue=2|pages=459–77|year=2010|pmid=20361513|doi=10.3852/09-197|s2cid=25377671|url=https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=41883&content=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610155141/https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=41883&content=PDF |archive-date=2021-06-10 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=Desjardin2008>{{cite journal|vauthors=Desjardin DE, Oliveira AG, Stevani CV |year=2008|title=Fungi bioluminescence revisited|journal=Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences|volume=7|issue=2|pages=170–82|doi=10.1039/b713328f|pmid=18264584 |bibcode=2008PhPhS...7..170D |s2cid=10637645 }}</ref> creating a glow known as foxfire. These species are divided among 16 lineages, leading to evolutionary uncertainty in whether the luminescence developed once and was lost among many species, or evolved in parallel by several species. One advantage of bioluminescence may lie in its potential to attract insects that can disperse the mushroom's spores.<ref>Oliveira et al. 2015. Circadian Control Sheds Light on Fungal Bioluminescence. Current Biology, 25(7).</ref>
Bioluminescence in the genus occurs as a reaction between oxygen and luciferin molecules catalyzed by the enzyme luciferase.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Thérèse |last2=Hastings |first2=J. Woodland |title=BIOLUMINESCENCE |journal=Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology |date=November 1998 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=197–230 |doi=10.1146/annurev.cellbio.14.1.197 |pmid=9891783 |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.cellbio.14.1.197 |access-date=5 February 2023 |language=en |issn=1081-0706|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In recent years, mycologists have conducted research examining the development of bioluminescence within fungi, investigating the origin of the genes coding for luciferase enzymes that cause these fantastic visible traits. So far, the literature suggests 3 separate origins of bioluminescence within Agaricales, occurring within the families Omphalotaceae, Physalacriaceae, and Mycenaceae.<ref name=pps/>
==Ecology== Traditionally, the group has been thought to play a purely saprotrophic role in the environment, mostly occurring on hardwoods and producing white rots—though it should be mentioned that, as of 2008, some plant pathogens had also been discovered.<ref name=pps>{{cite journal |last1=Desjardin |first1=Dennis E. |last2=Oliveira |first2=Anderson G. |last3=Stevani |first3=Cassius V. |title=Fungi bioluminescence revisited |journal=Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences |date=February 2008 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=170–182 |doi=10.1039/b713328f|pmid=18264584 |bibcode=2008PhPhS...7..170D |s2cid=10637645 }}</ref> Additionally, it is also worth noting that, in a 2020 study, Thoen et al. challenges the traditional view that the genus has only a saprobic ecological role, suggesting instead that the ability of ''Mycena'' to form plant root interactions in vitro may indicate the capability to establish ectomycorrhizal relationships with a host.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thoen |first1=Ella |last2=Harder |first2=Christoffer Bugge |last3=Kauserud |first3=Håvard |last4=Botnen |first4=Synnøve S. |last5=Vik |first5=Unni |last6=Taylor |first6=Andy F. S. |last7=Menkis |first7=Audrius |last8=Skrede |first8=Inger |title=In vitro evidence of root colonization suggests ecological versatility in the genus Mycena |journal=New Phytologist |date=July 2020 |volume=227 |issue=2 |pages=601–612 |doi=10.1111/nph.16545|pmid=32171021 |bibcode=2020NewPh.227..601T |s2cid=212718454 |hdl=2164/14550 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Recent discoveries show that ''Mycena'' can not only grow from a rotting wood, but also from a living plant root (2023) and a living frog (2024).<ref>{{cite journal|first1=C.B.|last1=Harder|first2=E.|last2=Hesling|first3=S.S.|last3=Botnen|first4=K.E.|last4=Lorberau|first5=B.|last5=Dima|first6=T.|last6=von Bonsdorff-Salminen|first7=T.|last7=Niskanen|first8=S.G.|last8=Jarvis|first9=A.|last9=Ouimette|first10=A.|last10=Hester|first11=E.A.|last11=Hobbie|first12=A.F.S.|last12=Taylor|first13=H.|last13=Kauserud|year=2023|title=''Mycena'' species can be opportunist-generalist plant root invaders|journal=Environmental Microbiology|volume=25|issue=10|pages=1875–1893|doi=10.1111/1462-2920.16398|pmid=37188366 |bibcode=2023EnvMi..25.1875H |hdl=2164/20916|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Chinmay C. Maliye|author2=Lohit Y. T.|year=2024|title=Mushroom Sprouting out of a Living Frog|journal=Reptiles & Amphibians|volume=31|at=e20966|url=https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/20966/19496}}</ref>
==Uses== Some species are edible, while others contain toxins, but the edibility of most is not known, as they are likely too small to be useful in cooking. ''Mycena pura'' and ''M. rosea'' contain the mycotoxin muscarine, but the medical significance of this is unknown.
==See also== * List of bioluminescent fungi * ''Mycena News'', a publication of the Mycological Society of San Francisco
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Chew 2014">{{cite journal |vauthors=Chew AL, Tan YS, Desjardin DE, Musa MY, Sabaratnam V |title=Four new bioluminescent taxa of ''Mycena'' sect. ''Calodontes'' from Peninsular Malaysia |journal=Mycologia |year=2014 |volume=106 |issue=5 |pages=976–88 |doi=10.3852/13-274 |pmid=24891424|s2cid=207706192 }}</ref>
}}
==Further reading== * Smith, Alexander Hancett. ''North American Species of ''Mycena. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1947.
==External links== {{Commons}} {{Wikispecies}} * [http://www.mushroomexpert.com/mycena.html Mushroom Expert - The Genus ''Mycena''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070317144145/http://www.svims.ca/council/Mycenoid.htm Key to the Mycenoid Species in the Pacific Northwest] * [https://www.stevanilab.com/ Fungi Bioluminescence Laboratory] * [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=9f2f323a0b58d530cb9ed85450736e8d;c=fung1tc;idno=AGK0806.0001.001 Online copy of Smith's 1947 Monograph] from the University of Michigan Herbarium * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061101063551/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061026-fungi-glow.html National Geographic Photo in the News], featuring pictures of bioluminescent species * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061010144752/http://home.online.no/~araronse/mycenapage/mycenapage.html Keys for ''Mycena'' species found in Norway], including a great deal of information on many species
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1124575}}
Category:Mycena Category:Agaricales genera Category:Bioluminescent fungi