Mycena maculata

The species was first described scientifically 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". ==Description==

The cap 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 . 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 edibility of the mushroom is unknown. 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. ==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 Quebec, 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. ==See also==