Mycena vulgaris (Mycena vulgaris) photo and description

Mycena vulgaris (Mycena vulgaris)

Mycena vulgaris (Mycena vulgaris) is a small mushroom belonging to the Mycena family. In scientific treatises, the name of this species is: Mycena vulgaris (Pers.) P. Kumm. There are other synonymous names for the species, in particular, the Latin Mycena vulgaris.

External description of the fungus

The diameter of the cap in common mycena is 1-2 cm. In young mushrooms, it has a convex shape, subsequently becoming prostrate or wide-conical. Sometimes a tubercle is visible in the central part of the cap, but most often it is characterized by a depressed surface. The edge of the cap of this mushroom is furrowed and lighter in color. The cap itself is transparent, stripes are visible on its surface, it has a gray-brown, gray-brown, pale or grayish-yellow color. Characterized by the presence of a brown eye.

The plates of the fungus are rare, only 14-17 of them reach the surface of the mushroom stem. They have an arched shape, grayish-brown or white color, slimy edge. They have excellent flexibility, run down on the leg. Mushroom spore powder is white in color.

The length of the leg reaches 2-6 cm, and its thickness is 1-1.5 mm. It is characterized by a cylindrical shape, inside – hollow, very rigid, to the touch – smooth. The color of the stem is light brown above, becoming darker below. At the base, it is covered with stiff white hairs. The surface of the leg is mucous and sticky.

The pulp of the common mycena is whitish in color, has no taste, and is very thin. Her smell is not expressive, it looks like a rare one. The spores are elliptical in shape, are 4-spore basidia, are characterized by dimensions of 7-8 * 3.5-4 microns.

Habitat and fruiting period

The fruiting period of the common mycena (Mycena vulgaris) begins at the end of summer and continues throughout the first half of autumn. The fungus belongs to the category of litter saprotrophs, grows in groups, but the fruiting bodies do not grow together with each other. You can meet an ordinary mycena in mixed and coniferous forests, in the middle of fallen needles. The presented species of mycenae is widely distributed in Europe. Sometimes common mycena can be found in North America and Asian countries.

Edibility

The common mycena mushroom (Mycena vulgaris) is mistakenly classified as inedible. In fact, it is not poisonous, and its use in food is not common due to the fact that it is too small in size, which does not allow high-quality processing of the mushroom after harvest.

Similar species, distinctive features from them

On the territory of Our Country, several varieties of mycena mushrooms are common, characterized by the mucous surface of the stem and cap, and also resembling the common mycena (Mycena vulgaris). We list the most famous varieties:

• Mycena is mucous. It has many subspecies that have one common feature, namely, the yellowish color of the thin stem. In addition, mucous mycenae, as a rule, have large spores 10 * 5 microns in size, the fungus has plates adhering to the stem.
• Mycena dewy (Mycena rorida), which is currently synonymous with Roridomyces dewy. This type of fungus prefers to grow on rotten wood of deciduous and coniferous trees. On its leg there is a mucous membrane, and the spores are larger than those of the common mycena. Their size is 8-12*4-5 microns. Basidia are only two-spored.

The Latin name of mycena vulgaris (Mycena vulgaris) comes from the Greek word mykes, meaning mushroom, as well as the Latin specific term vulgaris, translated as ordinary.

Mycena vulgaris (Mycena vulgaris) is listed in some countries in the Red Books. Among such countries are Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Latvia. This type of fungus is not listed in the Red Book of the Federation.