The Rosy Bonnet (Mycena rosea) is one of the larger and prettier bonnets, a soft pink mushroom of beech woods in autumn. Its smooth cap is bell-shaped at first and later flattens with a broad central bump. It ranges from pale pinkish-white to rosy pink and is finely lined at the edge when moist. The gills are pale pink, and the white to pinkish stem is slightly swollen at the base. Crush a piece and it smells strongly of radish.
It grows in leaf litter under beech and sometimes oak, from July into December, singly or in scattered groups.
It contains muscarine and should not be eaten. Its close relative the Lilac Bonnet (Mycena pura) shares the radish smell and the muscarine, but is usually smaller and lilac to violet-grey. Small pink pinkgills (Entoloma) have pink spore prints, while bonnets have white ones.
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Distribution
Widespread and common
Habitat
In leaf litter of Fagus and sometimes Quercus
Etymology
Mycena is from the Greek mykes, 'fungus'. rosea is Latin for 'rose-coloured'.
Associates
Fagus, Quercus
Cap
Smooth, pale to rosy pink, darker at the centre and finely lined at the margin when moist.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Parabolic, Umbonate, Expanded |
| Surface | Smooth, Hygrophanous |
| Width | 2.5 - 6 cm |
Gills
Pale pink and fairly crowded.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Emarginate |
Flesh
Thin and white.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Strongly raphanoid |
| Taste | Raphanoid |
Stem
White to pinkish, smooth and hollow, slightly swollen at the base.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 - 10 cm |
| Width | 4 - 10 mm |
| Texture | Fibrillose |
| Shape | Clavate |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Ellipsoid, Lacrymoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 7-8.5 x 4-5 μm |
Microscopic Features
The cheilocystidia are up to 90 μm long, club-shaped (clavate) to fusiform (spindle-shaped).
| Cheilocystidia | Club-shaped (Clavate), Fusiform |
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Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Mycenaceae
- ↳ Genus: Mycena
Synonyms
- Agaricus purus α roseus Pers.
- Agaricus roseus Schumach.
- Agaricus roseus Schumach. non Pers. (1797)
- Mycena pura f. rosea (Gramberg) J.E. Lange
- Mycena pura var. rosea (Gramberg) J.E. Lange
- Mycena pura var. rosea (Schumach.) J.E. Lange
- Mycena rosea (Bull.) Gram. {?}
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 2. Geoffrey Kibby.
