Mycena leaiana
| Mycena leaiana | |
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| The orange mycena, photographed in West Virginia, USA. | |
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| Mature Mycena leaiana var. australis (note the faded orange colour) in Mount Field National Park. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Mycenaceae |
| Genus: | Mycena |
| Species: | M. leaiana |
| Binomial name | |
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Mycena leaiana (Berk.) Sacc. (1891) |
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| Synonyms | |
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| Mycena leaiana | |
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| Mycological characteristics | |
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gills on hymenium |
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cap is conical |
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hymenium is adnexed |
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stipe is bare |
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spore print is white |
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ecology is saprotrophic |
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edibility: unknown |
Mycena leaiana, commonly known as the orange mycena or Lea's mycena, is a species of saprobic fungi in the genus Mycena, family Mycenaceae. Characterized by their bright orange caps and stalks and reddish-orange gill edges, they usually grow in dense clusters on deciduous logs. The pigment responsible for the orange color in this species has antibiotic properties. A variety of the species, Mycena leaiana var. australis, can be found in Australia and New Zealand.
Originally named Agaricus leajanus by the English biologist Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1845, Pier Andrea Saccardo was later (1891) to move it to the genus Mycena when the large genus Agaricus was divided. The species was named after Thomas Gibson Lea (1785–1844), a mushroom collector from Ohio who had sent a collection of specimens to Berkeley for identification.
The hygrophanous cap is 1 to 4 centimetres (0.39 to 1.57 in) in diameter, and initially rounded or bell-shaped but becoming expanded and convex with age, often with a depression in the center. The color is a bright orange that fades as the mushroom matures. The surface of the cap is sticky, especially in moist weather, and smooth, while the margin often has striations. The trama is soft, watery, and white. The gills are adnexed in attachment (gills narrowly attached/tapering toward stem so that their attachment is almost free), crowded together, and yellowish in color, with the color deepening to bright orange-red at the edges. The deepening in color at the edges is due to an orange pigment that is contained largely within cells called cheilocystidia. If handled, the yellow pigment will rub off and stain the skin.
The stipe is typically 3 to 7 centimetres (1.2 to 2.8 in) long by 2–4 mm thick. The diameter of the stipe is more or less equal throughout its length, although it may be slightly enlarged at the base. It is orange in color, and has fine hairs on the upper portion, and denser hairs at the base. The orange mycena has no distinctive taste, and a slightly mealy odor.Spores are elliptical in shape, smooth, amyloid, and have dimensions of 7–10 × 5–6 µm. The spore print is white.
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