Content
Mycenae alkaline, pungent, pineapple-loving or gray are the names of the same mushroom. In mycological reference books, it is also designated under the Latin name Mycena alcalina, belongs to the Mycene family.
Fruits grow in compact groups covering large areas
What do mycenes alkaline look like?
The species forms small fruiting bodies, consisting of a stem and a cap. The shape of the upper part changes during the growing season, the base of the lower half is hidden in the substrate.
The external characteristics of the alkaline mycene are as follows:
- At the beginning of growth, the cap is semicircular with a conical bulge in the center, over time it straightens and becomes completely extended with clear slightly wavy edges, the unevenness is created by protruding plates.
- The minimum diameter is 1 cm, the maximum is 3 cm.
- The surface is velvety smooth, without a mucous coating, with radial longitudinal stripes.
- The color of young specimens is brown with a cream shade, during the growing season it brightens and in adult mushrooms it becomes fawn.
- The center is always different in color, it can be lighter than the main tone or darker depending on the lighting and humidity.
- The lower part is lamellar. The plates are thin, but wide, with a clear border near the pedicle, rarely located. Light with a gray tinge, do not change color until the aging of the fruiting body.
- The pulp is fragile, thin, breaks when touched, beige in color.
- Microscopic spores are transparent.
- The leg is high and thin, of the same width along the entire length, often most of it is hidden in the substrate. If it is completely on the surface, then thin white filaments of mycelium are clearly visible near the mycelium.
- The structure is fragile, hollow inside, fibrous.
The color is the same with the upper part or a tone darker, yellowish fragments are possible at the base.
Mycenae of the correct proportional shape, cap type
Where do mycenes grow alkaline
It is difficult to call a common fungus, it forms numerous colonies, but it is rare. It is listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region as a rare species. The small area is associated with the way mycene grows; it enters into symbiosis with conifers. The peculiarity is that it grows only on fallen fir cones.
If the mushrooms are covered with rotten perennial coniferous litter or are hidden under decaying dead wood, then the lower part of the fruiting body develops in the substrate. Only the caps protrude to the surface, the mushroom looks squat. The false impression is created that the mycelium is located on rotting wood. Grows in all regions and types of forests where spruce predominates. Fruiting is long, the beginning of the growing season is immediately after the snow melts and before the onset of frost.
Is it possible to eat mycene alkaline
The chemical composition of the alkaline mycene is poorly understood; the species with a small fruiting body and fragile thin pulp does not represent any nutritional value. The acrid chemical smell does not add popularity either.
Conclusion
Mycena alkaline is widespread in coniferous and mixed massifs, creates a symbiosis with spruce, or rather grows on fallen cones. Forms dense colonies from early spring to the onset of frost. A small mushroom with an unpleasant smell of alkali has no nutritional value, it is classified as an inedible species.
