Mycena pseudocorticola

Description

A small bluish-grey or slate-grey bonnet found on the bark of deciduous trees.  The cap is hemispherical or broadly conical, with a pleated appearance.  The gills are few and adnate/decurrent.   It becomes brownish with age.

Similar Species

Other small Mycena species may be present on the boles of deciduous trees.  Older specimens are hard to distinguish from M meliigena, even microscopically, which occurs in in the same habitat. 

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)

Globose spores, cheilocystidia with long branching projections ('medusa' form), short diverticulate stem cystidia

Recording advice

Photograph in its habitat; and also from top down, in side view and underneath to show gills; note habitat and substrate.  Note that only fresh specimens in good condition can be verified from photos.

Habitat

Mossy bark of deciduous trees

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Steely Bonnet
Species group:
fungus
Kingdom:
Fungi
Order:
Agaricales
Family:
Mycenaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
2
First record:
21/10/2025 (Graves, Hazel)
Last record:
30/12/2025 (Hunt, Graham)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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