 15 to 0 @.@ 4 cm ( 0 @.@ 06 to 0 @.@ 16 in ) thick and yellow to yellow @-@ brown , becoming reddish @-@ brown to orange @-@ brown in the bottom half in maturity . The lower portion of young stems is covered with white flecks . Roughly equal in thickness at the top and bottom , the base of the stem is covered by a yellowish mycelium that can be up to a third of the length of the stem . The edibility of the mushroom is " doubtful " and consumption " best avoided " .   = = = Microscopic characteristics = = =   The spores are 7 – 9 by 5 – 6 @.@ 5 μm , broadly ellipsoid , smooth , and strongly amyloid ( it turns black when treated with Melzer 's reagent ) . The basidia ( spore @-@ bearing cells ) are four @-@ spored . The pleurocystidia ( cystidia on the gill face ) are not differentiated . The cheilocystidia ( cystidia on the gill edge ) are embedded in the gill edge and very inconspicuous , club @-@ shaped , 26 – 36 by 5 – 10 μm , and have tips that are covered with contorted projections that can be slender or thick . The flesh of the gills is homogeneous , and pale yellowish to dirty brown when stained in iodine . The flesh of the cap has a distinct pellicle , a well @-@ differentiated hypoderm ( a region of tissue immediately under the pellicle ) , and a filamentous tramal body ( gill tissue ) ; it is pale yellowish to sordid brownish in iodine stain .   = = = Varieties = = =   E.J.H. Corner defined the varieties M. inclinata var. kinabaluensis and var. subglobospora in his 1994 publication on Agaric mushrooms of Malesia , a biogeographical region straddling the boundary of the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones . The variety kinabaluensis ( named after its type locality , Kinabalu ) has a cap margin that is not scalloped , little or no odor , and cheilocystidia with shorter processes . It was found growing on the dead wood of Lithocarpus havilandii , a stone oak tree in the beech family . Variety subglobospora , found in Sabah , has spores that are almost spherical .   = = = Similar species = = =   Mycena maculata bears some resemblance to M. inclinata , but is only associated with decaying hardwood logs and stumps , and is found in eastern North America , and sometimes on oak on the West Coast . In age , it develops reddish spots on the gills that are not seen in M. inclinata . M. inclinata is often confused with the edible M. galericulata , a common species that is variable in cap color , size and shape . M. galericulata typically has a bluntly conical cap that is dull gray @-@ brown , and white to grayish veins that have numerous cross @-@ veins . M. polygramma has a ridged stem that is bluish @-@ gray .   = = Habitat and distribution = =   Mycena inclinata is a saprobic fungus , deriving its nutrients from decomposing organic matter found in plant litter such as leaves , twigs , bark and branches . It accomplishes this by producing enzymes capable of breaking down the three major biochemical components of plant cell walls found in litter : cellulose , hemicellulose and lignin .   The fruit bodies of Mycena inclinata grow in dense groups or clusters on decaying hardwood logs and stumps ( especially oak and chestnut ) during the spring and autumn . The fungus forms a white , woolly mycelium on the surface of decomposing oak leaves . Occasionally , it can be found growing on a living tree . In eastern North America , it is abundant in the area bounded by Nova Scotia , Ontario , Manitoba , Missouri , North Carolina , and New York . It has been found in Oregon , but the species appears to be generally rare along the Pacific Coast . The range of the fungus also includes Europe , the Canary Islands , North Africa , East Siberia , Japan , Malesia , Turkey , and New Zealand .   = = Chemistry = =   In a study of the trace metal concentrations of various mushrooms species found in Ordu ( Turkey ) , M. inclinata was found to have comparatively high levels of iron ( 628 mg per kg ) and nickel ( 21 @.@ 6 mg / kg ) , measured on a dry weight basis . Laboratory studies have shown that the fungus is resistant to aluminum . The fungus has been investigated for
Ġ15 Ġto Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġcm Ġ( Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ06 Ġto Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ16 Ġin Ġ) Ġthick Ġand Ġyellow Ġto Ġyellow Ġ@ - @ Ġbrown Ġ, Ġbecoming Ġredd ish Ġ@ - @ Ġbrown Ġto Ġorange Ġ@ - @ Ġbrown Ġin Ġthe Ġbottom Ġhalf Ġin Ġmaturity Ġ. ĠThe Ġlower Ġportion Ġof Ġyoung Ġstems Ġis Ġcovered Ġwith Ġwhite Ġfle cks Ġ. ĠRough ly Ġequal Ġin Ġthickness Ġat Ġthe Ġtop Ġand Ġbottom Ġ, Ġthe Ġbase Ġof Ġthe Ġstem Ġis Ġcovered Ġby Ġa Ġyellow ish Ġmy cel ium Ġthat Ġcan Ġbe Ġup Ġto Ġa Ġthird Ġof Ġthe Ġlength Ġof Ġthe Ġstem Ġ. ĠThe Ġed ibility Ġof Ġthe Ġmushroom Ġis Ġ" Ġdoubtful Ġ" Ġand Ġconsumption Ġ" Ġbest Ġavoided Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMicro sc opic Ġcharacteristics Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġspores Ġare Ġ7 ĠâĢĵ Ġ9 Ġby Ġ5 ĠâĢĵ Ġ6 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 ĠÎ¼ m Ġ, Ġbroadly Ġell ip so id Ġ, Ġsmooth Ġ, Ġand Ġstrongly Ġam yl oid Ġ( Ġit Ġturns Ġblack Ġwhen Ġtreated Ġwith ĠMel zer Ġ' s Ġre agent Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġbas idia Ġ( Ġsp ore Ġ@ - @ Ġbearing Ġcells Ġ) Ġare Ġfour Ġ@ - @ Ġsp ored Ġ. ĠThe Ġple uro cy st idia Ġ( Ġcy st idia Ġon Ġthe Ġg ill Ġface Ġ) Ġare Ġnot Ġdifferentiated Ġ. ĠThe Ġche il ocy st idia Ġ( Ġcy st idia Ġon Ġthe Ġg ill Ġedge Ġ) Ġare Ġembedded Ġin Ġthe Ġg ill Ġedge Ġand Ġvery Ġincons pic uous Ġ, Ġclub Ġ@ - @ Ġshaped Ġ, Ġ26 ĠâĢĵ Ġ36 Ġby Ġ5 ĠâĢĵ Ġ10 ĠÎ¼ m Ġ, Ġand Ġhave Ġtips Ġthat Ġare Ġcovered Ġwith Ġcont orted Ġprojections Ġthat Ġcan Ġbe Ġslender Ġor Ġthick Ġ. ĠThe Ġflesh Ġof Ġthe Ġg ills Ġis Ġhom ogeneous Ġ, Ġand Ġpale Ġyellow ish Ġto Ġdirty Ġbrown Ġwhen Ġstained Ġin Ġiodine Ġ. ĠThe Ġflesh Ġof Ġthe Ġcap Ġhas Ġa Ġdistinct Ġpe ll icle Ġ, Ġa Ġwell Ġ@ - @ Ġdifferentiated Ġhyp od erm Ġ( Ġa Ġregion Ġof Ġtissue Ġimmediately Ġunder Ġthe Ġpe ll icle Ġ) Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġfilament ous Ġtram al Ġbody Ġ( Ġg ill Ġtissue Ġ) Ġ; Ġit Ġis Ġpale Ġyellow ish Ġto Ġs ord id Ġbrown ish Ġin Ġiodine Ġstain Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠVar ieties Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠE . J . H . ĠCorner Ġdefined Ġthe Ġvarieties ĠM . Ġincl in ata Ġvar . Ġkin abal u ensis Ġand Ġvar . Ġsub gl obos pora Ġin Ġhis Ġ1994 Ġpublication Ġon ĠAg ar ic Ġmushrooms Ġof ĠMales ia Ġ, Ġa Ġbio ge ographical Ġregion Ġstr add ling Ġthe Ġboundary Ġof Ġthe ĠInd omal aya Ġand ĠAustral asia Ġeco z ones Ġ. ĠThe Ġvariety Ġkin abal u ensis Ġ( Ġnamed Ġafter Ġits Ġtype Ġlocality Ġ, ĠKin abal u Ġ) Ġhas Ġa Ġcap Ġmargin Ġthat Ġis Ġnot Ġsc all oped Ġ, Ġlittle Ġor Ġno Ġodor Ġ, Ġand Ġche il ocy st idia Ġwith Ġshorter Ġprocesses Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġfound Ġgrowing Ġon Ġthe Ġdead Ġwood Ġof ĠLith oc arp us Ġha vil and ii Ġ, Ġa Ġstone Ġoak Ġtree Ġin Ġthe Ġbe ech Ġfamily Ġ. ĠVariety Ġsub gl obos pora Ġ, Ġfound Ġin ĠSab ah Ġ, Ġhas Ġspores Ġthat Ġare Ġalmost Ġspherical Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSimilar Ġspecies Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMy c ena Ġmac ul ata Ġbears Ġsome Ġresemblance Ġto ĠM . Ġincl in ata Ġ, Ġbut Ġis Ġonly Ġassociated Ġwith Ġdecaying Ġhard wood Ġlogs Ġand Ġst umps Ġ, Ġand Ġis Ġfound Ġin Ġeastern ĠNorth ĠAmerica Ġ, Ġand Ġsometimes Ġon Ġoak Ġon Ġthe ĠWest ĠCoast Ġ. ĠIn Ġage Ġ, Ġit Ġdevelops Ġredd ish Ġspots Ġon Ġthe Ġg ills Ġthat Ġare Ġnot Ġseen Ġin ĠM . Ġincl in ata Ġ. ĠM . Ġincl in ata Ġis Ġoften Ġconfused Ġwith Ġthe Ġedible ĠM . Ġgal eric ul ata Ġ, Ġa Ġcommon Ġspecies Ġthat Ġis Ġvariable Ġin Ġcap Ġcolor Ġ, Ġsize Ġand Ġshape Ġ. ĠM . Ġgal eric ul ata Ġtypically Ġhas Ġa Ġbluntly Ġcon ical Ġcap Ġthat Ġis Ġdull Ġgray Ġ@ - @ Ġbrown Ġ, Ġand Ġwhite Ġto Ġgray ish Ġveins Ġthat Ġhave Ġnumerous Ġcross Ġ@ - @ Ġveins Ġ. ĠM . Ġpoly gram ma Ġhas Ġa Ġrid ged Ġstem Ġthat Ġis Ġbl uish Ġ@ - @ Ġgray Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠHabit at Ġand Ġdistribution Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMy c ena Ġincl in ata Ġis Ġa Ġsa pro b ic Ġfungus Ġ, Ġder iving Ġits Ġnutrients Ġfrom Ġdecom posing Ġorganic Ġmatter Ġfound Ġin Ġplant Ġlitter Ġsuch Ġas Ġleaves Ġ, Ġtw igs Ġ, Ġbark Ġand Ġbranches Ġ. ĠIt Ġaccompl ishes Ġthis Ġby Ġproducing Ġenzymes Ġcapable Ġof Ġbreaking Ġdown Ġthe Ġthree Ġmajor Ġbiochemical Ġcomponents Ġof Ġplant Ġcell Ġwalls Ġfound Ġin Ġlitter Ġ: Ġcellul ose Ġ, Ġhem ice ll ul ose Ġand Ġl ign in Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġfruit Ġbodies Ġof ĠMy c ena Ġincl in ata Ġgrow Ġin Ġdense Ġgroups Ġor Ġclusters Ġon Ġdecaying Ġhard wood Ġlogs Ġand Ġst umps Ġ( Ġespecially Ġoak Ġand Ġchest nut Ġ) Ġduring Ġthe Ġspring Ġand Ġautumn Ġ. ĠThe Ġfungus Ġforms Ġa Ġwhite Ġ, Ġwo olly Ġmy cel ium Ġon Ġthe Ġsurface Ġof Ġdecom posing Ġoak Ġleaves Ġ. ĠOccasionally Ġ, Ġit Ġcan Ġbe Ġfound Ġgrowing Ġon Ġa Ġliving Ġtree Ġ. ĠIn Ġeastern ĠNorth ĠAmerica Ġ, Ġit Ġis Ġabundant Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġbounded Ġby ĠNova ĠScotia Ġ, ĠOntario Ġ, ĠManitoba Ġ, ĠMissouri Ġ, ĠNorth ĠCarolina Ġ, Ġand ĠNew ĠYork Ġ. ĠIt Ġhas Ġbeen Ġfound Ġin ĠOregon Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġspecies Ġappears Ġto Ġbe Ġgenerally Ġrare Ġalong Ġthe ĠPacific ĠCoast Ġ. ĠThe Ġrange Ġof Ġthe Ġfungus Ġalso Ġincludes ĠEurope Ġ, Ġthe ĠCanary ĠIslands Ġ, ĠNorth ĠAfrica Ġ, ĠEast ĠSiberia Ġ, ĠJapan Ġ, ĠMales ia Ġ, ĠTurkey Ġ, Ġand ĠNew ĠZealand Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠChemistry Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġa Ġstudy Ġof Ġthe Ġtrace Ġmetal Ġconcentrations Ġof Ġvarious Ġmushrooms Ġspecies Ġfound Ġin ĠOr du Ġ( ĠTurkey Ġ) Ġ, ĠM . Ġincl in ata Ġwas Ġfound Ġto Ġhave Ġcomparatively Ġhigh Ġlevels Ġof Ġiron Ġ( Ġ6 28 Ġmg Ġper Ġkg Ġ) Ġand Ġnickel Ġ( Ġ21 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġmg Ġ/ Ġkg Ġ) Ġ, Ġmeasured Ġon Ġa Ġdry Ġweight Ġbasis Ġ. ĠLaboratory Ġstudies Ġhave Ġshown Ġthat Ġthe Ġfungus Ġis Ġresistant Ġto Ġaluminum Ġ. ĠThe Ġfungus Ġhas Ġbeen Ġinvestigated Ġfor