''Clitocybe fennica'' is a species of
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom.
The standard for the n ...
-forming
fungus
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
, formally described by the Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja in 1969. The fungus produces
fruit bodies
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
with chocolate brown
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
that become funnel-shaped with age, paired with brownish
gills
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
and a
stipe matching the cap's colour. It grows as a
decomposer
Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organisms and release the nutrients from the dead matter into the environment around them. Decomposition relies on chemical processes similar to digestion in animals; in fact, many sources use the word ...
on forest floor
litter
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
, typically on
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
needles or mixed spruce-
poplar debris in
mesic heath and grass-herb forests. Initially thought to be confined to
hemiboreal
Hemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic (or boreal) zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of climates and ecosystems.
Botany
A hemiboreal forest has some characteristics of a boreal forest to the north, an ...
and southern
boreal
Boreal, northern, of the north. Derived from the name of the god of the north wind from Ancient Greek civilisation, Boreas (god), Boreas. It may also refer to:
Climatology and geography
*Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernand ...
zones of eastern Finland, where it is very rare, the species has since been recorded in western Siberia.
Taxonomy
''Clitocybe fennica'' was
formally described
A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...
by the Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja in 1969. The
holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
was collected on 27 October 1968 in a grass–herb forest among ''
Picea
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...
'' needles near
Virkkala
Virkkala (; ) is a district of Lohja, Finland, located about 8 kilometers southwest of the center of Lohja along Hanko Highway (Vt 25). Lake Lohja (Finland), Lake Lohja is located right next to Virkkala on its western side. The urban center of Vir ...
in the rural district of
Lohja
Lohja (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Lohja is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, munici ...
,
Southwest Finland
Southwest Finland (, ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ('','' ) of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regional capital and most populous city is Tu ...
; an isotype (duplicate) is preserved at the
herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...
of the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. The
species epithet Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany) ...
''fennica'' refers to Finland, where it was first documented for science.
Description
The cap
pileus of ''C. fennica'' is 2.5–4.0 cm broad, hygrophanous (changing colour as it dries), non‑pruinose and weakly translucent‑striate up to one‑third of the radius. When fresh the cap is chocolate brown with a slightly darker disc; in older specimens it fades to dirty pale brown or greyish brown. Initially plane, the margin soon becomes slightly umbilicate and, at maturity, infundibuliform (funnel-shaped); the surface is slightly viscid, shining and smooth, becoming concentrically wrinkled when dried.
The
stipe measures 3–5 cm by 2–5 mm, concolorous with or a little paler than the cap, equal and solid at first before hollowing, terete to slightly compressed in age. Its surface is dry, somewhat shining and glabrous (smooth and hairless), with scanty