''Mycetinis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

in the

Omphalotaceae The Omphalotaceae are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order (biology), order Agaricales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are most frequently agarics (gilled mushrooms), but occasionally corticioid (in the genus ''Brunneocorticium'') or por ...

family, containing about eight species formerly classified in ''

Marasmius ''Marasmius'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Marasmiaceae. It contains about 500 species of agarics, of which a few, such as '' Marasmius oreades'', are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressiv ...

''.

General

This group of mushrooms was long known as a section (''Alliacei'') within the more familiar genus ''

'', which means that each of the species has a synonym under ''Marasmius''. They are distinguished from other ''Marasmius'' by the hymeniform cap skin which consists of smooth cells, with

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e which do not show a

dextrinoid In mycology a tissue or feature is said to be amyloid if it has a positive amyloid reaction when subjected to a crude chemical test using iodine as an ingredient of either Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, producing a blue to blue-black staini ...

reaction. The species have a characteristic garlic smell. DNA studies showed that the group is

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

allied more to genus ''

Gymnopus ''Gymnopus'' is a genus of fungus in the family Omphalotaceae. The genus has a widespread, cosmopolitan distribution and contains about 300 species. History and classification The type species for ''Gymnopus'', '' Gymnopus fusipes,'' dates ba ...

'' than to ''Marasmius'', but the distinct structure of the cap skin is thought to justify a separation at the genus level.

Franklin Sumner Earle Franklin Sumner Earle (September 4, 1856 – January 31, 1929) was an American mycologist who specialized in fungal plant diseases. He was the first ever mycologist to be employed at the New York Botanical Garden, and was the author of ''The Gene ...

had already defined the genus name ''Mycetinis'' for this group in 1909, though it had not caught on, and in 2005 Wilson & Desjardin proposed to resurrect this name and redefine it for the current taxonomy. The new phylogenetic classification also means that the group belongs to family

instead of

Marasmiaceae The Marasmiaceae are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order (biology), order Agaricales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are most frequently agarics (gilled mushrooms), but occasionally cyphelloid (in the genus ''Cellypha''). According to a ...

. A new species, '' M. curraniae'', was described in 2012.

Species

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8007639 Omphalotaceae Agaricales genera