''Rhodocybe'' 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 ...

fungi 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

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Entolomataceae The Entolomataceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. The family contains eight genera and 2250 species, the majority of which are in ''Entoloma''. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are typically agaricoid (mushrooms with gills), but a mino ...

Basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do no ...

(fruit bodies) are

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...

oid (gilled mushrooms) producing pink

basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are pr ...

that are unevenly roughened or pustular under the microscope.

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

and mostly grow on the ground, occasionally on wood. The genus is distributed worldwide.

Taxonomy

The genus was originally described in 1926 by French mycologist

René Maire René Charles Joseph Ernest Maire (; 29 May 1878, Lons-le-Saunier – 24 November 1949) was a French botanist and mycologist. His major work was the ''Flore de l'Afrique du Nord'' in 16 volumes published posthumously in 1953. He collected plants ...

to accommodate agarics with pink spores that were roughened but not angular (as in the genus ''

Entoloma ''Entoloma'' is a genus of fungi in the order Agaricales. Called pinkgills in English, basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are typically agaricoid (gilled mushrooms), though a minority are gasteroid. All have salmon-pink basidiospores which colour the ...

''). In 2009, as a result of

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

research, based on

cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...

analysis of

DNA sequences A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the ...

, CoDavid et al. found that ''

Clitopilus ''Clitopilus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Entolomataceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in northern temperate areas. Although a 2008 estimate suggested about 30 species in the genus, a more recent publication (2009) u ...

'' species form a clade nested within ''Rhodocybe'' species and proposed that these genera should be merged so that the new combined genus (called ''Clitopilus'' since it is the earlier name) would be

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

(a natural group). Additional research, however, showed that the core groupings of ''Clitopilus'' and ''Rhodocybe'' were both monophyletic, if outlying species were moved to new genera (''

Rhodophana ''Rhodophana'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Entolomataceae. It originally described as a genus in 1947 by Robert Kühner, but the description was invalid until it was re-published in 1971, though as a subgenus of ''Rhodocybe ...

'', ''

Clitocella ''Clitocella'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Entolomataceae. It was circumscribed in 2014 with ''Clitocella popinalis'' as the type species. The generic name refers to its similarities and close relationship to the genera '' ...

'', and '' Clitopilopsis''). This disposition has been accepted by subsequent authors. In this revised sense, the genus remains essentially the same except that ''Rhodocybe nitellina'' and associated species are now placed in ''Rhodophana'' and ''Rhodocybe popinalis'', ''R. mundula'', and associated species are now placed in ''Clitocella''.

Description

''Rhodocybe'' species produce agaricoid fruit bodies of various colours with a pleurotoid,

collybioid ''Collybia'' (in the strict sense) is a genus of mushrooms in the family Clitocybaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution in northern temperate areas, and contains well known species like the blewit, sordid blewit, and frosty funne ...

, mycenoid, clitocyboid, or

tricholoma ''Tricholoma'' is a genus of 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 ...

toid habit. The attachment of

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

ranges from

adnexed In mycology, a lamella (: lamellae), or gill, is a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics. The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal, and are important for species identificatio ...

to sub

decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

. The

stipes Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Carthaginians, ...

(stems) are smooth and lack an

annulus Annulus (or anulus) or annular indicates a ring- or donut-shaped area or structure. It may refer to: Human anatomy * ''Anulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis'', spinal structure * Annulus of Zinn, a.k.a. annular tendon or ''anulus tendineus comm ...

(ring). The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...

is pink. Microscopically,

have pronounced undulate-pustulate ornamentations,

cystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are o ...

are mostly present, and

clamp connections A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), recei ...

are absent.

References

{{Authority control Entolomataceae Taxa named by René Maire Taxa described in 1926