Orange Mycena

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Orange Mycena is a common, colorful, bonnet mushroom. It occurs in North America east of the Great plains and in the Pacific Northwest, and in Mexico and Central America. A variety of this species occurs in eastern Australia and New Zealand. It is found from June through September in woodlands, growing on the dead wood of deciduous trees. It obtains its nutrients from decaying wood (saprobic). It almost always forms tight clusters, with several stems arising from the same point. It is rarely found alone. When handled, the orange pigment will stain the skin.

The cap on young specimens is oval or bell-shaped, bright reddish-orange, shiny, hairless, and sticky. The margin is curved inward. As it ages the cap flattens out, becoming broadly bell-shaped or convex to nearly flat, sometimes with a small depression in the middle. The color fades to bright orange, then paler and more yellowish. The margins sometimes become lined. The upper surface is dull and dry but becomes sticky when wet. Mature caps are ⅜″ to 1½″ (1 to 4 cm) in diameter. Older caps are sometimes almost white.

The stalk is slender, 1¼″ to 2¾″ (3 to 7 cm) long, and 1⁄16″ to ⅛″ (2 to 4 mm) thick. It is often curved or wavy and is sometimes flared at the top. It is tough, cartilaginous, hollow, and sticky when wet. The color is the same as the cap, but it is often paler near the top. It is smooth except rough to the touch just near the top when young. The base is covered with long, stiff, orange hairs. When squeezed, it exudes a watery orange juice.

The gills are closely spaced or crowded. They are broadly attached (adnate) or notched at the point of attachment. The surfaces are pale orange or salmon-colored, but the edges are brilliant reddish-orange. They stain orangish-yellow when bruised.

The flesh is thick, yellowish-white, and watery. Edibility is unknown, but all descriptions mention that the taste is “mealy”, “not distinctive”, or “lacking”.

The spore print is white.

Similar Species

Habitat and Hosts

Woodlands

Dead hardwood

Ecology

Season

June through September

Distribution

Sources

24, 30, 77, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 8/23/2026).

Mycena leaiana (Berk.) Sacc. in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-07-17 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgykv

Mycology Collections Portal (MyCoPortal) https://www.mycoportal.org/portal/collections/index.php). Accessed 8/23/2026.