The present key is an attempt to provide a tool for identifying Norwegian Mycenas. Species occuring in Northern Europe but not yet found in Norway usually are not included in the key. They are, however, presented on the site with descriptions, photos and micro drawings. To identify a Mycena a good microscope is inevitable. In this tentative key, however, I have tried to use mostly macroscopic characters. In only a few instances I have been forced to refer to microscopic features when no reliable macroscopic feature could be found.

The main goal with this site initially was to show photos of all Norwegian Mycenas, and to give an overwiew of the status of each species. Because of positive response from many countries I have decided to write descriptions of all the species and to provide microscopic drawings. I also decided to widened the scope to include all species recorded in Northern Europe. This work is now in process. In many cases the key will probably not be sufficient, and further literature (e. g. Maas Geesteranus 1992) is highly recommended. In addition I recommend Aronsen & Læssøe: The genus Mycena s.l. in The Fungi of Northern Europe, vol. 5 (2016).

In addition to the descriptions of the species the visitor will also find identification keys to each section. The production of these keys is still in progress.

What is a Mycena?

The genus Mycena has been studied by many mycologists during the years, e.g. the Danish mycologist J. E. Lange, the French mycologist R. Kühner, A. H. Smith in the USA, and the Dutch mycologist R. A. Maas Geesteranus. The most recent account is the work by Giovanni Robich from Italy. The work by Dr. Maas Geesteranus inspired and motivated professionals as well as amateurs to study Mycenas, and the recent years quite a few new species have been described, many of which have never been illustrated. On this site some of these species are shown for the first time.