''Clitocella'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

-forming

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

Entolomataceae The Entolomataceae, also known as Rhodophyllaceae, are a large family of pink-spored terrestrial gilled mushrooms which includes the genera ''Entoloma'', '' Rhodocybe'', and ''Clitopilus''. The family collectively contains over 1500 species, the ...

. It was circumscribed in 2014 with ''Clitocella popinalis'' as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. The generic name refers to its similarities and close relationship to the genera '' Clitopilus'' and '' Clitopilopsis''; the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''cella'', meaning "storage place", alludes to "taxa not belonging to ''Clitopilus'' or ''Clitopilopsis''". Species have caps with centrally placed

stipes Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

; the gills are decurrent, and crowded closely together with a smooth edge. Mushrooms produce a pink spore print. The spores have thin walls (less than or equal to 0.5

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

) that are cyanophilic (absorbing blue stain) and surfaces ornamented with minute bumps that can be seen in profile and face views. This surface ornamentation distinguishes ''Clitocella'' from ''Clitopilus'', which has longitudinally ridged spores. ''Clitopilopsis'', in contrast, has thicker spore walls (greater than or equal to 0.5 μm).

References

Entolomataceae Agaricales genera {{Agaricales-stub

See also

References