''Leptonia'' has been defined as 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 ...

of small and medium sized pink-spored

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 ...

s that contains over 100 species. They 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 (f ...

and most grow on the ground, but some are found on wood. The

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is thin and can be convex, plane, often depressed and usually has small scales. The

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

are widely spaced, usually having

adnexed In mycology, a lamella, 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 identification. The atta ...

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

attachment (rarely they can be a little

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 ...

) and the stalk is fragile. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

are angular and are flesh colored to pink. Some ''Leptonia'' species have distinctive colors such as black, blue, green, yellow, and violet, but even these are difficult to identify. Most modern taxonomic authorities do not recognize ''Leptonia'' as a genus in its own right, but only as a subgenus of ''Entoloma''. Although little is known about the edibility of mushrooms of this group, some are known to be

poisonous Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

. Data produced by the molecular study by Moncalvo in 2002, has species of '' Nolanea'', ''Leptonia'' and '' Inocephalus'' interspersed with various ''Entoloma'' species in a broadly monophyletic entolomatoid group.Moncalvo JM, et al. 2002. One hundred and seventeen clades of euagarics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23:357–400. Available from
http://www.botany.utoronto.ca/faculty/moncalvo/117clade.pdf

Species

*'' Leptonia ambigua'' *'' Leptonia bispora'' *'' Leptonia boardinghousensis'' *'' Leptonia carnea'' *'' Leptonia foliomarginata'' *'' Leptonia newlingii'' – Australia *'' Leptonia occidentalis'' *'' Leptonia omphalinoides'' *'' Leptonia quinquecolor'' *''

Leptonia sabulosa ''Leptonia'' has been defined as a genus of small and medium sized pink-spored mushrooms that contains over 100 species. They are saprotrophic and most grow on the ground, but some are found on wood. The pileus (mycology), cap is thin and can be ...

'' – Australia *'' Leptonia subpanniculus'' – Australia *'' Leptonia substricta'' – Australia *'' Leptonia umbraphila'' *'' Indigo Blue Leptonia''

References

External links

''Leptonia incana'' - Green leptonia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6528224 Agaricales genera Entolomataceae

Species

See also

References

External links