Rhodocybe


Rhodocybe is a small genus of small and medium-sized brownish-pink spored mushrooms, or it is a subgroup of genus Clitopilus. These mushrooms are saprotrophic and most grow on the ground, but some are found on wood. Most are drab in appearance, though a few have vivid colors.

Description

The cap shape can be convex, plane, or depressed. The gills usually have to attachment, rarely and the stems of the mushrooms are highly variable, but always lack a veil or volva.
The spores are flesh-colored to salmon to brownish pink. Microscopically the shape of the spores is important in defining the group.
About 20 species of Rhodocybe have been documented in Europe, but R. gemina is the commonest and best known, though rare in Britain. The type species is Rhodocybe caelata Maire.
Little is known about the edibility of Rhodocybes, but one prominent mushroom guide indicates that R. gemina is good to eat.

Taxonomic status

The group belongs to family Entolomataceae and the members are similar to some Entoloma or Clitopilus species, being distinguished by spore shape; essentially Entoloma spores are polyhedral, Clitopilus spores have longitudinal ridges, and Rhodocybes spores are angular when viewed on end but bumpy to weakly angular when viewed from the side. But in 2009, CoDavid et al. found that Clitopilus species form a clade nested within the Rhodocybe species and proposed that these genera should be merged so that the new genus would be monophyletic. Since the name Clitopilus is older, it takes precedence and the name Rhodocybe should be dropped.
Rhodocybe is divided into four subsections - Rhodocybe, Rhodophana, Decurrentes, and Rufobrunneua.