Leptonia

Leptonia
Entoloma mougeotii - Subgenus Leptonia Entoloma mougeotii - Subgenus Leptonia
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi Division: Basidiomycota Class: Homobasidiomycetes Subclass: Hymenomycetes Order: Agaricales Family: Entolomataceae Genus: Leptonia (Fries) P. Kumm.
Species
Leptonia carnea Leptonia gracilipes Leptonia incana Leptonia nigroviolacea Leptonia parva Leptonia sericella

Leptonia is a genus of small and medium sized pink-spored mushrooms that contains over 100 species. Leptonias are saprophytic and most grow on the ground, but some are found on wood. The cap is thin and can be convex, plane, often depressed and usually has small scales. The gills are widely spaced, usually having adnexed to adnate attachment (rarely they can be a little decurrent) and the stalk is fragile. The spores are angular and are flesh colored to pink. Some Leptonias have distinctive colors such as black, blue, green, yellow, and violet, but even these are difficult to identify.

Very little is known about the edibility of Leptonias, and some are poisonous. Data produced by the molecular study by Moncalvo in 2002, has species of Nolanea, Leptonia and Inocephalus interspersed with various pinkgill species in a broadly monophyletic entolomatoid group.

References

• One hundred and seventeen clades of euagarics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

External links

• The Leptonia Genus
• Leptonia incana - Green leptonia