[GS] Pileus 15–40 mm, light fuscous darker at centre, smooth, convex at first becoming broadly concave, margin strongly down-rolled. Lamellae adnexed or adnate, thin, crowded, sordid pink. Stipe 10–15 × 2–3 mm, slightly tapering towards base, fuscous, striate, solid, rather tough. Context fawn with water soaked layer above the gills, continuous with that of cap. Odour strong, sour. Taste not recorded. Spore print pale sordid pink. Basidiospores 6–8 × 3 um, slightly thickened walls, shallow nodulose, non-amyloid. Pileipellis of closely woven hyphae faintly pseudo-amyloid. [EH] The type material is in very poor condition and accordingly the taxonomic position for this agaric remains doubtful. Baroni (1981) proposed to relegate Rhodocybe muritai to Clitocybe. The actual identity of this taxon can be resolved only with fresh material. Cuticle consisting of cylindrical, not gelatinised, clamp connection bearing hyphae, forming a cutis, interwoven with oleiferous vessels.Spores rough to minutely corrugated-angular, pinkish, oval, 6-7.5 X 3.5-4 um. Cystidia none.[Baroni] Spores 5-7 x 3.5-5 um, ellipsoid in profile and face view, round in polar view, verrucose, verrucae cyanophilic, inamyloid. Basidia 4-sterigmate, lacking cyanophilic bodies. Clamp connections present on hyphae of lamellar trama and hymenial elements. Observations.-As pointed out earlier (Baroni, 1981), both C. antipoda and C. muritai have basidiospores that are not angular in polar view and the basidiospores possess distinct cyanophilic verrucae. The basidiospores of Rhodocybe species are consistently angular in polar view and possess a characteristic undulate- pustulate ornamentation rather than discrete verrucae. In addition, the spore walls of Rhodocybe species are evenly cyanophilic, while in these Clitocybes only the verrucae are cyanophilic. [JAC] fully agree with Baroni this is a Lepista and not Rhodocybe. Spores are patchily cyanophilous. Excluding apiculus length=5.7–7.1µm (µ=6.4, σ=0.36), width=3.6–4.4µm (µ=4.0, σ=0.23), Q=1.4–1.8µm (µ=1.60, σ=0.12), n=20. Clamp conections confirmed. Cheilocystidia absent. All characters of the types, and sequenced recent collections with identical morphology, say this is Lepista luscina (the L. panaeolus complex).

Stevenson (1964: loc. cit.); Horak (1971: loc. cit.).

New Zealand: North Island. Wellington, Catchpole: 3.V. 1958, leg. Stevenson-Cone 1321 (K, holotype).

Only three New Zealand species of Rhodocybe (R. muritai, R. iti, R. maleolens) are known to have emarginate lamellae. These species are easily separated by the following macroscopic and microscopic characters: size and shape of the carpophores, presence or absence either of oleiferous vessels in the subcutis or of clamp connections on cuticular hyphae, and size of the spores. Furthermore, the lack of pseudocystidia is a distinctive feature of this group of New Zealand Rhodocybe

[Notes from Kew Type specimen, PRJ 2010] Baroni annotation "this is a good Lepista"

Pileus 1.5-4 cm diam., light fuscous darker at centre, smooth, convex at first becoming broadly concave, margin strongly down-rolled; flesh fawn with a water soaked layer above the gills. Gills adnexed to adnate, thin, crowded, sordid pink. Stipe 1-1.5 cm x 2-3 mm, fuscous, striate, solid, rather tough, flesh continuous with that of cap, tapering slightly to base. Spores 6-8 x 3 µm, non-amyloid, slightly thickened walls, shallow nodulose (Fig. 1/13) P-10); print pale sordid pink. Cuticle of closely woven hyphae faintly pseudo-amyloid. Strong sour smell.

In moss under Nothofagus, Gatchpole, Wellington, 3.5.1958, Stevenson (type).

Pileus 1.5-4 cm diam., pallide (medio intensius) fuscus, laevis, primo convexus, deinde late concavus, margine valde deorsum revoluto; came hinnulea, strato aquoso supra lamellas sito. Lamellae adnexae usque adnatae, tenues, confertae, sordide puniceae. Stipes 1-1.5 cm x 2-3 mm, fuscus, striatus, solidus, subtenax, came cum pileo continua, basin versus leviter attenuatus. Sporae 6-8 x 3µm, haud amyloideae, parietibus leviter incrassatis inconspicue nodulosis (Fig. 1/13, p.10), in cumulo pallide sordide puniceae. Odor fortis, acidulus.

Typus: Stevenson 1321.