Small agaric, growing on litter or mulch, rarely among bryophytes, with a white spore print. Pileus bright red, viscid to glutinous. Lamellae subdecurrent or decurrent. Stipe central, bright red, viscid to glutinous. Partial veil remnants absent. Spores hyaline, amyloid, smooth; germ pore absent. Cheilocystidia present. Lamellar trama regular. Pileipellis a cutis; composed of smooth (non-nodulose) hyphae. Clamp connections present.

When the fruit-body is fresh and the pileus and stipe surfaces are viscid to glutinous, this species can only be confused with Hygrocybe, but the latter are mostly larger, do not grow on litter, and the spores are non-amyloid. The red or pink species of Mycena have nodulose pileipellis hyphae, or the pileus and stipe are not viscid.

Cruentomycena R.H.Petersen, Kovalenko & O.Morozova, in Petersen et al., Mycotaxon 105: 123 (2008).

One species: Cruentomycena viscidocruenta. Formerly placed in Mycena where it was the sole representative of Mycena section Viscidocruentae.

Cruentomycena viscidocruenta (Cleland) R.H.Petersen & Kovalenko, in Petersen et al., Mycotaxon 105: 123 (2008).

W.A., S.A., Qld, N.S.W., Vic. and Tas. (and probably also N.T.).

In native forests. Also in gardens, but always seems to be on eucalypt or other native plant litter.

On litter, such as twigs or eucalypt fruit.

Saprotrophic.

Fuhrer, B. (2005), A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books, Hawthorn. [Description and Illustration of C. viscidocruenta (as Mycena)]

Grey, P. & Grey, E. (2005), Fungi Down Under. Fungimap, South Yarra. [Description, Illustration and Map for C. viscidocruenta (as Mycena)]

Grgurinovic, C.A. (1997a), Larger Fungi of South Australia. The Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and State Herbarium and The Flora and Fauna of South Australia Handbooks Committee, Adelaide. [Description and Microcharacters of C. viscidocruenta (as Mycena)]

Grgurinovic, C.A. (2003), The genus Mycena in south-eastern Australia. Fungal Diversity Press, Hong Kong and Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. [Description, Illustration, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters for C. viscidocruenta (as Mycena)]

McCann, I.R. (2003), Australian Fungi Illustrated. Macdown Productions, Vermont. [Illustration of C. viscidocruenta (as Mycena)]

Petersen, R.H., Hughes, K.W., Lickey, E.B., Kovalenko, A.E., Morozova, O.V. & Psurtseva, E.B. (2008), A new genus, Cruentomycena, with Mycena viscidocruenta as type species, Mycotaxon 105: 119–136. [Description, B&W Illustration and Microcharacters of C. viscidocruenta]

Young, A.M. (2005b), A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. [Description and B&W Illustration of C. viscidocruenta (as Mycena)]