Galerina velutipes Singer in Smith & Singer, Monogr. Galerina 284. 1964.

Pileus 6-20(-30) mm diam, convex-papillate when young (circular to oval in surface view), soon becoming campanulate with central papilla to cuspidate, in age becoming plano-convex mucronate, sometimes with uplifted margin and centrally depressed, rarely infundibuliform, typically with a prominent acute to obtuse papilla, often depressed around papilla, rarely lacking the papilla at maturity, pellucid-striate when moist, striate to sulcate when dry; surface dull, moist to dry, hygrophanous, appearing glabrous but very finely pruinose with 14x hand lens; papilla and striae at first reddish brown (8E7-8) to light brown (7E6-7; 6D5-6; "hazel"), paler elsewhere, soon fading through brownish orange (6C3-5), brownish yellow (5C5-6), greyish orange (5-6B4-6), orange (5A5-7) to light yellow (4A2-3) with moisture loss. Context thin (<1 mm), pale concolorous with pileus surface. Odor and taste not distinctive. Lamellae broadly adnate or adnate with a decurrent tooth, often becoming decurrent in age, subdistant to distant with 1-3 series of lamellulae, narrow to moderately broad (1.5-3.0 mm), straight or slightly concave, light orange (5A4-6) to light yellow (4A4-5) when young, becoming brownish yellow (5C6), brownish orange (6C5), to light brown (6D4-8) in age. Stipe 10-20(-35) X 1-3(-7) mm (apex) X 2.0-3.5 mm (base), central, terete or sometimes compressed and rarely cleft, ± equal, sometimes with flared apex or gradually narrowed downward, tough, pliant, hollow, dull, dry, pruinose to hispidulous overall or with base appressed-silky; base subinsititious, arising from a very thin weft of white mycelium; apex brownish orange (6C5; "ochraceous tawny") to light brown (6D6-8); base brown (7E6-7) to dark brown (6-7F7-8); partial veil a thin, buff to pale yellowish brown cortina that soon disappears with pileus expansion, or may leave a few fibrils on stipe apex, mature basidiomata exannulate.
Basidiospores 6.5-9.0(-9.3) X 4.0-5.0 µm [range of means= 7.5-8.7 X 4.5-4.7 µm, mean of means = 8.1 ± 0.4 X 4.6 ± 0.1 µm, Q = 1.4-2.0, range of Q means = 1.6-1.9, mean of Q means = 1.77 ± 0.1, n = 20-25 spores per 5 specimens], a few spores putatively from 2-spored basidia and measuring 9.5-11.2 X 5.2-6.0 µm, ellipsoid to amygdaliform, dark brownish orange in 3%KOH, brownish orange to light brown (6D-E6-8) in deposit, very coarsely verrucose roughened, with a prominent loosened perispore up to 0.8 µm thick (not included in spore measurements), with a distinct smooth plage; germ pore absent. Basidia 22-26 X 6.5-8.0 µm, clavate, 4-spored, rarely 2-spored, clamped. Basidioles clavate. Lamellar edge of mature basidiomata composed of repent, filamentous hyphae giving rise to polymorphic cheilocystidia; cheilocystidia scattered, 19-37 X 3.0-6.5(-10.0) µm, irregular in outline, cylindric to flexuous or fusoid, seldom clavate to broadly clavate, obtuse, sometimes with 1-2 finger-like apical outgrowths, rarely branched, hyaline, thin-walled. Pleurocystidia common, 65-100(-112) X (8.3 )9.0-13.5 µm (at broadest), fusoid with an elongated neck that is (3.5-)5.0-6.7 µm diam, pedicellate, hyaline, thin-walled, projecting well beyond the other hymenial elements; in young basidiomata these cystidia often scattered along lamellar edge. Pileipellis a cutis with scattered erect pilocystidia; hyphae 3-7 µm diam, radially arranged, cylindric, smooth to roughened or weakly incrusted with pale yellowish orange pigments; walls thin, inamyloid, nongelatinous, yellowish golden; pigments not soluble in 3% KOH; pilocystidia 8-65 X 3-4(-6) µm, unicellular or septate, as terminal cells or intercalary outgrowths, filamentous, often flexuous, rarely branched, obtuse, smooth, hyaline, thin-walled. Tramal hyphae subparallel to interwoven, 5-20 µm diam, thick-walled (0.5-1.5 µm), nongelatinous, smooth, hyaline to pale yellowish orange. Stipe tissue monomitic; hyphae parallel to subparallel, 2-10(-14) µm diam, smooth or weakly roughened, nongelatinous, hyaline to pale yellow, pigment intraparietal. Stipitipellis a lattice to nearly a trichodermium with numerous, tangled or intertwined erect caulocystidia; caulocystidia 16-88 X 2.5-5.0 µm, unicellular or septate, filamentous-flexuous, seldom branched or lobed, hyaline, thin walled. Clamp connections common in all tissues.
Habit, habitat and distribution in the Hawaiian Islands. Lignicolous, scattered on very rotten wood of strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum; Myrtaceae), rarely on rotted hala branches (Pandanus tectorius S. Parkinson ex Z; Pandanaceae), in Lowland Mesic Forest (Guava Forest). Jan. to Aug. Hawai`i.
World distribution. Argentina and the Hawaiian Islands.
Selected descriptions and illustrations. Smith & Singer, 1964.
Specimens Examined. ARGENTINA. Prov. Misiones, Puerto Iguazú, 12 Apr. 1957, R. Singer M.932 (HOLOTYPE, MICH). U.S.A. HAWAII: Hawai`i, Hilo, 333 Kalili St., 10 Jan. 1992, DED 5477; same location, 24 May 1993, DED 5667 (ZT 5210); same location, 6 Aug. 1993, D. E. Hemmes (DED 5915); same location, 25 Jul. 1994, DEH 508; Hawai`i, Pana`ewa, Boy Scout Camp S of Hilo, 30 Jul. 1993, DEH 280; same location, 4 Jul. 1994, DEH 514.
Commentary. Diagnostic features of G. velutipes, originally described from subtropical Argentina, include: cuspidate, sulcate pileus that is finely pruinose overall and often becomes depressed at maturity; broadly adnate to subdecurrent lamellae; an entirely pruinose to hispidulous stipe with an ephemeral yellowish brown cortina; filamentous pilocystidia and caulocystidia; and very large pleurocystidia. The Hawaiian specimens differ slightly from the protologue and holotype specimen in nearly always showing a pileus with central papilla; none was reported from Argentinian material (holotype, MICH!). Galerina velutipes belongs in sect. Naucoriopsis Kühner, stirps Cedretorum (sensu A. H. Smith & Singer, 1964) where it is allied with G. sulciceps (Berk.) Boedijn from Indonesia (holotype, K!), and G. subpectinata (Murr.) A. H. Smith & Singer from Cuba (holotype, NY!). The latter two species differ from G. velutipes in having shorter pleurocystidia of a different shape, and both have less ornamented stipes.
Galerina velutipes is locally abundant in alien forests dominated by strawberry guava and was probably recently introduced to Hawai`i along with exotic plants. An unpublished description of G. reflexa from O`ahu by Ueki (1973) not supported by a voucher specimen possibly represents G. velutipes.

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