 In his 1947 monograph of North American Mycena, Alexander H. Smith included it as an "excluded or doubtful species", saying that the species "cannot be recognized until the microscopic characters of the type are known." Researching his 1982 monograph of Mycena, Maas Geesteranus examined the holotype material — the particular specimen designated by Berkeley and Curtis to represent the type of the species. Because of its deteriorated condition, however, he was unable to corroborate the distinguishing features proposed by Berkeley and Curtis, and he agreed with Smith's assessment of the species.
