[6] Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that the species is not closely related to Mycena and belongs in the Cyphellaceae in the genus Atheniella.

Samuel Frederick Gray called it the "Adonis high-stool" in his 1821 Natural Arrangement of British Plants,[3] while Mordecai Cubitt Cooke named it the "delicate Mycena".

[8] The cap initially has a sharply conic shape, but expands to a narrow bell-shape or a broad cone in maturity, typically reaching 0.5 to 1.2 cm (0.2 to 0.5 in) in diameter.

The cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia (cystidia found on the edges and faces, respectively, of the gills) are abundant and similar in shape and markings, 40–58 by 10–15 μm, tapering somewhat on either end and usually with a long needle-shaped neck (which is branched in some).

The cystidia are generally smooth, but when dried material is mounted in potassium hydroxide for observation under light microscopy, an amorphous substance apparently holds spores and debris around the neck or apex, making them appear encrusted.

[10] Mycena roseipallens has a smaller fruit body, wider spores, a less intensely colored and less conical cap, and grows on the decaying wood of elm, ash, and alder.

The fruit bodies grow in groups or scattered on needle beds under spruce and hemlock in wet coastal conifer forests, or in the higher mountains, where it is not uncommon in the spring and autumn months.

In one instance, fruit bodies were found growing on the deciduous trees Spanish Maple (Acer granatense) and willow (Salix alba) near Amsterdam.