[1] Then in 1821 Samuel Frederick Gray published his "Natural Arrangement of British Plants" (including fungi) in which he allocated the species to the already existing genus Gymnopus.

In much later work culminating in 1997, Antonín and Noordeloos found that the genus Collybia as defined at that time was unsatisfactory due to being polyphyletic and they proposed a fundamental rearrangement.

They resurrected the genus Gymnopus for some species including fusipes, and after subsequent DNA studies, this has been accepted by modern authorities including Species Fungorum and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and so its current name has reverted to Gray's combination, Gymnopus fusipes.

[2] This mushroom is very variable, though it is easy to recognize on close examination, at least when not young, due to the distinctive tough stem.

[8][13] Note that with its resistant texture G. fusipes can often appear collectable after several months of growth, but due to the normal development of organisms of putrescence during that time, such specimens could cause gastro-enteritis.