The fungus was first described scientifically as Agaricus galericulatus by Italian mycologist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772,[2] and sanctioned under this name by Elias Magnus Fries in his 1821 Systema Mycologicum.

[6] In the older (1947) classification of Alexander H. Smith, he placed it in the subgenus Eumycena, section Typicae—"a most monotonous series of blackish, brown, gray, bluish-gray, or brownish-gray species mostly with ascending gills and generally large to moderate stature.

The flesh is thick in the center of the cap and tapers evenly to the margin, and is watery gray, with a cartilage-like texture.

The odor and taste are mildly to strongly farinaceous (similar to the smell of freshly ground flour),[10] to radish-like.

It is hollow, not hairy, either smooth or twisted with longitudinal striations, often with a long pseudorrhiza (a subterranean elongation of the stem) at the base.

There are numerous club-shaped to rounded cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge), that measure 32–40 by 8–12 μm; their apices or the entire enlarged portion bear rodlike projections that become increasingly elongated and branched in age.

[13] An older source considers them edible when "stewed gently in their own juice and then seasoned with salt, pepper and butter.

[9] Another Mycena that grows in clusters on decaying hardwoods is M. haematopus, but this species has a vinaceous-brown cap with a scalloped margin, and a stem that bleeds reddish-brown juice when injured.

[17] M. excisa closely resembles M. galericulata, but can be distinguished microscopically by the presence of both smooth and roughened cystidia (bearing finger-like projections).

[14] A study of litter-decomposing fungi in a coniferous forest in Finland showed that M. galericulata produces extracellular hydrolytic enzymes in the humus and eluvial soil, including β-glucosidase, β-xylosidase, α-glucosidase, butyrate esterase and sulphatase.

The enzymes form complexes with inorganic and organic particles in the soil and break down (depolymerize) biopolymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and starch, which contributes to the cycling of carbon and nutrients.

[20] The presence of lead contamination in the soil decreases both the growth and the extracellular hydrolytic enzyme activity of M. galericulata.

[21] Mycena galericulata is a very common and widely distributed species, found throughout the entire temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere.

[22] Although the mushroom has occasionally been reported from Australia, these collections are probably based on misidentifications, and "Australian records of Mycena galericulata are best regarded as erroneous".