First described as Agaricus inclinatus by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1838,[2] it was assigned its current name in 1872 by Lucien Quélet.

[1] In a molecular study of the large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences of mycorrhizal fungi of the orchid Gastrodia confusa, M. inclinata was found to be closely related to M. aurantiomarginata, M. crocata, and M. leaiana.

Initially conic to bell-shaped to convex, it flattens during maturity, developing visible surface grooves corresponding to the gills underneath the cap.

The flesh of the cap is thick in the center but thin elsewhere, grayish to whitish, fragile, and with a slightly mealy odor and taste.

[8] The spores are 7–9 by 5–6.5 μm, broadly ellipsoid, smooth, and strongly amyloid (it turns black when treated with Melzer's reagent).

subglobospora in his 1994 publication on Agaric mushrooms of Malesia, a biogeographical region straddling the boundary of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms.

The variety kinabaluensis (named after its type locality, Kinabalu) has a cap margin that is not scalloped, little or no odor, and cheilocystidia with shorter processes.

[12] Mycena maculata bears some resemblance to M. inclinata, but is only associated with decaying hardwood logs and stumps, and is found in eastern North America, and sometimes on oak on the West Coast.

[7] Mycena inclinata is a saprobic fungus, deriving its nutrients from decomposing organic matter found in plant litter such as leaves, twigs, bark and branches.

It accomplishes this by producing enzymes capable of breaking down the three major biochemical components of plant cell walls found in litter: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

[13] The fruit bodies of Mycena inclinata grow in dense groups or clusters on decaying hardwood logs and stumps (especially oak and chestnut) during the spring and autumn.

[10] The range of the fungus also includes Europe, the Canary Islands, North Africa, East Siberia, Japan,[11] Malesia,[12] Turkey,[14] and New Zealand.