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Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe conica 

A dark pointed mushroom with long stem growing in the grass

How to identify:

CapConical in shape. Typical waxcap texture. Dark to pale orange/yellow, blackening at the tip first or where bruised. 
Cap Diameter1.5 – 3.5 cm 
GillsPale lemon, also blackening with age. 
Stems Pale yellow, blackening with age.
FleshYellow
SporesWhite

 

Where to find them?

Blackening Waxcaps (Hygrocybe conica) sometimes appears in lines along roadside verges, particularly on hillsides or where the grass is well shaded, moist and mossy. 

Other common names

Witches Hat

Did you know?

Blackening Waxcaps can appear remarkably quickly after rain in late summer and autumn, but once mature they remain standing sometimes for more than two weeks. 

They are one of the most common waxcaps in Northern Europe.

Other Species

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Meadow WaxCap
Apricot mushroom with flat top

Meadow WaxCap

Hygrocybe pratensis

Snowy Waxcap

Cuphophyllus virgineus

How to identify:

CapIvory white sometimes with a slight yellow tinge. Young snowy waxcaps have convex caps (more pointed) but these flatten with age. Often they have a slight umbo (raised area in the centre of the cap). Greasy texture.
Cap Diameter5- 7cm
GillsDecurrent gills (gills extend slightly down the stem), gills are widely spread. Brighter white than the cap but become more ivory in colour as they age
StemSlender and white, sometimes a little curved
StemSlightly greasy to touch, feels waxy when crushed.
SporesWhite

 

 

Where to find them?

Snowy Waxcaps (Cuphophyllus virgineus) can be found in parkland, garden lawns, churchyards and pastures around autumn time.

Did you know?

One of the most widely recorded waxcaps in unfertilised grassland. A variable species which includes varieties having pale buff-brown colours on the cap. Snowy waxcaps are a little more hardy than other waxcap species.

Don’t mistake them for….

The  Cedarwood Waxcap (similar white colour with distinctive smell of woof chippings).

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

Scarlet Waxcap

Hygrocybe coccinea

9 scarlet red waxcap mushrooms in among grass.

How to identify:

CapRed, moist and domed at first, becoming flatter with age
Cap DiameterTo 6 cm
GillsRed or yellow, broadly attached to the stem
StemRed or orange, dry and smooth
FleshRed or the same colour as the outside of the mushroom
SporesWhite

 

 

Where to find them?

With a preference for unfertilised land, the Scarlet Waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea)  can be found on cropped grassland and woodland clearings. They often appear in large troops (a group).

Did you know?

Hygrocybe means ‘watery head’, these waxcaps are always very moist.  Coccinea means bright red (as in the food colouring cochineal) . The image above shows the justification of the name.

Don’t mistake it with…

The Crimson Waxcap

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea