Wax Caps

wax caps a group of mushrooms whose gills turn into a waxy mass when ripe. Some have waxy or slimy caps.

Classification of the group is a problem; some authorities assign all these mushrooms to the genus Hygrophorus, while recognizing three ‘groups’ (Camarophyllus, Limacium, and Hygrocybe, established long ago by Vries) within the genus; others prefer to have two genera, Hygrophorus and Hygrocybe; or three, or even four. The older way is followed here, but with the species organized into the ‘groups’.