Hygrocybe helobia

Hygrocybe helobia (Arnolds) Bon. (illustrated life size) Cap 0.5–2cm across, convex; bright scarlet. Stem 20–50×2–5mm; concolorous with cap or more orange; smooth and shiny. Flesh orange-red; thin; taste and smell not distinctive. Gills adnate; yellow to vermillion or orange-red with paler yellow edge. Spores 7.5–10×5–6¼, ellipsoid to egg-shaped. Spore print white. Habitat in grassy clearings in woodland or on heaths; autumn. Occasional. Unknown edibility. Note this fungus was not described until 1974; it was shown as Hygrocybe miniata (Fr.) Kummer in my first book. It can be distinguished from the other small, bright red species in this genus by the very distinct, long gill-trama elements.