Crimson Waxcap

Hygrocybe punicea

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Mushrooms

By Roger Phillips

Published 2006

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Crimson Waxcap Hygrocybe punicea (Fr.) P. Kumm. syn. Hygrophorus puniceus (Fr.) Fr. (illustrated 50% life size) Cap 3–7cm across, irregularly bell-shaped and often lobed; deep blood-red when fresh, soon fading to orange-red; greasy. Stem 50–120×6–20mm; yellow, flushed with red, white towards the pointed base; surface covered in coarse fibres, becoming hollow. Flesh white at base and in centre of stem, concolorous or yellow under the cuticle; taste and smell not distinctive. Gills adnexed; yellowish, later becoming flushed with cap colour (the pale gills shown in my collection are unusual). Spores 9–12×5–6¼, broadly elliptical. Spore print white. Habitat amongst short grass in fields and on heaths; autumn. Common. Edible more substantial and worthwhile than most waxcaps. Note this species can be distinguished from the more common H. coccinea (above) by its larger size and the whitish base of the coarse stem.