Hygrocybe acutoconica - Persistent Waxcap

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

In wet weather easily mistaken for a young Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe conica, in its yellow form, the Persistent Waxcap does not blacken. As the name implies, the fruitbodies are relatively long lasting.

Most often found on sandy soil on limestone or chalk substrates, these attractive medium-sized waxcaps are infrequent or rare in many ofb the areas where other Hygrocybe species are abundant.

Hygrocybe acutoconica (syn. Hygrocybe persistens) sometimes appears on sandy riverbanks, particularly where the grass is well shaded and mossy. On mainland Europe I have seen the Persistent Waxcap as far south as the Algarve Coast, in southern Portugal.

Note: The recognised scientific name of this waxcap in the UK checklist was recently changed from Hygrocybe persistens to Hygrocybe autoconica.

Identification Guide

Cap	3 to 6cm across; initially acutely conical, expanding to become umbonate; margin irregularly lobed and tending to split as cap expands; yellow, tinged with orange; viscid at first with a translucent striate margin, drying silky smooth or with very fine radial fibrils.
Gills	Adnexed to free; broad; fairly distant; pale yellow.
Stem	Up to 9cm long and 5 to 8mm dia.; yellow tinged with orange; tapering towards apex; often with one or more longitudinal grooves; dry and finely fibrillose; no ring.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	In grass on sandy alkaline soil.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	Hygrocybe conica, the Blackening Waxcap, is similar in form but it blackens completely once the cap has expanded or if damaged by handling.. Hygrocybe conicoides, the Dune Waxcap, has yellow-orange gills and blackens slowly (and rarely all over); its cap is not markedly striate or radially fibrilose.