Hygrocybe chlorophana - Golden Waxcap

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

A common waxcap of cropped pasture and churchyards, like nearly all waxcaps Hygrocybe chlorophana is an autumn and early winter species. These lovely yellow fungi are generally found in small trooping groups; they are sometimes seen in churchyards, but sheep-grazed upland commons are usually much better places to try.

Although generally considered edible, Golden Waxcaps are easily confused with other inedible yellow waxcap species.

Identification Guide

	Cap The cap, initially domed, is yellow and slimy; it becomes broadly umbonate or even flat with age and grows to between 2 and 4cm in diameter. This waxcap does not blacken either with age or when bruised. The thin cap flesh is yellow. Gills Yellow, becoming a paler lemon-yellow as the fruitbody ages, the gills are adnate, broad and fairly distant. Stem Coloured as the cap, the slender stipe (typically 2 to 3mm diameter) is viscid and has no ring; its flesh is yellowish and solid.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Closely cropped or mown grassland where artificial fertilisers are not spread.
Season	Summer and Autumn.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	Hygrocybe ceracea is very similar but typically smaller and its stem becomes hollow with age.