Hygrocybe miniata - Vermillion Waxcap

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

One of the smaller species of red waxcap fungi, Hygrocybe miniata is an infrequent find on cropped grassland and in woodland clearings.

Red waxcaps are notoriously difficult to separate on macroscopic characters alone, and so it is a great help when a species has one or more features shared with few or no other waxcaps. The Vermillion Waxcap is one very few members of the Hygrophoraceae whose caps are scurfy rather than greasy.

Identification Guide

	Cap The dry, scurfy cap, typically 1 to 3cm in diameter, is at first convex and then flattens sometimes with a slight depression; initially scarlet or blood red ; with age the margin fades to yellow and becomes smoother. The cap flesh is thin and reddish-orange.
	Gills Reddish-brown with pale yellow edges, the gills are adnate, sometimes with a decurrent tooth; broad and fairly distant. Stem Scarlet or orange-red, the stipe is often a little paler than the cap. Level; no ring; reddish-orange stem flesh.
Spore print	White.
Spores	Ellipsoid, 7 to 9 x 4 to 5μm.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Woodland clearings and closely cropped or mown acid grassland where artificial fertilisers are not spread; also sometimes found on heathland.
Season	September to November.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	Hygrocybe cantharellus has decurrent gills. Hygrocybe coccinea has a larger orange-red cap. Hygrocybe conica turns black with age or when cut.