Cap
|
4 to 7 cm in diameter; varying from an initial light orange to
orange-red, often paler at the margin.
The conical caps rarely open out fully and they soon turn black - at
first in patches but eventually they blacken all over.
Even when blackened the caps of these fungi remain quite shiny. The
surface is very slippery in wet weather. |
Gills
|
The gills are at first a pale lemon yellow,
becoming more orange and then blackening as the rest of the mushroom
changes colour. |
Stipe
|
The level stipe is 5 to 10 mm in diameter and 4 to 10 cm tall; it has no ring.
Initially yellow with a scarlet tinge
near the cap but remaining much paler at the base; the stipe is full, rather
than hollow, and the
flesh is initially white but quickly turns black when cut.
As the fruitbody matures, the whole stem blackens, usually from the top
downwards. |
Spore print |
White. |
Odour/taste |
Not distinctive. |
Habitat |
On roadside verges, in churchyards and on
meadows and other areas of closely cropped or mown grassland where
artificial fertilisers are not spread. |
Season |
July to November. |
Occurrence |
Infrequent, but where they do occur these
fungi are often to be seen in large trooping groups. |
Similar species |
- Hygrocybe punicea is similar in general appearance, but this species does not blacken.
- Hygrocybe conica has yellow-orange gills and blackens much
more slowly; it retains a very sharp point to the top of its conical
cap.
|
