|
The family Hygrophoraceae includes several strikingly beautiful mushrooms. Some of the Hygrocybe fungi were previously included in the genera Hygrophorus and Camarophyllus.
The fungi in this group are generally referred to as the waxcap family, and
among them are some rare species that should not be picked. In fact most species
in this group are quite small, the majority are inedible and some of the rare
ones (Hygrocybe calyptriformis, for example) are reported to be
poisonous. The mushrooms in this group
have greasy caps that generally start off conical and have thick, waxy
gills. All produce white spore prints.
The Colourful Waxcaps
Many of the species in this family are red or orange. Others are bright
yellow, ivory white brown, green or black and some even change colour
quite significantly as they age. The Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe
psittacina), for example, has a cap that often starts off green and turns yellow or
orange. This variation in colours make identification that much harder, and so
finding specimens at various stages of development is a great help. |
Hygrocybe
coccinea
|
| There are some 150 European species recorded in the family Hygrophoraceae. |
|
|
