Hygrophoropsis pallida (Peck) Kreisel

Phylum: Basidiomycota - Class: Agaricomycetes - Order: Boletales - Family: Hygrophoropsidaceae

Distribution - Taxonomic History - Etymology - Identification - Culinary Notes - Reference Sources

Hygrophoropsis pallida

Hygrophoropsis pallida, a gilled boletoid fungus, was until recently considered merely a variety of the False Chanterelle Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca; however, recent DNA studies have shown that is a distinct species.

Hygrophoropsis pallida, New Forest, Hampshire UK

Distribution

Although infrequently recorded in Britain and Ireland, this species may be more common than records suggest since it is easily confused with Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca.

Taxonomic history

When in 1902 American mycologist Charles Horton Peck (1833 - 1917) described this mushroom he gave it the scientific name Hygrophorus pallidus. Its currently-accepted scientific name Hygrophoropsis pallida dates from a 1960 publication by German mycologist Hanns Kreisel (1931 - 2017).

Synonyms of Hygrophoropsis pallida include Hygrophorus pallidus Peck. Some authorities consider this mushroom to be synonymous with Hygrophoropsis macrospora (D.A. Reid) Kuyper.

Etymology

The genus name Hygrophoropsis means resembling Hygrophorus. (The suffix -opsis comes from Greek and means 'similar to'.) In shape it is true that woodwaxes (Hygrophorus species) and Hygrophoropsis pallida are somewhat similar, but woodwaxes have broad gills which are, as the name suggests, waxy. If you are unfamiliar with woodwaxes, Hygrophoropsis hypothejus, commonly called the Herald of Winter, is a typical example. The specific epithet pallida is a reference to the pale colouring (compared with other members of the genus) of the cap of Hygrophoropsis pallida.

Identification guide

Cap of Hygrophoropsis pallida

Cap

Cap diameter 1.5-5cm. Initially convex, caps usually expand to become either flat or shallow funnels, margins incurved and often wavy; surface finely tomentose. Cap colour is cream, ochre or buff, paler near the margin; the flesh beneath the cuticle is whitish and soft.

Gills of Hygrophoropsis pallida

Gills

White or cream, the irregular cross-veined wavy gills are forked and deeply decurrent.

Stem of Hygrophoropsis pallida

Stem

Typically 1.5 to 5cm tall and 4 to 10mm in diameter, upper parts of the tough stems of Hygrophoropsis pallida are much the same colour as the cap, while the stem base is often browner.

Spore of Hygrophoropsis palida

Spores

Ellipsoidal, smooth, thick-walled, 6-9.4 x 4-5μm; strongly dextrinoid.

Spore print

White.

Odour/taste

Not distinctive.

Habitat & Ecological role

Saprobic, most often found in marshy grassland with Juncus (rush) species.

Season

August to December in Britain and Ireland.

Similar species

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca has a yellow-orange cap and significantly larger thin-walled spores.

Hygrophoropsis rufa has an orange-brown tomentose cap and thick-walled spores.

Cantharellus cibarius, a popular edible species found in woodland habitats, has wrinkled veins rather than gills.

Culinary Notes

Hygrophoropsis pallida is a rarely recorded species whose edibility is unknown to us.

Hygrophoropsis pallida, southern England

Reference Sources

Fascinated by Fungi, 2nd Edition, Pat O'Reilly 2016, reprinted by Coch-y-bonddu Books in 2022.

Hygrophoropsis pallida (D.A. Reid) Knudsen, in Knudsen & Vesterholt, Funga Nordica, Agaricoid, Boletoid and Cyphelloid Genera (Gylling): 913 (2008)

Kibby, G. 2012. The Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca complex; Field Mycology 13: 43–50.

Dictionary of the Fungi; Paul M. Kirk, Paul F. Cannon, David W. Minter and J. A. Stalpers; CABI, 2008

Taxonomic history and synonym information on these pages is drawn from many sources but in particular from the British Mycological Society's GB Checklist of Fungi.

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