Hygrocybe miniata (Fries) Kumm.
Führ. Pilzk. 112. 1871.

Common Name: none

Synonym: Hygrophorus miniatus

• Pileus

  Cap 1.5-3.5 cm diameter, convex to broadly convex, sometimes depressed in center or umbilicate; surface moist, but not viscid, smooth, red, fading to orange or yellow and becoming fibrillose to slightly scaly; flesh thin, same color as cap; odor and taste not distinctive.

• Lamellae

  Gills adnate, distant, thick, waxy; reddish-orange, fading at maturity to yellow-orange or yellow.

• Stipe

  Stipe 2-4 cm tall, 0.3-0.5 cm thick, equal, smooth, concolorous with the cap, slowly fading in age; veil absent.

• Spores

  Spores 6-9 x 4-6 µm, elliptical, smooth. Spore print white.

• Habitat

  Solitary to scattered on soil, moss, or rotting wood in mixed hardwood-conifer forests; fruiting from late fall to mid-winter.

• Edibility

  Edible, but of no consequence.

• Comments

  Hygrocybe miniata is recognized by its small scarlet cap which fades in age to orange or yellow-orange, and waxy, distant gills. Like most members of the waxy-cap clan, it tends to be a late fruiter, usually not showing up before mid-December.

• References

  Bougher, N.L. & Syme, K. (1998). Fungi of Southern Australia. University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands, Australia. 391 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
• Tom Duffy: Hygrocybe miniata (CP)
• Boleslaw Kuznik: Hygrocybe miniata (CP)
• Michael Wood: Hygrocybe miniata (CP)
• Boleslaw Kuznik -- Hunting for Mushrooms: Hygrocybe miniata (CP)
• Agaricales of Costa Rican Quercus Forests: Hygrocybe miniata (D & CP)
• Nathan Wilson: Hygrocybe miniata (D & CP)
• Mushroom Observer: Hygrocybe miniata (CP)
• Arora (1986): p. 113 (D & P)
• Breitenbach & Kränzlin (vol. 4): sp.92 (D, I, & CP)
• Breitenbach & Kränzlin (vol. 4): sp.93 (D, I, & CP) [var. mollis]
• Jordan: p. 137 (D & CP)
• Lincoff: p. 663 (D), plate 69 [Hygrophorus miniatus]
• McKenny et al.: p. 64 (D), p. 65 (CP)
• Miller: sp. 39 (D & CP) [Hygrophorus miniatus]



(D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)