Gloioxanthomyces nitidus
Key to Hygrocybe, Gliophorus, and Humidicutis
1. Cap glutinous; brownish black to grayish brown: Gliophorus irrigatus (p. 83)
2. Cap glutinous; orange, yellow, pinkish, whitish, or violaceous; odor of crushed flesh unpleasant: Gliophorus laetus (p. 82)
3. Cap glutinous; reddish orange; yellow, reddish brown, tinged greenish at times; odor mild: Gliophorus perplexus (p. 81)
4. Cap glutinous; bright red; very small: Hygrocybe minutula (p. 7)
5. Cap dry; grayish brown to buff; odor nitrous: Hygrocybe nitrata (p. 79)
6. Cap dry; grayish brown to black; odor sweet: Neohygrocybe subovina (p. 80)
7. Cap moist; not viscid; dark orangish red to yellowish orange; gills purplish: Hygrocybe purpureofolia (p. 75)
8. Cap moist, not viscid; red to purplish red; gills red with yellow edges; stem red: Hygrocybe appalachianensis (p. 76)
9. Cap dry or moist; not viscid; scarlet to orange; gills yellowish; decurrent: Hygrocybe cantharellus (p. 73)
10. Cap dry or moist; not viscid; scarlet to orange; gills yellowish; not decurrent: Hygrocybe miniata (p. 74)
1. Cap moist; viscid when wet; orange to yellowish orange; gills white or pale yellow: Hygrocybe flavescens (p. 78)
12. Cap moist; orange to bright orangish yellow; gills colored like the cap: Humidicutis marginata var. concolor (p. 84)
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hygrocybe cantharellus (Schwein.) Murrill
SYNONYM: Hygrophorus cantharellus (Schwein.) Fr.
COMMON NAME: Chanterelle Wax Cap
FAMILY: Hygrophoraceae
CAP: Up to 1-1/4 in. wide; convex becoming flattened, often with a central depression; scarlet to reddish orange or yellowish orange, fading in age, margin often yellowish; surface dry, tomentose to finely scaly; margin often scalloped or undulating at maturity
FLESH: Yellowish or colored like the cap; thin; odor not distinctive, or at times of raw potatoes; taste not distinctive
GILLS: Creamy yellow to orange yellow, edges sometimes paler than the faces; subdistant to distant; subdecurrent to decurrent; waxy; thick but with a sharp edge; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 3-1/4 in. long, typically much longer than the cap width; scarlet to reddish orange or yellowish orange, base yellow or white; equal or tapering downward; cylindrical or compressed; fragile; stuffed or hollow; surface dry or slightly tacky, smooth, bald, dull to satiny
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Probably symbiotic with mosses and possibly other plants; scattered to gregarious in moss, soil, well-decayed wood, and humus in broadleaf and mixed woods, bogs, and lawns; summer and early fall; common
EDIBILITY: Edible but of little value owing to its small size and thin flesh
COMMENTS: Compare with Hygrocybe miniata (p. 74), which is a common species that has a shorter stem and whose gills do not run down the stem. Hygrocybe turunda (not illustrated) is a similar bog species that has dark, erect hairs on the center of the cap. It is possible that Hygrocybe cantharellus represents a complex of very similar species.
Hygrocybe cantharellus
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hygrocybe miniata (P. Kumm.) Fr.
SYNONYM: Hygrophorus miniatus (Fr.) Fr.
COMMON NAME: Vermillion Wax Cap
FAMILY: Hygrophoraceae
CAP: Up to 1-1/4 in. wide; scarlet to reddish orange, fading to orange; convex to broadly convex, becoming flat, often with a central depression; surface dry or moist, not viscid, at times becoming fibrillose or slightly scurfy
FLESH: Pale yellow, orange, reddish; thin; odor and taste not distinctive
GILLS: Variable in color, usually yellow but may be reddish or whitish; broadly attached to the stem; subdistant to distant; thick; waxy; edges even; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 3 in. long; red, orange, or yellow; equal or tapering toward the yellowish base; may be compressed; surface moist, not viscid
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Considered to be saprobic but recent studies indicate a possible association with mosses and other plants; gregarious to scattered on the ground, well-decayed wood, and in moss; summer and fall; common
EDIBILITY: Reported as edible; the author has not tried it
COMMENTS: This is one of the most common reddish wax caps. There are many others. None are considered choice edibles. Compare with Hygrocybe cantharellus (p. 73), whose gills extend down the stem.
Hygrocybe miniata
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hygrocybe purpureofolia (H. E. Bigelow) Courtec.
SYNONYM: Hygrophorus purpureofolius H. E. Bigelow
COMMON NAME: Lavender Gilled Wax Cap
