Species flashcards

Description

Cap: 5–15 cm across; hemispherical when young, then convex and eventually spreading. Pale flesh-pink, pinkish beige to Isabella-brown, usually darker at the centre; the margin is initially infolded. Slimy when wet, later smoother and drier.

Gills: Whitish to cream-coloured, often with a pinkish tint, thick, rather distant and decurrent on the stem.

Stem: 5–12 cm tall and 1.5–3 cm thick, cylindrical, stout and solid; usually paler than the cap, whitish to pinkish. Finely powdery at the apex and often pointed towards the base.

Flesh: White, pinkish beneath the cap skin, firm and solid. It has a pleasant floral or fruity scent and a mild taste.

Spores: Spore print white. Spores smooth, ellipsoid, 6–9 × 4.5–6 µm.

Occurrence: A mycorrhizal species, occurring chiefly in beech woodland and with beech. It fruits from September to October, usually in groups, and is rare.

Edibility: Edible, but protected in Hungary and therefore not to be collected.

Lookalikes: It may resemble the flamingo waxcap, which occurs more often with conifers and has a different smell.

Note: Hygrophorus combines the Ancient Greek words for “moist” and “to bear”, referring to the often wet, slimy surface. poetarum is the genitive plural of Latin poeta, meaning “of poets”, and refers to the species' beauty and elegance.

Species description: Scientifically described by Robert Heim in 1948.

Taxonomy

1. PhylumBasidiomycota
2. ClassAgaricomycetes
3. OrderAgaricales
4. FamilyHygrophoraceae
5. GenusHygrophorus

• Species: Hygrophorus poetarum
• Authority: Robert Heim (1948)
• English name: Poet's woodwax
• Ecological status: mycorrhizal
• Edibility: edible