Hygrocybe coccinea

Hygrocybe coccinea
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hygrophoraceae
Genus:	Hygrocybe
Species:	H. coccinea
Binomial name
Hygrocybe coccinea (Schaeff.) P. Kumm.

Hygrocybe coccinea Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex
	Hymenium is adnate
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is edible but not recommended

Hygrocybe coccinea, sometimes called the scarlet hood, scarlet waxcap or righteous red waxy cap, is a colourful member of the mushroom genus Hygrocybe . These waxcaps are found across the Northern Hemisphere from China and Japan to Europe and North America. The small bright red mushroom is a familiar sight in unimproved grasslands in Europe in late summer and autumn, and woodlands in North America in winter.

Taxonomy

The scarlet hood was first described as Agaricus coccineus by German mycologist Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1774, before being transferred to the genus Hygrophorus by Elias Magnus Fries in 1838, and finally Hygrocybe by Paul Kummer in 1871. The specific epithet coccinea is Latin for "scarlet".

Description

A small waxcap with an initially bell-shaped, and later flattening, cap 2–5 centimetres (3⁄4–2 in) across, scarlet in colour and slimy in texture. The adnate gills are thick and widely spaced, yellow red in colour. The ringless stipe is 2–5 cm tall and 0.3–1 cm (1⁄8–3⁄8 in) wide, red with a yellowish base. The flesh is yellowish-red and the smell and taste faint. The oval spores measure 7–9.5 x 4–5 μm and produce a white spore print. ^{[2] [3]}

It is fairly similar to some other members of its genus. ^[4]

Distribution and habitat

Hygrocybe coccinea has a wide distribution in unimproved grasslands across Europe from August to October. ^[2] In Britain, like all Hygrocybes, it has its best seasons in frost-free late autumn months, and in western North America it may be found under redwoods or in mixed woodland in winter. ^[5] It has been recorded growing under Rhododendron and oak ( Quercus ) in Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal, and also occurs in India, China and Japan. ^[6]

Specimens initially identified as H. coccinea in Australia have been reclassified as H. miniata or H. kandora. ^[7]

Edibility

The species is edible, ^[3] possibly even when raw, ^[8] but is of fairly little interest. ^[9]

See also

• List of Hygrocybe species

References

1. NatureServe. "Hygrocybe coccinea". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
2. Nilson S & Persson O (1977). Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi. Penguin. p. 22. ISBN   978-0-14-063006-0.
3. Phillips, Roger (2006). Mushrooms. London: Pan MacMillan. p. 75. ISBN   978-0-330-44237-4.
4. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 398. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
5. Arora, David (1986). Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. pp.  114. ISBN   978-0-89815-169-5.
6. Giri A, Rana P (June 2007). "Some Higher Fungi from Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) and its adjoining areas, Nepal". Scientific World. 5 (5): 67–74. doi: 10.3126/sw.v5i5.2659 .
7. Young, A.M. (2005). Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae. (Australian Biological Resources Study) CSIRO, Canberra, ACT. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-643-09195-5.
8. Francis-Baker, Tiffany (2021). Concise Foraging Guide. The Wildlife Trusts. London: Bloomsbury. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-4729-8474-6.
9. Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 63. ISBN   978-0-7627-3109-1.