Hygrocybe conica

Hygrocybe conica
Hygrocybe conica, Netherlands
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hygrophoraceae
Genus:	Hygrocybe
Species:	H. conica
Binomial name
Hygrocybe conica (Schaeff.) P.Kumm. (1871)
Synonyms
List Agaricus conicusSchaeff. 1774 Agaricus tristisPers. 1801 Godfrinia conica (Schaeff.) Maire 1902 Hygrocybe chloroides(Malençon) Kovalenko Hygrophorus conicus(Schaeff.) Fr. Hygrocybe conicopalustrisR. Haller Aar

Hygrocybe conica Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is conical
	Hymenium is emarginate
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is white
	Edibility is unknown

Hygrocybe conica is a species of agaric (gilled mushroom) in the family Hygrophoraceae. In the UK it has been given the recommended English name of blackening waxcap, ^[1] since all parts of the basidiocarp (fruit body) blacken with age. In North America it is commonly known as the witch's hat, conical wax cap or conical slimy cap. Hygrocybe conica is known to be a complex of at least eleven closely related species ^[2] and as such is widespread in Eurasia, North America, and elsewhere.

Taxonomy

The species was first described from Bavaria in 1774 by German polymath Jacob Christian Schäffer, who named it Agaricus conicus. ^[3] Paul Kummer transferred it to the genus Hygrocybe in 1871. ^[4] Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has confirmed that Hygrocybe conica belongs in Hygrocybe sensu stricto. ^[5] However, it has also indicated that the name is currently applied to at least eleven closely related but genetically distinct taxa worldwide. ^[2]

Description

Basidiocarps are agaricoid, up to 10 cm (4 in) tall, the cap narrowly conical at first becoming umbonate and often lobed, up to 10 cm across. The cap surface is smooth and finely fibrillose, moist or viscid at first, variously yellow to orange or scarlet. The lamellae (gills) are waxy, white to pale yellow or greyish. The stipe (stem) is smooth but fibrillose and streaky, yellow to orange-red, whitish towards base, lacking a ring. All parts become duller and grey with age, finally becoming entirely black. ^[6] The flesh is yellowish and stains black. ^[7] The spore print is white, the spores (under a microscope) smooth, inamyloid, ellipsoid, measuring about 8.5 to 11.5 by 5 to 7.5  μm. ^[6]

A number of other species in the genus may appear similar. ^[7]

Distribution and habitat

Hygrocybe conica is widely distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, being found in summer and autumn. In Europe, it is typical of waxcap grasslands, a declining habitat due to changing agricultural practices. It is one of the commonest waxcaps, however, and is also found in dunes, road verges, and other habitats. ^[6] In North America it is often found in conifer woodland. ^[8] Though H. conica occurs in Australia, principally near urban areas, many collections originally assigned to this species are the similar H. astatogala . ^[9]

Edibility

The edibility of H. conica is unknown and it may be poisonous. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

References

1. Holden L. "English names for fungi". British Mycological Society . Retrieved 2022-07-31.
2. Cannon P. (2012). "Systematics, barcoding and ecology of fungi from waxcap grasslands in Britain" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-07-31.
3. Schaeffer, Julius C. (1774). Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam nascuntur Icones (in Latin). Vol. 4. Regensburg: Apud J.J. Palmium. p. 2.
4. Kummer P. (1871). Der Führer in die Pilzkunde (in German). Zerbst: C. Luppe. p. 111.
5. Lodge DJ; et al. (2014). "Molecular phylogeny, morphology, pigment chemistry and ecology in Hygrophoraceae (Agaricales)" (PDF). Fungal Diversity. 64 (1): 1–99. doi: 10.1007/s13225-013-0259-0 . S2CID   220615978.
6. Boertmann D. (2010). The genus Hygrocybe (2nd ed.). Copenhagen: Danish Mycological Society. p. 200. ISBN   978-87-983581-7-6.
7. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 399. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
8. Miller OK. (979). Mushrooms of North America. E.P. Dutton.
9. Young AM (2005). Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae. Canberra, ACT: (Australian Biological Resources Study) CSIRO. ISBN   978-0-643-09195-5.
10. Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 62. ISBN   978-0-7627-3109-1.
11. Nilsson S, Persson O (1977). Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi. New York, New York: Penguin. ISBN   978-0-14-063006-0.
12. Thiers, Harry D.; Arora, David (September 1980). "Mushrooms Demystified" . Mycologia. 72 (5): 1054. doi:10.2307/3759750. ISSN   0027-5514. JSTOR   3759750.