Family: Tricholomataceae (Hygrocybe)

Family: Tricholomataceae

Fungi:> Basidiomycota:> Basidiomycetes:> Agaricales:> Tricholomataceae:> Bertrandia, Camarophyllus, Gliophorus, Humidicutis, Insiticia, Hygrocybe, Hygrophorus, Collopus, Conchomyces, Crinipellis, Clitocybe, Cystoderma, Mycena, Mycenula, Rickenella, Tricholoma, Tricholomopsis, Xeromphalina.

Genus: Hygrocybe

This is a large Genus in which many have waxy, translucent, texture, particularly evident in the gills. Some are drab in colour, but most are bright with striking colours. Commonly found during the colder and wetter months of the year sometimes in large numbers.

Species: Hygrocybe blanda Horak
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 50 mm Width: 20 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe cantharellus (Schweinitz) Murrill This small bright red fungus with yellow decurent gill is most often found in associations with mosses.
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 50 mm Width: 15 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe cavipes Horak Iteresting this species come to two colour verations Yellow and Yellow/orange.
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 60 mm Width: 35 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe cerinolutea Horak
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 30 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe conica (Scop.) P. Kumm Found in urban environments or grassland
Common Name: Blackening Wax Cap Found: Grasslands Substrate: Soil Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 50 mm Season: Late Autumn Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe elegans Horak
Common Name: None Found: Podocarp forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 60 mm Width: 35 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe firma (Berkeley & Broome) Singer

Only one species of fungi with dimorphous spores and basida is described in New Zealand this been H. firma (Dimorphous means of two different sizes). Yet this seems to be a species complex with a number of different but similar species having been found that have dimorphous spores and basida. Care needs to be shown when looking for these as failing to see spores of different sizes means you can up with the wrong species. In the popular press you often see H. rubrocarnosa been called H. firma.

Species: Hygrocybe firma (Berkeley & Broome) Singer This is the species that best fits the official description with a cap thats brilliant red in fresh specimens fading to yellow with faint orange tinge soon discolouring to pale yellow.
Found: Native Forest Substrate: Ground. Spores: White	Height: 50 mm Width: 20 mm Season: Winter

Species: Hygrocybe aff. firma - (Red) This fungi is brilliant red with white gills with age the gill become pink no other change to its colour accrues. As yet I have not found this species in the Auckland region
Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 60 mm Width: 20 mm Season: Winter

Species: Hygrocybe aff. firma - (Large Red) I have only come across this species once in 2009 and is very similar to the one above. Although a little larger the surprise is the presence of pheropedunculate shaped pleurocystidia. Oddly I can find no reference to any Hygrocybe having pleurocystidia.
Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 30 mm Season: Winter

Species: Hygrocybe aff. firma - (orange) This species starts off been bright orange as it matures it fades to yellow although the gills still retain some of the orange colour. This is the most common form found in Auckland of which I have seen to recure in the same location for over 20 years. I have resently noticed this species also has a very long friting life (4 weeks?).
Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 25 mm Season: Winter

Species: Hygrocybe fuliginata
Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 25 mm Season: Winter

Species: Hygrocybe fuscoaurantiaca (Stevenson) Horak
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 45 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe julietae (Stevenson) Horak
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 50 mm Width: 20 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe keithgeorgii (Stevenson) Horak
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 90 mm Width: 50 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe lilaceolamellata (Stevenson) Horak
Common Name: None Found: Mixed forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 50 mm Width: 25 mm Season: Autumn Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe miniata
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 40 mm Width: 30 mm Season: Early Summer Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe miniceps (Stevenson) Horak
Common Name: None Found: Mixed Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spores: White	Height: 60 mm Width: 20 mm Season: Autumn Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe procera (Stevenson) Horak
Common Name: None Found: Mixed Forest Substrate: On forest floor. Spore: White	Height: 60 mm Width: 40 mm Season: Late autumn Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe rubrocarnosa (Stev) HK.
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spore: White	Height: 75 mm Width: 30 mm Season: Early Winter Edible: No

Species: Hygrocybe striatolutea Horak
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spore: White	Height: 90 mm Width: 45 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Undescribed Species

These fungi below are some that appear not to have been described (named).

Species: Hygrocybe species Very similar to H. cantharellus in size and colour but the yellow decurrent gills have a red edge due to the presance of cheilocystidia.
Common Name: None Found: Broad-leaved Forest Substrate: Ground Spores: White	Height: 70 mm Width: 30 mm Season: Winter Edible: No

Hidden Forest | Forest Fungi | Site Map