Species details
Herald of winter
Hygrophorus hypothejus
Conditional / expert preparation
Photo: Olli Niemitalo · Public Domain · Photo source · License
Description
A late-autumn slimy waxcap relative with an olive-brown cap and yellowish gills.
Identification features
Gills are relatively distant and slightly decurrent; the stem is yellowish and slimy.
Identification checklist
Check the entire fruitbody for identification. A late-autumn slimy waxcap relative with an olive-brown cap and yellowish gills. Gills are relatively distant and slightly decurrent; the stem is yellowish and slimy. Typical habitat: Mainly in pine woodland on acidic soils.
Detailed features
- Cap
- 3–5 cm, young convex, later flattened to slightly depressed, initially olive-brown and very slimy, later more olive-green to yellowish.
- Hymenophore
- Gills initially white, later yellow, thick, broad and distant, slightly decurrent.
- Stem
- 5–10 × 0.3–0.7 cm, slender, white to yellowish; lower part olive-greenish and slimy.
- Flesh
- White and firm, yellowish beneath the cap surface.
- Smell
- Pleasant.
- Spore print
- White.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 3–5 cm
- Stem height
- 5–10 cm
- Stem diameter
- 0,3–0,7 cm
Habitat
Mainly in pine woodland on acidic soils.
Fruiting period
September, October, November, December
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Mycorrhizal
- Host trees
- Spruce (Picea), Pine (Pinus)
- Substrate
- Forest soil
- Notes
- Mycorrhizal with conifers, especially spruce and pine; late autumn fruiting is characteristic.
How to separate similar species
Compare especially with these similar species: Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus, Cortinarius species. Check the combination of cap shape and colour, spore-bearing surface, stem, flesh changes and habitat. A single feature or photograph is not enough; if the key characters do not match the description, do not treat the identification as confirmed.
Similar species
- Olive waxcap (Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus)
Olive waxcap has a more strongly dark, slimy, fibrillose-patterned lower stem and usually retains a central bump.
- Ivory waxcap (Hygrophorus eburneus)
Ivory waxcap is almost entirely white to ivory and strongly slimy on both cap and stem.
Interesting facts
Did you know? Its old “frost” name reflects how late in the season it can fruit.