Species details
Poet's woodwax
Hygrophorus poetarum
Traditionally edible
Photo: Gerhard Koller; crop by Natr · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A large whitish woodwax with a faint pink-ochre cap centre, thick spaced gills and a pleasant balsamic smell.
Identification features
The cap is 5–15 cm wide, whitish with a pink-ochre centre, smooth and slightly sticky when wet. Gills are white, thick and spaced; the stem is white and silky-fibrous.
Identification checklist
Check the pale fleshy cap with pink-ochre centre, thick white gills and pleasant balsamic odour.
Detailed features
- Cap
- The cap is 5–15 cm wide, whitish with a pink-ochre centre, smooth and slightly sticky when wet.
- Hymenophore
- The gills are white, thick and widely spaced; the stem is white and silky-fibrous.
- Stem
- Gills are white, thick and spaced; the stem is white and silky-fibrous.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 5–15 cm
Habitat
Grows with broadleaved trees, especially beech, in late summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
August, September, October
Ecology
- Host trees
- Beech (Fagus)
- Notes
- Grows with broadleaved trees, especially beech, in late summer and autumn.
How to separate similar species
Hygrophorus pudorinus is more orange-pink and has a resinous or turpentine-like taste. Tree association helps separate them.
Similar species
- Blushing woodwax (Hygrophorus pudorinus)
- Hygrophorus penarius (Hygrophorus penarius)
- Hygrophorus persicolor