Hygrocybe conica

*Hygrocybe conica*
Mycological characteristics
Hygrocybe conica Mycological characteristics
	gills on hymenium
	cap is conical
	hymenium is adnexed
	stipe is bare
	spore print is white
	ecology is mycorrhizal
	edibility: not recommended

Hygrocybe conica
	Hygrocybe conica,; the witch's hat - Netherlands
Scientific classification
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 conicus Schaeff. 1774 ; Agaricus tristis Pers. 1801 ; Godfrinia conica (Schaeff.) Maire 1902 ; Hygrocybe chloroides (Malençon) Kovalenko ; Hygrophorus conicus (Schaeff.) Fr. ; Hygrocybe conicopalustris R. Haller Aar ; Hygrocybe olivaceonigra (P.D. Orton) M.M. Moser ;

Hygrocybe conica, commonly known as the witch's hat, conical wax cap or conical slimy cap, is a colourful member of the genus Hygrocybe (the waxcaps), found across northern Europe and North America. Originally described as Hygrophorus conicus, it may be a complex of closely related and similar species.

Taxonomy[]

The species was first described scientifically in 1774 by German polymath Jacob Christian Schäffer, who named it Agaricus conicus.^[1] Paul Kummer transferred it to the genus Hygrocybe in 1871.^[2]

Description[]

Showing some black discolouration

The witch's hat is a small mushroom which blackens when bruised and in old age.^[3] Its cap is convex to conical, yellow-orange to red, moist to viscid,^[4] and measures 2–7 cm (1–3 in) in diameter.^[3] The stalk is 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and .5–1 cm (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) wide.^[3]

Hygrocybe singeri is a very similar species, notably differing in its viscid stipe.^[4]

Distribution and habitat[]

The witch's hat is widely distributed in grasslands and conifer woodlands across North America, Europe and Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, being found in summer and autumn. It is likely that what is currently termed Hygrocybe conica is a complex of closely related species, some of which are suspected of being poisonous.^[5] Though Hygrocybe conica occurs in Australia, principally near urban areas, many collections originally assigned to this species are the similar Hygrocybe astatogala.^[6]

Edibility[]

Hygrocybe conica may be poisonous.^[7] Its small size and being coated in a sticky substance render it of limited interest anyway.

References[]

^ 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.
^ Kummer P. (1871). Der Führer in die Pilzkunde (in German). Zerbst: C. Luppe. p. 111.
^ ^a ^b ^c Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC 797915861.
^ ^a ^b Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.
^ Nilsson S, Persson O (1977). Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi. New York, New York: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-063006-0.
^ Young AM (2005). Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae. Canberra, ACT: (Australian Biological Resources Study) CSIRO. ISBN 978-0-643-09195-5.
^ 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.

External links[]

Media related to Hygrocybe conica at Wikimedia Commons

"Fungus of the Month for October 2001: Hygrocybe conica, the witch's hat mushroom" by Tom Volk, TomVolkFungi.net.

[Schaeffer_1774-1] 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.

[Kummer_1871-2] Kummer P. (1871). Der Führer in die Pilzkunde (in German). Zerbst: C. Luppe. p. 111.

[:0-3] Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC 797915861.

[:1-4] Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.

[5] Nilsson S, Persson O (1977). Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi. New York, New York: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-063006-0.

[6] Young AM (2005). Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae. Canberra, ACT: (Australian Biological Resources Study) CSIRO. ISBN 978-0-643-09195-5.

[Miller2006-7] 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.

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Hygrocybe conica Mycological characteristics
	gills on hymenium
	cap is conical
	hymenium is adnexed
	stipe is bare
	spore print is white
	ecology is mycorrhizal
	edibility: not recommended