Hygrocybe splendidissima

Hygrocybe splendidissima, is a species of agaric (gilled mushroom) in the family Hygrophoraceae. It has been given the recommended English name of Splendid Waxcap.[2] The species has a European distribution, occurring mainly in agriculturally unimproved grassland. Threats to its habitat have resulted in the species being assessed as globally "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]

Hygrocybe splendidissima
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Hygrophoraceae
Genus: Hygrocybe
Species:
H. splendidissima
Binomial name
Hygrocybe splendidissima
Synonyms
  • Hygrophorus splendidissimus P.D.Orton (1960)
  • Hygrocybe punicea f. splendidissima (P.D.Orton) D.A.Reid (1972)

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1960 by British mycologist P.D. Orton as a species of Hygrophorus. The type was collected by Orton in fields near Membury, Devon, in 1957[3] Meinhard Moser transferred the species to the genus Hygrocybe in 1967.[4]

Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that Hygrocybe splendidissima is distinct and belongs in Hygrocybe sensu stricto.[5]

Description

Basidiocarps are agaricoid, up to 100mm (4 in) tall, the cap conical to convex at first, retaining a broad umbo or becoming flat when expanded, up to 70mm (2.75 in) across. The cap surface is smooth and dry, deep scarlet, paler when dry. The lamellae (gills) are waxy, cap-coloured or orange. The stipe (stem) is smooth, cap-coloured to orange, lacking a ring. The spore print is white, the spores (under a microscope) smooth, inamyloid, ellipsoid, c. 7.5 to 9.0 by 4.5 to 5.5μm. Fruit bodies have a distinct honey smell when rubbed or when drying.[6]

Similar species

The species can normally be distinguished in the field, thanks to its size and colour. It was formerly confused with the Crimson Waxcap Hygrocybe punicea, but fruitbodies of the latter species are a darker, duller red, have slightly viscid caps, and fibrillose stems. Fruit bodies of the Scarlet Waxcap Hygrocybe coccinea are typically much smaller and have slightly viscid caps that are nodulose under a lens. Both these species lack the distinctive smell of H. splendidissima, though the much smaller, orange-red Hygrocybe reidii also has a honey smell.[6]

Distribution and habitat

The Splendid Waxcap is widespread but generally rare throughout Europe, with the largest populations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.[1] Like other waxcaps, it occurs in old, agriculturally unimproved, short-sward grassland (pastures and lawns).

Recent research suggests waxcaps are neither mycorrhizal nor saprotrophic but may be associated with mosses.[7]

Conservation

Hygrocybe splendidissima is typical of waxcap grasslands, a declining habitat due to changing agricultural practices. As a result, the species is of global conservation concern and is listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1] Hygrocybe splendidissima also appears on the official or provisional national red lists of threatened fungi in several European countries, including Croatia,[8] Denmark,[9] Germany,[10] Norway,[8] and Sweden.[8]


References
  1. "Splendid Waxcap Hygrocybe splendidissima: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  2. Holden L. (July 2014). "English names for fungi 2014". British Mycological Society. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  3. Orton PD. (1960). "New check list of British Agarics and Boleti, part III (keys to Crepidotus, Deconica, Flocculina, Hygrophorus, Naucoria, Pluteus and Volvaria)". Transactions of the British Mycological Society. 43 (2): 265. doi:10.1016/s0007-1536(60)80065-4.
  4. Moser M. Kleine Kryptogamenflora von Mitteleuropa – Die Blätter- und Baupilze (Agaricales und Gastromycetes) (in German). Vol. IIb/2 (3 ed.). Jena: G. Fischer. p. 67.
  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. open access
  6. Boertmann D. (2010). The genus Hygrocybe (2nd ed.). Copenhagen: Danish Mycological Society. p. 200. ISBN 978-87-983581-7-6.
  7. Seitzman BH, Ouimette A, Mixon RL, Hobbie EA, Hibbett DS (2011). "Conservation of biotrophy in Hygrophoraceae inferred from combined stable isotope and phylogenetic analyses". Mycologia. 103 (2): 280–290. doi:10.3852/10-195. PMID 21139028. S2CID 318326.
  8. "National red Lists". Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  9. "Den danske rødliste". Aarhus Universitet. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
  10. "Red List: Hygrocybe splendidissima". Rote Liste Zentrum. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
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