About Hygrocybe mucronella (Fr.) P.Karst.
This fungus is formally classified as Hygrocybe mucronella (Fr.) P.Karst., and is commonly called the bitter waxcap. Its basidiocarps are agaricoid, growing up to 4 cm (2 in) in total height. The cap ranges in shape from hemispherical to shallowly convex, reaching up to 3.5 cm (1.5 in) across. The cap surface is smooth, slightly greasy when young, and becomes dry and matt at maturity. Cap color is typically bright scarlet to orange-red, often with a yellow margin; the cap is striate and often has a translucent central spot. The lamellae (gills) are waxy in texture, orange in color, and broadly attached to the stipe. The stipe (stem) is smooth and cylindrical, viscid when young and drying out with age. It matches the cap in color, or is paler. The spore print is white. Under a microscope, spores are smooth, inamyloid, and shaped irregularly from ellipsoid to oblong, often with a strong constriction across the middle. Spores measure approximately 7 to 8.5 by 4.5 to 6 μm. Fruitbodies have a distinct bitter taste when tasted on the tip of the tongue. This bitter waxcap is widespread across Europe. It typically grows in old, unimproved, short-sward grassland such as pastures and lawns. Recent research indicates that waxcaps as a group are neither mycorrhizal nor saprotrophic, and may be associated with mosses.
