Bitter Waxcap
Bitter Waxcap - Hygrocybe mucronella
Alternative names
Hygrocybe lepida
Description
A small, orange species, usually with a slightly sticky/greasy cap and stipe. The young caps are a domed shape, becoming flatter as they age, and the gills are adnate to decurrent. It has a bitter taste - to detect this just touch the fungus to your tongue.
Similar Species
Other waxcap cap species can look very similar, but this is the only one with a bitter taste
Recording advice
It is difficult to identify this from photographs. Your notes must descibe the texture of cap and stipe, and the taste detected by touching the cap to your tongue.
Habitat
old unimproved grasslands, close mown or grazed
When to see it
October - November
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
Enter a town or village to see local records
MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020



