Hygrocybe sp? In Wensleydale.

[hillrover]

Photographed today.

Location: grassy path through unimproved grassland. Very short grass over limestone. Wensleydale.
size: very tiny - slightly less than 1cm across the cap and similar in height. In spite of the very small size the caps look quite mature.
Colour: Mostly lemon yellow but with substantial areas of white across the caps.
Gills. white going into yellow at the stipe.
Stipe: yellow and quite chunky in relation to the size of the cap.
There were two groups, one with two fruiting bodies and one with three.

There are other waxcaps in this field. I have seen Hygrocybe virginea (which is there at the moment), H. conica and H. persistens have appeared in the recent past.
These are a lot smaller than the last two and about half the size of H. virginea.

For the moment that is all the info I have.
I left them in situ to see how they develop but, being on the path, they might not survive.

When I took the pictures I was confident that they were waxcaps. Now I'm doubting myself and would appreciate other people's opinions.

Thanks

Christine

[NickCantle]

Just bumping this up for you Christine, I'm not sure which Hygrocybe it is, but I know a few people that may have some possibilities.

[hillrover]

Very kind Nick. Thank you.

I am hoping to visit it again on Friday to see how it's getting on.

Thanks

Christine

[SheffieldLass]

It is a bit too weathered to be able to say which it might be. When you go there again check both the caps and the stems to see which are viscid.

Melanie

[hillrover]

Thanks Melanie. If they are still there I will do that.

Christine

[hillrover]

I revisited these yesterday. The originals had disappeared but there were some others - even smaller.



Following Melanie's advice I can now add that the cap was very sticky, the stipe was not sticky.
So Colour - yellow
Cap - sticky
Stipe - dry & not sticky
gills - slightly decurrent or broadly adnate
smell - not apparent
This seems to key out as Hygrocybe chlorophana, but I'm confused by the size of the ones in my photo. None of the ones I've seen have been larger than 1cm across the cap. Is this possible with H chlorophana?
Could it be the compacted nature of the footpath not allowing room to grow to a more normal size?
Could I be going barmy?

Christine

[SheffieldLass]

I think they are probably H ceracea but would want to check their spores and the gill trama cells to be sure. The ones I've found have always been small, and are often quite orange-yellow. Although you can get small H chlorophana looking a bit like these, their gills are adnexed / narrowly adnate. The other possibility is H insipida, though these don't give me quite the right jizz I'm used to from them. Though they do have viscid stipes they can dry quickly so that's not always a reliable feature.

Melanie

[hillrover]

Thanks Melanie.
I'll keep those possibilities on file and when I've learned a bit more about microscopy I'll be able to check it out. Hopefully by the time they re-appear next year.

Christine

[Ken Burgess]

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

I think they are probably H ceracea

Yes, I think they are H. ceracea.

Ken

[hillrover]

Thanks Ken. Much obliged.
Christine