The Slimy Waxcap (Gliophorus irrigatus) is the hardest waxcap to pick up. Its cap and stem are both coated in thick, clear slime, so it slips through your fingers like a wet bar of soap. Unlike its brightly coloured relatives it is a dull greyish-brown. The cap is bell-shaped at first and flattens with age, with a lined edge when wet. The thick, widely spaced gills are whitish to pale grey, and the slender stem is grey too.
It grows in unimproved grassland, such as old pastures, lawns, churchyards and dunes, from July into November. Older books call it Hygrocybe irrigata.
It has few lookalikes, because it is the only dull grey-brown waxcap that is slimy all over. The Parrot Waxcap (Gliophorus psittacinus) is just as slimy but is green, yellow or pink. Its edibility is unknown, and it is best left where it grows.
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Distribution
Widespread and occasional to locally common
Habitat
In unimproved grasslands
Etymology
Gliophorus is from the Greek glia, 'glue', and phoros, 'bearing', after the slime. irrigatus is Latin for 'watered' or 'moistened', after its wet, slimy surface.
Cap
Bell-shaped at first, flattening with a broad umbo, 1-5 cm across. The smooth cap is greyish-brown to pale mouse-grey, with reddish-brown tones, and is viscid to glutinous when wet, with a striate margin.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Campanulate |
| Surface | Smooth |
| Width | 1 - 5 cm |
| Margin | Striate |
Gills
Thick, waxy and widely spaced; whitish to pale grey.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Adnate, Subdecurrent |
| Edge | Smooth |
Flesh
Thin, waxy and greyish.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Not distinctive |
| Taste | Mild |
Stem
Slender, slimy and often hollow; paler towards the base.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 3 - 10 cm |
| Width | 3 - 10 mm |
| Shape | Cylindric |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 6.5-8 x 4.5-6 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Hygrophoraceae
- ↳ Genus: Gliophorus
Synonyms
- Agaricus irrigatus Pers.
- Agaricus unguinosus Fr.
- Gliophorus unguinosus (Fr.) Kovalenko
- Hygrocybe irrigata (Pers.) Bon
- Hygrocybe irrigata (Pers.) M.M. Moser
- Hygrocybe unguinosa (Fr.) P. Karst.
- Hygrophorus irrigatus (Pers.) Fr.
- Hygrophorus unguinosus (Fr.) Fr.
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 2. Geoffrey Kibby.
