The Ivory Woodwax (Hygrophorus eburneus) is a pure white woodland fungus, and on a damp day it is remarkably slimy. Cap and upper stem are coated in a clear, glutinous layer that makes it hard to pick up, while the thick white gills are widely spaced and run down the stem.
It is mycorrhizal, mainly with beech and more rarely oak, and fruits from late summer into early winter in broadleaf woodland and along wooded verges. Look out for its strong, sweet but hard-to-place smell. The Snowy Waxcap (Cuphophyllus virgineus) is similar in colour but grows in grassland rather than under trees and is far less slimy, and several other white Hygrophorus species can need microscopy to separate. It is the type species of the genus Hygrophorus.
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Distribution
Widespread and locally common
Habitat
Associated with Fagus, more rarely with Quercus
Etymology
Hygrophorus is from Greek hygros, 'moist', and phoros, 'bearing', after its wet, slimy surface. eburneus is Latin for 'of ivory', after its colour.
Associates
Fagus, Quercus
Cap
The cap is 2-7 cm across, white and convex, flattening with age. The surface is smooth and very viscid, becoming slightly yellowish-brown at the centre as it ages.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex |
| Surface | Smooth |
| Width | 2 - 7 cm |
Gills
Thick, waxy and widely spaced, running down the stem; staying white as the cap ages.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Adnate, Decurrent |
| Spacing | Subdistant |
Flesh
White, soft and waxy.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Strong, sweet, difficult to define |
Stem
Floccose at base
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 4 - 12 cm |
| Width | 5 - 15 mm |
| Texture | Smooth, Fluccose |
| Shape | Cylindric |
Macrochemicals
KOH applied to the stem gives an orange to brownish-red reaction.
| KOH |
|---|
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 7-9 x 4.5-5 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Hygrophoraceae
- ↳ Genus: Hygrophorus
Synonyms
- Agaricus eburneus Bull.
- Gymnopus eburneus (Bull.) Gray
- Hygrophorus cossus sensu auct. p.p.
- Hygrophorus eburneus (Bull. ex Fr.) Fr.
- Hygrophorus eburneus var. eburneus (Bull.) Fr.
- Limacium eburneum
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.
Genus Hygrophorus
No other species found in this genus.
