Red Waxy Cap

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Waxy Caps are brightly colored mushrooms in the genus Hygrocoybe, found singularly and in small groups along many redwood paths.

Apart from color, the gills, which typically are widely spaced with a waxy appearance, serve as a useful field identification mark.

The Red Waxy Cap in the picture could be either the Hygrocybe coccinea or Hygrocybe punicea. The red stipe (stem) suggests a Hygrocybe coccinea.

Cap size is equivalent to the size of a quarter, and notwithstanding its small size, its color stands against much of the green flora of the forest floor.

© 2008 Patricia A. Michaels