gliophorus irrigatus

Appearance

Basidiocarps are agaricoid, up to 100 mm tall, the cap convex at first and remaining convex or becoming flat when expanded, up to 50 mm across. The cap surface is very viscid when damp, striate at the margin, and pale greyish brown. The lamellae are whitish to pale cap-coloured and more or less decurrent . The stipe is very viscid when damp, smooth, cylindrical or compressed, and grey to cap-coloured. The spore print is white, the spores smooth, inamyloid, ellipsoid, about 6.5 to 8.0 by 4.5 to 5.0 μm.

Distribution

The slimy waxcap has been recorded in Europe, Central and North America, northern Asia, and Australia. Like other waxcaps, it grows in old, unimproved, short-sward grassland in Europe, but in woodland elsewhere. Recent research suggests waxcaps are neither mycorrhizal nor saprotrophic but may be associated with mosses.

Status

In Europe, ''Gliophorus irrigatus'' is typical of waxcap grasslands, a declining habitat due to changing agricultural practices. The slimy waxcap is one of the commoner species, however, only appearing on the red lists of threatened fungi in a few countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany , and Poland.

Habitat

The slimy waxcap has been recorded in Europe, Central and North America, northern Asia, and Australia. Like other waxcaps, it grows in old, unimproved, short-sward grassland in Europe, but in woodland elsewhere. Recent research suggests waxcaps are neither mycorrhizal nor saprotrophic but may be associated with mosses.