Mauve Splitting Waxcap

Appearance

The mauve splitting waxcap is a small mushroom with an umbonate cap 3–6.5 centimetres in diameter, initially conical and later flattening to almost flat. It is smooth and mauve or lilac in colour with a greyish boss. The cap is textured with radial fibres, along which it may split, with the gills dividing between the split. The lilac stipe is 3–7 cm high and 0.4–0.8 cm thick and may be tinged yellow at the base. The lilac gills are adnexed or free, and thick or distant with even margins. The spore print is white and the hyaline spores are more or less oval, measuring around 5.5 x 9 μm.

Distribution

Saprotrophic, this species is fairly common. Fruiting bodies appear in autumn and winter with some records from October, in moss or among leaf litter in wet sclerophyll forest or rainforest in temperate, subtropical or tropical climates. It also appears in sandy areas. It has been recorded from southeastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, as well as New Zealand and from Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Although not recorded from North Queensland, it is predicted to occur there.

Habitat

Saprotrophic, this species is fairly common. Fruiting bodies appear in autumn and winter with some records from October, in moss or among leaf litter in wet sclerophyll forest or rainforest in temperate, subtropical or tropical climates. It also appears in sandy areas. It has been recorded from southeastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, as well as New Zealand and from Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Although not recorded from North Queensland, it is predicted to occur there.