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Hygrocybe cinnabar-red is a lamellar, small-sized fruiting body of the genus Hygrocybe, in which there are both conditionally edible and poisonous representatives. In mycology, the species is called: Hygrocybe miniata or strangulate Hygrophorus, or Agaricus, miniatus, Hygrophorus strangulates.
The name of the genus can be translated as a wet head, which partly indicates both the favorite growing places and the ability to accumulate liquid in the pulp.
What does a cinnabar red hygrocybe look like?
The mushrooms are rather small:
- the diameter of the cap is up to 2 cm, sometimes larger;
- the leg is low - up to 5 cm;
- leg thickness no more than 2-4 mm.
The cap of the cinnabar-red mushroom is first bell-shaped, then straightens, the central tubercle becomes smoothed or a certain depression forms instead. The hem of the cap is ribbed, it can crack. Small mushrooms are noticeable by the bright color of the fruit body - cinnabar red or orange. Young caps, covered with small scales, then the matte skin becomes completely smooth, intense red, with a slight bloom. With any color change, from yellowish to reddish, the edges are always lighter. Also, the skin brightens in old fruit bodies.
The waxy flesh is thin, brittle, and can be dry as it matures. The bottom of the cap is covered with sparse, widely spaced plates that descend slightly to the stem. Their color also fades over time from red to yellowish. The mass of spores is white.
A thin, fragile stem tapers to a yellowish base. Sometimes it bends, as it grows, it becomes hollow inside. The color of the silky surface is identical to that of the cap skin.
The color of the cinnabar-red species can vary from the quality of the substrate to orange, sometimes the border of the cap is framed with a yellow rim
Where the hygrocybe grows cinnabar red
Small bright mushrooms are found in humid, sometimes dry places:
- in the grass in the meadows;
- in mixed forests at forest edges and clearings;
- in marshlands in mosses.
Hygrocybe cinnabar-red prefers acidic soils, is a saprotroph on humus. The fungus is distributed almost all over the world in a temperate climatic zone. In Russia, they are also met throughout the country from June to November.
The cinnabar-red species is similar to other inedible members of the genus with a reddish or orange color:
- swamp hygrocybe (Hygrocybe helobia);
The species differs from cinnabar-red in white-yellowish plates and is found only in swampy areas
- hygrocybe oak (Hygrocybe quieta);
Mushroom settles near oak trees
- hygrocybe wax (Hygrocybe ceracea).
Mushrooms are characterized by an orange-yellowish color.
Is it possible to eat a cinnabar red hygrocybe
It is believed that there are no toxins in the fruiting bodies of the species. But the mushroom is inedible, and many sources say it shouldn't be taken. The smell from the fruiting bodies of the cinnabar red hygrocybe is absent.
Conclusion
Cinnabar red hygrocybe is common in different countries. Mushroom pickers are mostly afraid to take on an obviously unfamiliar species. Therefore, in the scientific literature there are no described cases of the negative impact of its substances on the human body.
