Hygrocybe punicea (Hygrocybe punicea)
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
- Family: Hygrophoraceae (Hygrophoric)
- Genus: Hygrocybe (Hygrocybe)
- Species: Hygrocybe punicea (Hygrocybe crimson)
A beautiful mushroom with a bright cap from the hygrophoric family. Refers to lamellar species.
Fruiting body - cap and leg. The cap is conical, bell-shaped in young mushrooms, flat at a later age. All mushrooms have a small tubercle in the middle of the cap.
The surface is smooth, covered with a sticky layer, sometimes some specimens may have grooves. Diameter - up to 12 cm. The color of the cap is red, crimson, sometimes turning into orange.
The leg is thick, hollow, and may have grooves along its entire length.
The plates under the cap are wide, differ in fleshy structure, and poorly attached to the stem. First, in young mushrooms, they have an ocher color, then turn red.
The pulp of the mushroom is very dense, has a specific pleasant smell.
It grows from early summer to late autumn. It is found everywhere, prefers open places, moist soils.
It differs from other types of hygrocybes (cinnabar red, intermediate and scarlet) in larger sizes.
It is edible and has good taste. Experts consider the crimson hygrocybe a delicious mushroom (recommended for frying, as well as for canning).