Hygrophoraceae

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iHygrophoraceae

Hygrophorus penarius

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Homobasidiomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hygrophoraceae

Genera

Hygrophorus
Hygrocybe
Camarophyllus
Camarophyllopsis

The family Hygrophoraceae, also known as waxy caps or waxcaps, is a taxon of white-spored agarics. The common name "waxy cap" comes from the waxy feel and appearance of the gills or lamellae and often of the entire fruiting body. (This characteristic may be subtle, and it is often difficult to identify some species as members of this group by relying on this characteristic alone.) The lamellar attachment ranges from adnate to subdecurrent (fully decurrent in Camarophyllus), and the lamellae themselves are typically widely spaced.

The most distinct microscopic characteristic of this group are the very long basidia. The spores are unpigmented, inamyloid, smooth, and ellipsoid to elongate in shape. The pileipellis is usually a cutis, except in Camarophyllopsis, which has a hymenoderm pileipellis. Ecologically, most members of this family are ectomycorrhizal, except for Hygrocybe, which are mostly saprotrophs.

This family consists of several genera that are distinguished from each other by the arrangement of the lamellar trama, by the macroscopic appearance of the fruiting body, especially the coloration, and by their ecological niche.