Hygrocybe ceracea
Fast facts
- Common names
- Butter Waxcap
- Scientific name
- Hygrocybe ceracea
- When to See It
- August-November
Description
A small yellow waxcap with a greasy cap, often showing a slightly translucent centre. The gills are thin and paler than the cap, broadly attached and sometimes running a little way down the stem. In contrast, the stem is dry, a useful feature for distinguishing it from similar species.
Identifying Butter Waxcap
This is a small yellow species with a greasy cap that can feel slightly slippery, especially in wet weather. Caps are often brighter orange when young, fading to paler yellow with age, and may show faint striations and a subtly translucent centre. The gills are pale yellow to whitish, relatively thin, and broadly attached to the stem, sometimes running slightly down it. In contrast to the cap, the stem is dry rather than sticky, usually yellow throughout and often hollow. Together, the combination of a greasy cap, dry stem and broadly attached gills helps separate it from similar yellow waxcaps.
Lookalikes
The Golden Waxcap Hygrocybe chlorophana is the most likely lookalike and can appear very similar, especially to beginners. Both are bright yellow, but the Butter Waxcap is usually smaller, with thinner gills that are broadly attached or slightly running down the stem, while the Golden Waxcap has broader, more narrowly attached gills. Small examples of this species can also resemble Glutinous Waxcap Gliophorus glutinipes, but this species has a distinctly slimy stem, whereas the stem of the Butter Waxcap is dry.
When to Find Them
This is a common species, found in unimproved grassland, scrub, dunes and road verges, typically fruiting from August through to November.
Interesting Fact
The Butter Waxcap is one of the more common species and is often among the first to appear as grassland sites begin to develop a richer waxcap community.
Join the hunt for North East Waxcaps
Urban or rural, beginner or expert, we need your help to record twelve distinctive waxcaps across the North East this autumn.
Your records can add to our understanding of these colourful fungi in the region and inform conservation and monitoring efforts.
Taking part is easy and every record counts, wherever you live in the region. Records of all waxcap species are encouraged.
