Hygrophorus hypothejus (Herald of Winter)

English Name: Herald of Winter (old scientific names include Agaricus hypothejus, Hygrophorus aureus, Hygrophorus hypothejus var. aureus and Hygrophorus hypothejus var. expallens)

As its English name suggests, this species is said to appear after the first frosts and thus the beginning of winter. Mind you, frosts can occur any time in Scotland so not so sure about that! Whatever the stimulus, this species can regularly be found under conifers later in the season. It is very distinct and easy to spot once you get your eye in.

Look out for an olive brownish cap with a darker centre and a glutinous surface texture – this latter the remains of a glutinous universal veil. The flesh is a rich yellow / orange below the cap, which can sometimes be seen in damaged areas. The gills are decurrent (running down the stem) and become yellow at maturity. The stem is dry above the pronounced veil zone and slippery below. The spores are white and microscopically the genus is characterised by long basidia and a bilateral gill trama - more about gill tramas.

H. hypothejus is thought to be ectomycorrhizal , usually with pine.

Fruiting: first records appear in August but the main season is from September to November, tailing off quickly in December.

Habitat: in acidic soils under conifers – usually under pine but occasionally larch and even birch.

Distribution: (Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota Legon & Henrici 2005): All countries apart from the Republic of Ireland – occasional – or at least infrequently reported. RoI – present frequency unknown. The total number of records for this species on the Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland is 807 with 177 of those originating in Scotland (MAP).

Please remember to submit your records to your local recording group or via the Scottish Fungi online recording form.

The stem of Hygrophorus hypothejus is dry just below the gills but slippery below.

Distribution of Hygrophorus hypothejus

Liz Holden June 2011

The National Biodiversity Network Gateway records from FRDBI andHBRG datasets are shown on the above map (see terms and conditions at http://data.nbn.org.uk). Data providers and the NBN Trust bear no responsibility for any further analysis or interpretation of the information in the map.