Humidicutis

Notes

Humidicutis is one of the wax-gill mushrooms, a group of small, brightly-coloured, saprobic, soil-inhabiting fungi which have brittle flesh with a waxy feel when crushed between the fingers. The main genera of wax-gills are Hygrophorus, Humidicutis, Hygrocybe and Gliophorus. Gliophorus is recognised by the thick glutinous coating over the surface, the caps of Humidicutis are typically characteristically deeply split at the sides, the other genera distinguished on the basis of microscopic features of hyphae in the gills and the cap. Gills broadly attached to stalk, no ring on stalk. Spore print white.
There are 5 species ofHumidicutis reported from New Zealand, 3 of which are endemic.

 

NameImageGoogle
Images		NZFungi Entry

Humidicutis mavis
A brilliant white mushroom, common throughout the country.

Humidicutis conspicua

Hygrophorus multicolor
(=Humidicutis multicolor)
Several of the wax-gills are mutli-coloured or vary in colour with age, making indentification difficult.

Humidicutis rosella
Characterised by its pink caps, this species can fade to white with age, then making it difficult to distinguish from H. mavis, very similar in stature.