Cortinarius rubellus
Photo coming
Deadly
Deadly Webcap
Cortinarius rubellus
Also has a pointed orange-brown cap, but it is dry and fibrous rather than waxy, has a cobweb-like veil when young, leaves a rusty-brown spore print and does not blacken.
Witch's Hat
Hygrocybe conica
Inedible
Also called conic waxcap, blackening waxcap.
The witch's hat is a small waxcap with a pointed, scarlet to orange or yellow cap. Its whole fruiting body blackens with age or bruising, so old specimens look charred. It grows on the ground in woods and grassy places across North America.
The tell
A pointed red, orange or yellow waxy cap that turns black where handled and with age.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Sharply conical, broadening with age but keeping a pointed center. Scarlet, orange or yellow, waxy to slightly sticky, blackening from the edges or wherever touched.
- Underside
- Pale yellow to orange gills, waxy, nearly free from the stem, blackening with age.
- Stem
- Yellow to orange, often streaked, fibrous and hollow, blackening when handled or old. No ring and no cup.
- Flesh
- Thin, waxy, colored like the cap, turning black.
- Spore print
- White.
- Size
- Cap 3/4 to 2 3/4 inches (2 to 7 cm) wide; stem 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) tall.
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- On the ground in conifer and hardwood forests, mossy areas, grassy clearings and lawns.
- Grows on
- Soil, moss and grass.
- Season
- Summer through fall; fall through winter on the Pacific Coast.
- Range
- Across North America.
Lookalikes
What the witch's hat gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
Persistent waxcap (Hygrocybe acutoconica)
Similar pointed yellow to orange cap, but it does not blacken with age or handling.
Scarlet waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea)
Bright red but with a rounded, not pointed, cap and gills attached to the stem. It does not blacken.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Inedible
Field guides list the witch's hat as inedible or of doubtful edibility. Some older reports describe poisoning, but they are not well documented, and no toxin has been identified. It is too small and thin to be collected for food in North America.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the witch's hat
Why does the witch's hat mushroom turn black?
Its tissue blackens as it ages and wherever it is bruised. Old specimens can be entirely black, while fresh ones are scarlet, orange or yellow with black edges.
Is witch's hat mushroom poisonous?
Field guides list it as inedible. Some older reports mention poisoning, but they are poorly documented and no toxin is known.
Where does the witch's hat grow?
On the ground in forests, mossy areas, clearings and lawns across North America, from summer through fall and into winter on the Pacific Coast.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Hygrocybe conica
MushroomExpert.com
- Hygrocybe conica
MykoWeb, California Fungi
- Hygrocybe conica
Index Fungorum
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