Arched woodwax

What it is

The arched woodwax is a waxy-gilled mushroom of the genus Hygrophorus. Its cap is convex to expanded, often with a central bump, and is soot-brown to grey-black with dark radial streaks. Its common names include smoky waxy cap and sooty brown waxy cap.

The name Camarophyllus was once used for a separate genus. Current treatments fold it into Hygrophorus, with this species as its type, so the older name appears as an alias.

Habitat

It grows in the Northern Hemisphere, in coniferous forest, under pine, spruce and hemlock.

Eating and the genus

Svampguiden labels the arched woodwax edible and near threatened. It describes the taste as mild and slightly sweet, suited to many mushroom dishes. The sources reviewed give no detailed cooking method and no toxicity warning for this species.

Across the genus, the fruit bodies of a few species are collected and eaten locally, and sometimes sold in markets, in Spain and eastern Europe, China and Bhutan, and Central America.

Safety

Waxcaps are hard to tell apart in the field. This record is not a guide to identifying wild mushrooms; confirm the identification with a local expert before eating any wild mushroom.