Watery woodwax

What it is

Watery woodwax is the English name the catalogue gives to Hygrophorus penarius, a waxcap-type gilled fungus. It is mycorrhizal and grows with broadleaf trees. A French identification sheet separates it from its look-alike mainly by its exclusive association with beech.

The French sheet gives the French vernacular name hygrophore comestible, meaning edible hygrophore, and lists Hygrophorus barbatulus as a synonym. The German red-list entry gives the German name Trockener Schneckling and lists the species as not endangered.

Taxonomy and older records

The name has been unstable. In 2007 the species was split, and Hygrophorus penarioides was separated from it. A 2019 Hungarian phylogenetic study confirmed the separation; of the specimens it examined, most belonged to H. penarioides and only three to H. penarius.

The catalogue notes that some older penarius records comprise distinct taxa. Any older edibility claim made under the name H. penarius may therefore refer to a mixed group of species.

Distribution

The sources checked place the species in Europe, North America and Japan. The catalogue's regional record is Europe only. The sources do not give a precise locality for a regional food record.

Food use and safety

The French identification sheet's edible name is the only edibility signal found for this species. The sources checked give no culinary method, no preparation, no cooking time and no safety detail.

Because the species was recently split and the name has been applied inconsistently, the edibility claim is weakly supported. Catalogue inclusion is not an edibility verdict. Anyone considering the fungus should confirm the identification with a local mycological society, and nothing on this page is an identification guide.