Hygrocybe conicoides

Morphological Features:

Pileus rather small, rarely exceeding 4 cm in diameter; initially completely conical, subsequently conico-convex, and finally nearly plane with a pronounced, acute umbo. Although it may occasionally exhibit more yellowish tints, specimens are most commonly bright red, tending to darken over time, particularly from the center outward. The cuticle can become slightly viscid in wet weather. Margin typically somewhat upturned, regular in young specimens and becoming irregularly undulate in mature ones.

Lamellae generally free, rather distant, as is typical for the genus; broad and ventricose, reddish or orange, although the lamellar edge is usually yellow, a color that often extends beyond it.

Stipe usually longer than the pileus diameter; fibrous and hollow from an early stage, cylindrical. Coloration is variable: it is not uncommon to find specimens with a yellow stipe alongside others that are red, or even intermediate orange tones, with both colors sometimes present on a single stipe. The portion buried in the sand typically lacks these pigments. It has a marked tendency to darken from the base upwards, and also upon handling.

Flesh scant and fragile, fibrous; reddish or pinkish in the pileus, yellowish in the stipe, and often grayish at the base, with a tendency to darken. Odor inappreciable; taste insipid.

Habitat:

This is a species whose ecology is undoubtedly tied to stabilized coastal dunes. Given this specific habitat and its decline in our region, it should be regarded as a rare species requiring protection, although where it does occur, it typically fruits in large groups. It usually appears in late autumn or winter, often more abundantly.

Observations:

The coastal dune ecosystem has been severely degraded in recent decades due to tourism proliferation and the planting of non-native species that gradually encroach upon dune areas; therefore, this ecosystem and its mycoflora must be protected. It may be confused with the ecologically more widespread Hygrocybe conica, which is practically identical except for its habitat and its more pronounced and rapid tendency to darken.