About Hygrocybe quieta (Kühner) Singer
The basidiocarps of Hygrocybe quieta are agaricoid, growing up to 10 cm (4 in) tall. The cap is convex when young and never conical; when fully expanded, it becomes shallowly convex to flat, reaching up to 7.5 cm (3 in) across. The cap surface is smooth, dry to slightly greasy when damp, and ranges from bright yellow to orange-yellow, fading to a duller colour with age and sometimes developing a greyish sheen. The lamellae (gills) are waxy, yellow-orange to orange, rather widely spaced, and broadly attached to the stipe. The stipe (stem) is smooth, cylindrical, often compressed and grooved, and matches the cap in colour. The spore print is white. Under a microscope, the spores are smooth, inamyloid, ellipsoid to oblong, often constricted in the middle, and measure about 7.5 to 9.0 by 4.0 to 5 μm. When cut or rubbed, fruitbodies release a distinctive oily smell that is described as resembling the odour of pentatomid insects. This fungus, commonly called the oily waxcap, is widespread across Europe. It typically grows in old, unimproved, short-sward grassland such as pastures and lawns. Recent research indicates that waxcaps are neither mycorrhizal nor saprotrophic, and may instead be associated with mosses.
