Hygrocybe griseoramosa
Grey Waxcap
Family: Hygrophoraceae
The Lane Cove Valley is one of best areas in the country for waxcap mushrooms. These unique mushrooms can be seen in shaded areas between the months of May and August, especially after rain.
They are small, often brightly coloured mushrooms with widely spaced gills and a thick stem. The cap is indeed waxy to touch, and they grow on soil, not on wood. Spores are white.
Waxcap mushrooms were brought into local prominence in the 1990s by residents Ray and Elma Kearney, who discovered many unusual specimens near their Lane
Cove home. Many of these were proven to be new species to science, and subsequently described by the mycologist Tony Young.
These little mushrooms can be cryptic, hard to find, and not show up for years, particularly in times of drought.
Other times, they are abundant, popping up underneath the Lilly Pilly and Coachwood trees. Their preferred habitat is on poor sandy soils, covered in leaf litter and in full shade, often near creeks.
References:
REGENAVITIS no.60 August 2021, section 10 “Mushrooms” by Peter Woodard
http://www.habitas.org.uk/priority/species.asp?item=21529