Herald of winter: a mushroom of late autumn

The herald of winter is a mushroom for those in no hurry to close the season. It comes out when boletes and honey fungus are already gone and the first cold has gripped the forest. Its slimy olive cap turns up in pine forests long after the first frosts, so for an attentive forager it's the last autumn find.

Let's look at how to recognize the herald of winter, where it grows and whether it's worth a place in your basket.

How to recognize the herald of winter

• Cap 3–6 cm, olive-brown or gray-olive, very slimy, with a darker center and a paler margin.
• Gills widely spaced, thick, waxy to the touch, whitish-yellowish, running down the stem.
• Stem yellowish, also slimy, often with a ring-like zone left by the slime.
• Flesh whitish-yellow, with no particular taste or smell.

Gills that feel waxy to the touch are the genus trait of woodwaxes (Hygrophorus), the one they're recognized by.

Where and when it grows

The herald of winter is closely tied to pine and grows in pine and mixed forests on sandy soils. It's one of the latest mushrooms: it appears in October and keeps going all through November, often after the frosts have already come, when there's almost nothing left in the forest. For more on other mushrooms that grow in November, see our separate article.

Its relative, Hygrophorus leucophaeus, is found in broadleaf forests under beeches.

Is it edible

The herald of winter is edible, though not highly valued. Because of the slime it's washed before cooking, and sometimes the skin is peeled off the cap; then it's fried or pickled along with other autumn mushrooms. Its main value is precisely its late season, when there's almost nothing else to choose from.

What to keep in mind

• A slimy cap is normal. It's a feature of woodwaxes, not a sign of spoilage.
• Pick in clean pine forests. Late mushrooms stand for a long time, so choose young, sturdy specimens.
• Wash off the sand and slime before cooking.

Sources

• “Identification Guide to the Fungi of Ukraine” (Kyiv, Naukova Dumka publishing house).
• Hygrophorus hypothejus in GBIF, the global biodiversity database.
• Hygrophorus in MycoBank, the international fungal nomenclature database.
• Hygrophorus on Wikipedia.