Scarlet waxcapHygrocybe coccinea
Expert-verifiedUpdated October 3, 2026
Passport
- Edibility
- Inedible
- Season
- Jul — Oct
- Hymenophore
- Gilled
- Cap color
- Red
- Size
- Small (up to 5 cm)
- Smell
- Odorless
- Reviewed
- Yes ✓
Quick answers
Where to look?
Mixed forest, Deciduous forest
When does it appear?
Jul — Oct
Active months: July, August, September, October.
How to recognize it? Three signs
- Cap color: Red, Orange
- Cap shape: Convex
- Smell: Odorless
Fruiting season
July – October
Description
The Scarlet waxcap is one of the brightest mushrooms of Ukrainian meadows. Small, 2 to 5 cm, with a deep red or coral cap, like a drop of fresh blood on green grass. The gills and stem are also red or orange-red. It's one of the so-called waxcaps — a group of dwellers of old unplowed meadows that have become an indicator of how well natural grasslands are preserved.
Formally edible according to many European sources, but it has no culinary value — the flesh is thin, without a distinct taste or smell, and the mushroom itself is too rare and ecologically important to pick. The modern approach: don't pick it. It's a decorative, photogenic species that deserves protection. In a number of European countries (Great Britain, Scandinavia) waxcaps have protected status.
In Ukraine it grows on old unplowed meadows, pastures and mossy glades. Its distribution is patchy — mainly in the Carpathians, Polissia, and the forest and forest-steppe zones. Season: July–October, peaking in autumn after rain. It prefers slightly acidic soils that haven't been repeatedly burned.
Cap
Cap 2-5 cm, at first hemispherical to conical, then convex-flattened with a low umbo. Color bright red, coral, cinnabar red — this is the key feature. With age the margin may turn yellow or orange. Surface moist, waxy, slightly slimy in wet weather.
Hymenophore
Gills. The gills are widely spaced, thick, waxy, attached or slightly decurrent. Color red, coral to yellowish red. Spore print white.
Stem
Stem 3-7 cm tall, 0.3-0.8 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, hollow inside. Color red to orange-red, paler and yellowish toward the base. Surface dry, smooth. No ring.
Flesh
Flesh thin, brittle, reddish to yellowish. Doesn't change color when cut. No culinary value.
Smell
No distinctive smell, or faintly mushroomy. Mild taste, nothing special.
›Scientific synonyms (9)
Agaricus coccineus Scop., Agaricus miniatus Batsch, Agaricus scopolii Lasch, Hygrophorus coccineus (Schaeff.) Fr., Pseudohygrocybe coccinea (Schaeff.) Kovalenko, Agaricus phoeniceus V. Brig., Agaricus phoeniceus Fr., Agaricus flavominiatus Berk., Agaricus punicans Britzelm.
Lookalikes
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Related species
Mushrooms of the same genus and habitat — to study side by side and never mix up.
Grayling
Cantharellula umbonata
Almond woodwax
Hygrophorus agathosmus
Gold flecked woodwax
Hygrophorus chrysodon
Herald of winter
Hygrophorus hypothejus
Hygrophorus leucophaeus
Ivory woodwax
Hygrophorus eburneus
Larch woodwax
Hygrophorus lucorum
.webp)
March mushroom
Hygrophorus marzuolus
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to eat?
Formally the mushroom is not poisonous — European sources often list it as edible. But it has no culinary value: thin flesh, no taste or smell. It's not worth picking — this is a rare, ecologically valuable species, protected in some countries. Better to leave it in the field and take a photo.
Why do you label it inedible if it's not poisonous?
In our classification, "inedible" means a mushroom that isn't worth picking: either because it has no culinary value or because it's ecologically rare. The Scarlet waxcap is the second case. Waxcaps are bioindicators of old unplowed meadows, which are disappearing in Ukraine. Every specimen picked is a loss for the population.
Where should you look for it?
On old unplowed meadows, pastures, mossy forest glades and forest edges. It likes slightly acidic, unfertilized soils. It's an indicator of intact natural grasslands — it doesn't grow on fertilized plowed fields.
In which regions of Ukraine does it grow?
Throughout the forest and forest-steppe zones: the Carpathians, Prykarpattia, Polissia, the Forest-Steppe. Especially rich habitats are the mountain meadows (polonyny) of the Carpathians and the mossy meadows of Polissia. It doesn't occur in the steppe.
When should you look for it?
July–October. Peak fruiting is September–October, after the autumn rains. Sometimes the first fruiting bodies appear as early as June after heavy rains.
Does it appear in summer?
Yes, in a wet summer it fruits from late June–July. But the main season is early autumn. The Scarlet waxcap needs moist soil, so in a dry summer it may skip the season entirely.
What is it confused with?
With other red waxcaps — for example, the Blackening waxcap (Hygrocybe conica). The difference: the Blackening waxcap has a cone-shaped cap and its flesh turns black when damaged. The Scarlet waxcap has a convex cap, and its flesh doesn't turn black. The Blackening waxcap is considered suspicious (possibly toxic), so telling them apart matters.
Is it confused with the fly agaric?
Unlikely — the fly agaric is much larger (8-20 cm), with white spots on the cap, a ring on the stem and a volva. The Scarlet waxcap is small (2-5 cm), without spots, without a ring, and grows in meadows, not in the forest. Completely different build and habitat.
Is Scarlet waxcap edible or poisonous?
Does Scarlet waxcap have gills or pores?
What does the cap of Scarlet waxcap look like?
What does the stem of Scarlet waxcap look like?
Sources
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine