English: Waxcaps; Waxy caps.
Clades:
Agaricales.
Genera: 15, 600 species.
MycologyType: white-spored, thick-gilled agarics.
TaxonomyHygrophorus and Hygrocybe species (the waxcaps or waxy caps), DNA evidence has extended the limits of the family, so it now contains not only agarics, but also basidiolichens and corticioid fungi. Species are thus diverse and are variously ectomycorrhizal, lichenized, associated with mosses, or saprotrophic.
None is of any great economic importance, though fruit bodies of some Hygrocybe and Hygrophorus species are considered edible and may be collected for sale in local markets.
Hygrophoraceae has a tendency to form lichen as in the genera:
Dictyonema, Lichenomphalia, Acantholichen, and Cyphellostereum
GeneraAcantholichen, Aeruginospora, Ampulloclitocybe, Aphroditeola, Arrhenia, Cantharellula, Camarophyllus, Cantharocybe, Chromosera, Chrysomphalina, Cora, Corella, Cuphophyllus, Cyphellostereum, Dictyonema, Eonema, Gliophorus, Gloioxanthomyces, Haasiella, Humidicutis, Hygroaster, Hygrocybe, Hygrophorus, Lichenomphalia, Neohygrocybe, Porpolomopsis, Pseudoarmillariella, Semiomphalina, Sinohygrocybe.