Witches Cap - Blog Posts

Witches Cap Fungi

Mushroom of the Week No. 1

The witches cap mushroom, or Hygrocybe conica, starts off a vivid red-orange with patches of yellow. As it ages it slowly turns black naturally, or bruises black due to injury. This is actually one of the most helpful factors in identification, though the fungi itself is not sought after for its edibility. It cannot be cultivated in labs presently, suggesting that it requires something special from its environment, possibly a mycorrhizal relationship. For this it needs to be investigated further.