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Brilliant to behold, found year 'round, easily recognized in the field, easy to identify by the combination of such a bright reddish color or red-spotted surface, reddish rhizomorphs, & characteristic red-orange staining of the substrate; here growing in a boreal area on the broken end of a fallen limb (conifer), the first photos with natural daylight, the last two photos using a 365nm UV light to show fluorescence

This find from late July was the second time I’ve encountered this beautiful brown-centered orange waxcap. The first time, a few years back, it was only a single mushroom and I didn’t document it thoroughly or identify it. I noticed the similarity in form to finds I had identified as H. marginata, but the color was dramatically different. I was looking for marginate gills (having edges colored differently from the faces or sides), which I have documented in yellow-orange-capped finds—but that characteristic was not apparent. I was thinking that in light of the species name, marginate gills would be reliably present in the species as a whole—but after reading descriptions in two of my books, it seems that marginate gills are only present in one of three varieties, H. marginata var. marginata, and in that variety only if and when the color of the gill faces has faded.
In Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada, Timothy Baroni’s main entry for the species is specifically for H. marginata var. marginata. His description reads, “gills brilliant orange, not fading like the cap, or at least edges remaining dark orange.” In Audubon’s new Mushrooms of North America, Jacob Kalichman’s description does not mention marginate gills at all. Both authors describe var. concolor similarly: Timothy Baroni writes that the gills have “the same golden-yellow color as the cap surface,” while Jacob Kalichman describes the gills as “yellowish-orange.” But the two authors describe var. olivacea quite differently. Timothy Baroni writes that it “has a strongly olive-colored cap and shades of olive-green on the stem.” This does not describe my find. But Jacob Kalichman’s description says var. olivacea has “an orangish-brown or olive-brown tint on the middle of the cap and bright orange gills” (ding ding ding!).

Annadel State Park, Lawndale Trail, in an open mixed Oak woodland/shrubland
Growing on side of trail from disturbed soil under Arctostaphylos
Metalic reddish/brown, slightly umbonate pileus, white equal stipe, brown narrowly attached lamellae
Smell like tootsie rolls or cheap chocolate candy
Taste bitter and slightly spicy
Stipe fluoresces yellow
Dark grey KOH on cap

Growing abundantly in mulch among Rhus aromatica behind Townshend Hall. Annulus lacking. Veil remants on cap margins. Caps without separable pellicles. Odor not distinctive. All structures inamyloid. Monomitic with at least some clamps present. Pileipellis composed of encrusted hyphae. Pleurocystidia absent. Cheilocystidia abundant, mostly ventricose mucronate. Cheilocystidia measurements from Piximetre: (21.5) 22.1 – 28.1 (28.8) × (7.5) 8.4 – 9.3 (9.5) µm, Q = (2.3) 2.5 – 3.2 (3.7); N = 15, Me = 24.9 × 8.8 µm; Qe = 2.8

Individual cheilocystidia: 23.45 × 9.19 µm, 28.11 × 7.53 µm, 23.76 × 9.20 µm, 25.89 × 8.06 µm, 21.89 × 8.99 µm, 24.48 × 9.49 µm, 26.95 × 9.12 µm, 22.28 × 8.90 µm, 22.10 × 8.67 µm, 22.89 × 9.29 µm, 28.84 × 9.39 µm, 25.76 × 8.43 µm, 21.51 × 9.34 µm, 27.15 × 8.54 µm, 28.18 × 8.60 µm

Basidia 4-sterigmate. Spores brown and subrhomboid in face view. Spore measurements from Piximetre: (5.3) 5.4 – 7.4 (7.6) × (2.8) 3.3 – 4.1 (4.3) µm, Q = (1.4) 1.5 – 1.9 (2.1); N = 30, Me = 6.3 × 3.6 µm; Qe = 1.7

Individual spores: 7.40 × 3.53 µm, 6.73 × 3.35 µm, 6.55 × 3.58 µm, 5.30 × 3.67 µm, 5.49 × 3.78 µm, 6.71 × 4.34 µm, 6.52 × 3.53 µm, 5.85 × 3.81 µm, 5.60 × 3.74 µm, 5.94 × 3.14 µm, 6.39 × 3.79 µm, 5.69 × 3.33 µm, 7.27 × 3.89 µm, 6.81 × 3.67 µm, 5.40 × 3.20 µm, 5.32 × 3.47 µm, 5.40 × 3.33 µm, 5.86 × 3.68 µm, 6.26 × 3.52 µm, 7.36 × 3.80 µm, 5.40 × 2.85 µm, 6.09 × 3.39 µm, 6.09 × 3.57 µm, 7.63 × 4.08 µm, 6.80 × 3.91 µm, 5.92 × 3.28 µm, 6.63 × 4.16 µm, 5.83 × 3.59 µm, 7.49 × 3.85 µm, 6.54 × 4.24 µm