Hygrocybe cantharellus (Schwein.) Murrill

Common name: None.

Description: The caps may be up to 3 cm in diameter and the colour is deep orange-red, although this fades to reddish-tinted pale orange with age. Caps are initially convex but they often become plane; the surface is dry and always scurfy due to the presence of minute scales, and the margins are usually scalloped. The scales often disappear with age and are then only found right at the centre of the cap. The decurrent gills are thick, waxy, distant and orange to yellow. The stem is thin, up to 9 cm long and usually less than 3 mm thick. The stem surface is dry, there is no ring, and the colour is similar to or a little paler than that of the cap.

The spores measure 810 × 56 µm, are ellipsoidal, smooth and are colourless but white in mass.

Substratum: Always on soil, usually among moss or litter and may be solitary, in twos or threes or in small groups. Often the species is to be found on moss banks beside forest paths.

Distribution: Known from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Notes: This pretty little species is widespread and quite common. It is very easy to recognise with its bright colouration and its more or less tent peg-like appearance. It is not restricted to forests and has appeared in heath country and sheltered spots in gardens.