age or when bruised. Microscopically, Hygrocybe species lack true cystidia and have comparatively large, smooth, inamyloid basidiospores. Habitat, nutrition, and distribution Species of Hygrocybe are soil-dwelling. In Europe, most species are typical of unimproved (nutrient-poor), short-sward grasslands, often termed "waxcap grasslands", but elsewhere they are more commonly found in woodland. Their metabolism has long been debated, but recent research suggests that they are not saprotrophic but rather symbiotically associated with the roots of higher plants or mosses. Hyphae of H. conica have been detected in plant roots. Species are distributed worldwide, from the tropics to the sub-polar regions. Around 150 have been described to date. Waxcaps receive most attention in northern Europe, where they are found in nutrient-poor pastures. However, outside Europe, waxcaps are more commonly associated with woodland habitats, for example the sclerophyll forests site at Lane Cove Bushland Park and Ferndale Park, Sydney. Conservation In Europe, waxcap grasslands and their associated fungi are of conservation concern, since unimproved grasslands (formerly commonplace) have declined dramatically as a result of changes in agricultural practice. This decline has led to four European Hygrocybe species, Hygrocybe citrinovirens, H. punicea, H. spadicea, and H. splendidissima, being assessed as globally "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Elsewhere, several rare and localized endemic species are assessed as globally "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They include Hygrocybe boothii in Australia, Hygrocybe noelokelani and Hygrocybe pakelo in Hawaii, Hygrocybe striatella in Chile, and Hygrocybe flavifolia in California. Economic usage Because Hygrocybe species cannot be maintained in culture, none is cultivated commercially. Fruit bodies of a few species are considered edible in eastern Europe, south-east Asia, and Central America and are collected and consumed locally. Literature No comprehensive monograph of the genus has yet been published. In Europe, however, species of Hygrocybe have been illustrated and described in a standard English-language guide by Boertmann (2010) and also (together with Hygrophorus) in an Italian guide by Candusso (1997). European species have also been covered, more briefly, in descriptive French keys by Bon (1990). Dutch species were illustrated and described by Arnolds (1990). No equivalent modern guides have been published for North America, the most recent being by Hesler & Smith (1963). There is, however, a guide to Californian species by Largent (1985). In Australia, Hygrocybe species have been illustrated and described by Young (2005) and in New Zealand by Horak (1990). Species