page_title: Hygrophorus agathosmus
section_title: Microscopic characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Hygrophorus agathosmus / Description / Microscopic characteristics
caption_attribution_description: English: The basidiospores of the mushroom Hygrophorus agathosmus (Fr.) Fr. Magnification at 1000x.
context_page_description: Hygrophorus agathosmus, commonly known as the gray almond waxy cap or the almond woodwax, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. It was first described by Elias Magnus Fries in 1815; Fries gave it its current name in 1838. A widespread species, it is distributed in the United States, Europe, Africa, and India, and is found growing under spruce and pine in mixed forests. The fruit bodies are characterized by a light grayish cap that measures up to 8 cm in diameter, waxy gills, a dry stem, and the distinct odor of bitter almonds. An edible but bland-tasting mushroom, extracts of the fruit bodies have been shown in laboratory tests to have antimicrobial activity against various bacteria that are pathogenic to humans.
context_section_description: When viewed in mass, such as with a spore print, the spores appear to be white. Viewed with a light microscope, the basidiospores are 8–10.5 by 4.5–5.5 µm, ellipsoid, smooth, and yellowish in Melzer's reagent. The spore-bearing cells, the basidia, are four-spored and measure 48–65 long by 6–8 µm thick. Pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia (specialized cystidia found on the gill faces and edges, respectively) are absent in this species. The pileipellis (cap cuticle) is made of a broad (175–350 µm) gelatinous zone, composed of loosely interwoven, slender (1.5–4 µm) hyphae; the surface hyphae are a fuscous—a dark brownish-gray color. This hyphal arrangement is called an ixocutis, in which the hyphal walls swell up and gelatinize, giving a translucence to the layer that stands out in contrast to the underlying flesh. The layer of gelatizined hyphae is tenacious, and may be peeled off the cap as a film. Although clamp connections are found on the hyphae that make up the flesh of the gill, none are found in the cap flesh nor in the pileipellis.
caption: Spores at 1000x magnification. Each minor division equals 1 µm.
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