The small bright red mushroom is a familiar sight in unimproved grasslands in Europe in late summer and autumn, and woodlands in North America in winter.

The scarlet hood was first described as Agaricus coccineus by German mycologist Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1774, before being transferred to the genus Hygrophorus by Elias Magnus Fries in 1838, and finally Hygrocybe by Paul Kummer in 1871.

A small waxcap with an initially bell-shaped, and later flattening, cap 2–5 centimetres (3⁄4–2 in) across, scarlet in colour and slimy in texture.

[1] In Britain, like all Hygrocybes, it has its best seasons in frost-free late autumn months, and in western North America it may be found under redwoods or in mixed woodland in winter.

[3] It has been recorded growing under Rhododendron and oak (Quercus) in Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal, and also occurs in India, China and Japan.