This is a second, revised edition of volume one in the series Fungi of Northern Europe, dealing with one of the most attractive genera within the gilled mushrooms. The Hygrocybe-volume has been out of print for some time, and the first edition is now so old that new information has accumulated demanding a thorough revision of the book. Many new pictures have been added.
Waxcaps still suffer from serious decline in many parts of northern Europe. The threats to their habitats have increased during the recent years, due to loss of habitat quality in many parts of northern Europe. It is hoped that the book will continue to be a strong tool in helping conservation efforts within the region.
Within the next few years we will probably see a huge change in how genera are defined within the Hygrophoraceae and we may well loose a series of familiar names, but in this volume the whole variation is still accepted within one broadly defined genus.
The book includes revised keys, descriptions and illustrations of all 62 species and varieties recognized from the area. A few new combinations are proposed. The author has studied the genus for more than thirty five years and has published scientific work on both arctic, temperate and tropical waxcaps.
David Boertmann is senior researcher (Arctic ornithology) at National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University, Denmark; however he also studies fungi in his spare time and has published scientific papers on taxonomy of arctic, temperate and tropical waxcaps as well as a nomenclator on waxcaps.