The fruit bodies are medium-sized, pure white, and when wet are covered in a layer of slime thick enough to make the mushroom difficult to pick up. The gills are broadly attached to the stem or running down it; as the family name suggests, they feel waxy when rubbed between the fingers. Like all Hygrophorus species, the fungus is mycorrhizal—a symbiotic association whereby the underground fungal mycelia penetrate and exchange nutrients with tree roots.