The waxcap fungi of Essex
are difficult and confusing and best described with illustrations such as those in Boertmann (1995)
and Kuyper. Noordeloos and Vellinga (1988). The latter reference has a very useful glossary
explaining many of the technical terms used in mycology.
Waxcaps have always been considered to be saprobiontic (saprophytic), which means that they
obtain complex food substances from the dead organic matter in the soil, sometimes digesting it
externally, and absorbing the relatively simple, small, soluble molecules, e.g. glucose and amino
acids, through their surfaces. Research is currently underway to explore the possibility that they
may form fungus-roots with higher" plants. Such mycorrhizal relationships are mutually beneficial
to each partner, with the fungus obtaining photosynthetic products from the plant, which in turn
receives water and mineral ions that the fungus absorbs from the soil. This lack of basic knowledge
about their lifestyle, illustrates just how much science still needs to discover about waxcap ecology.
This attractive group of fungi is typically found in unimproved grassland, particularly in well grazed
or mown grass with a high moss content. However they can occasionally be seen, though only in
small numbers, in woodlands, often amongst moss and other ground cover, or in heathy areas.
These unimproved grassland habitats, with very low concentrations of nitrates and phosphates, are
becoming very rare in Essex and are generally threatened throughout the UK and Europe. Every
effort should therefore be made to conserve and manage the remaining waxcap-rich areas of the
county, such as churchyards, cemeteries, and the lawns around schools, hospitals and large houses.
The best management regime to promote waxcaps seems to involve keeping the grass short by
regular mowing with the clippings being removed. No fertilizers, applications of slurry, lime or
pesticides to control weeds, mosses or invertebrates should be applied, and excessive trampling
should be avoided. If the grasslands can be managed in this way, then the waxcaps should flourish
and fruit, provided that the late summers and autumns arc sufficiently wet, unlike 2003, when very
few of them appeared, even in the most favourable habitats.
Raid (1985) proposed that the number of Hygrocybe species could be used as an indicator of the
quality of Danish grasslands for waxcaps, as shown below, and this scheme has been used as a
guideline also in the UK, Evans (2003a):
National importance. 17-32 species (11-20 in a single visit).
Regional importance. 9-16 species (6-10 in a single visit).
Local importance. 4-8 species (3-5 in a single visit).
Little importance. 1-3 species (1-2 in a single visit).
Using this scale, during our forays in Essex, we have located one site of National Importance at
Little Leighs churchyard (Boniface 2001a), seven sites of Regional Importance namely: Chelmsford
cemetery, Fryerning churchyard, Broomfield churchyard, and Terling churchyard (Boniface 2002),
a site at West Tilbury (Boniface 2001b), the City of London Cemetery (Baker 2001), and the lawns
at Holmwood House School; also one site of local importance at Hylands Park, Chelmsford (Boniface
in Hanson 2004).
The descriptions and nomenclature are based on the recent book called "The Genus Hygrocybe"
(Boertmann 1995) which covers all the taxa in Northern Europe. Species listed are in accordance
with the British and Irish Basidiomycete Checklist project, which is ongoing at the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew and listed with all names to date in Evans (2003b). Author citations have been
omitted in accordance with the recommendation of Hawksworth (2002). The records are those
of all the mycologists and record-keeping organizations in Essex known to me, most of which
132
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 21 (2004)