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)