See also EHS Waxcap Survey results for 2002 A website devoted to waxcaps in the UK has been set up by the University of Aberystwyth. Click here to see it. Waxcaps have been described as the orchids of the world of fungi. They are often startling in colour from reds, oranges and yellows to whites and browns. They can smell of honey or less pleasantly rather nitrous. They are usually found in grasslands here in Ireland (although also in woods) and are one of the groups of grassland fungi that are now recognised as excellent indicators of ancient unfertilised grassland. Other grassland types (pass the mouse over the photo above, pausing over a fungus, to see what types are what - this will not work if you are using Netscape) are the Entolomas (pink spored gill fungi), the Clavarioids (coral fungi) and Geoglossums or Earth tongues. They can all be found in a range of grassland types from dunes to uplands, from lowlands to gardens. Indeed some of the best species like Hygrocybe calyptriformis (see photo below) are more often found in gardens than other grassland types. Hygrocybe calyptriformis is actually a Biodiversity Action Plan species so if you find this species in particular in your garden, please e-mail us - we want to know wherever you live whether it be Northern Ireland or not. Hygrocybe calyptriformis These species are sensitive to the application of artificial fertilisers, especially those containing phosphorus. It may take a considerable time for fertilised sites to be rehabilitated even if managed positively for nature conservation arguably making grassland fungi better indicators of ancient unfertilised grasslands than higher plants. The great unknown however is just what these species are actually doing in the soil. They seem linked with mosses, but, if that is right, how? A recent paper (Griffith, G.W., Easton, G.L. & Jones, A.W. (2002). Ecology and Diversity of Waxcap (Hygrocybe spp.) Fungi. Bot.J.Scotl. 54(1), 7-22) points to some possible answers based on stable isotope analysis. Stable isotopes of Carbon (13C) and Nitrogen (13C) occur naturally and work looking at the patterns of 13C and 13C enrichment in ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi have shown quite different enrichment patterns. When Waxcaps have been looked at, preliminary work by Griffith et al, has shown them to have very different patterns from both ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi. They are more depleted in 13C and more enriched in 13N. Clavarioids and Geoglossaceae are even more different, but Entolomas are more typical of saprophytic fungi. This could mean that Hygrocybe spp., Clavarioids and Geoglossaceae could be deep humic decayers rather than normal surface litter decayers. The fact that Entolomas are more typical saprophytes supports the idea that sites good for Waxcaps are not necessarily good for Entolomas.  Assessing site quality from fungal data The British Mycological Society instigated a Waxcap survey in 1996 and a number of our group have been taking part in that survey. Developing the results so far obtained in this survey, a system for assessing Irish grassland sites using a species quality score has been developed and is reported in full detail the article  "The Fungi of Irish Grasslands and their value for nature conservation" by Roland McHugh, David Mitchel, Mark Wright and Roy Anderson is now out in Biology and Environment, Vol 101B, No.3, 225-242 (2001). The scores for each species takes into account its species indicator value combined with apparent rarity in Ireland.  The article in Biology and Environment lists the sites so far known in Ireland but being a published article, obviously looks at data at a particular point in time. These webpages will offer the most up to date site rankings and species lists of Irish grassland fungi. A number of methods have been proposed by continental authors (Rald 1985, Nitare 1988 Vesterholt et al., 1999), which can be divided roughly into those using only Waxcaps or Hygrocybe spp. and those using a range of fungal taxa including Entoloma spp. Geoglossaceae and Clavariaceae. The simpler (Hygrocybe) scoring system is easier to apply but a number of Irish sites with high fungal diversity lack Hygrocybe spp. e.g. Cloghy Dunes in Co.Down. To account for this, all species of Hygrocybe and certain easily identifiable indicator species in other grassland groups were ranked into an A, B or C category. Sites can then be scored and ranked taking species quality and quantity into account. Irish Scoring System   Species Class Score Clavaria zollingeri A 4 Entoloma bloxamii A 4 Entoloma incanum A 4 Hygrocybe ingrata A 4 Hygrocybe lacmus A 4 Hygrocybe nitrata A 4 Hygrocybe ovina A 4 Hygrocybe punicea A 4 Hygrocybe splendidissima A 4 Microglossum olivaceum A 4 Porpoloma metapodium A 4 Trichoglossum walteri A 4 All other species of Geoglossaceae B 2 Clavaria fumosa B 2 Clavulinopsis umbrinella B 2 Dermoloma cuneifolium B 2 Entoloma porphyrophaeum B 2 Entoloma pratulense B 2 Entoloma prunuloides B 2 Entoloma roseum B 2 Hygrocybe aurantiosplendens B 2 Hygrocybe berkeleyi B 2 Hygrocybe calciphila B 2 Hygrocybe calyptriformis B 2 Hygrocybe citrinopallida B 2 Hygrocybe citrinovirens B 2 Hygrocybe colemanniana B 2 Hygrocybe constrictospora B 2 Hygrocybe flavipes B 2 Hygrocybe fornicata B 2 Hygrocybe glutinipes B 2 Hygrocybe helobia B 2 Hygrocybe intermedia B 2 Hygrocybe irrigata B 2 Hygrocybe phaeococcinea B 2 Hygrocybe quieta B 2 Hygrocybe radiata B 2 Hygrocybe substrangulata B 2 Hygrocybe vitellina B 2 Hygrocybe xanthochroa B 2 Ramariopsis kunzei B 2 All other species of Hygrocybe C 1 Clavulinopsis fusiformis C 1 See the Atlas for more details on the distribution of these species in Northern Ireland or the Photo Gallery for images of these species. Using this scoring system, this is the most up to date ranking of Irish sites (last updated 05/03/08). Rank Site County Irish Score No of Hygrocybe No Visits 1 The Curragh Kildare 73 33 17 2 Binevenagh NNR Londonderry 62 22 9 3 Crossmurrin NNR Fermanagh 52 24 7 4 Kebble NNR Antrim 47 22 6 5 Barnett's Park Antrim 46 18 25 5 Monawilkin ASSI Fermanagh 46 20 6 7 Slievenacloy ASSI Antrim 44 23 12 8 Ballyprior Laois 43 18 11 9 Aghadachor West Donegal 42 21 2 10 Agnew's Hill Antrim 38 16 3 10 Longmore Td., 1.5km NW of The Sheddings Antrim 38 18 1 12 Dursey Island West Cork 34 18 1 12 Hillsborough Parish Church Down 34 18 7 14 Mount Stewart Estate Down 33 18 10 14 Slemish Mountain Antrim 33 15 2 16 Bantry House West Cork 32 17 1 16 Clonmantagh Hill Kilkenny 32 13 2 16 John McSparran Memorial Hill Farm Antrim 32 15 3 16 Keem Machair W Mayo 32 13 2 20 Clandeboye Estate Down 31 15 7 20 Murlough NNR Down 31 15 15 22 Black Head Clare 30 16 2 22 Silent Valley , Mourne Mountains Down 30 16 6 24 Altnahinch Burn, Altnahinch Dam Antrim 29 14 1 24 Ballynacarriga West Cork 29 17 1 24 Knockninny ASSI Fermanagh 29 15 3   Whilst a lot more data is needed before it can be said how many points would be required before a site is of national conservation importance in Irish terms, the top five sites on this list have 22 or more species of Hygrocybe. Boertmann suggests that any site with this number or more are internationally important. Thus, it could be that a score of 44 and over means internationally important and maybe a site with a score of 30 or more is nationally important. However, more data is required before this can be said with confidence. To get this data Environment & Heritage Service has let a contract to survey all of Northern Ireland's 10km squares for grassland fungi. The contract was let in 2002 and will run for 3 years. 2002 was not a good year for waxcaps and the best site found in 2002 (Agnew's Hill) only scored 29 points in the above scoring system. Click here to see the 2002-03 results. But are Waxcaps always found in grasslands? In North America, they are considered to be woodland fungi and there is a thought that they have moved out from woods in Europe into grasslands (or the woods were felled and they adapted well to their new treeless habitat). However, in Ireland, unlike GB, we seem to find waxcaps commonly in woods as well as grasslands. Here is a list of Waxcaps found so far in woods in Ireland: Hygrocybe berkeleyi Hygrocybe calciphila Hygrocybe cantharellus Hygrocybe ceracea Hygrocybe chlorophana Hygrocybe coccinea Hygrocybe conica Hygrocybe glutinipes Hygrocybe insipida Hygrocybe irrigata Hygrocybe miniata Hygrocybe mucronella Hygrocybe persistens Hygrocybe pratensis Hygrocybe psittacina Hygrocybe punicea Hygrocybe quieta Hygrocybe reidii Hygrocybe russocoriacea Hygrocybe virginea Hygrocybe vitellina English Nature have produced a leaflet on managing grassland fungi. Click here to download the document. Download the Somerset Grassland Fungi Survey report For some more information on Hygrocybe vitellina, click here. 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