Saturday 19 November 2016

Waxcap #22 - New Species

It's always a red-letter day when I find a new waxcap here and #22 is the Crimson Waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea) one of the most handsome waxcaps. Unfortunately they were in the field with the sheep and had been well trampled but identifiable nonetheless. It could be 23 species if the previously recorded Orange Waxcap stands as a valid ID but I am having doubts so I need to review the survey info and photos before claiming 23 species. Even at 22 species this makes The Beeches a site of international importance according to criteria set up in the 1980s and 1990s. However it is worth adding that I know of sites with similar numbers of species around here. It is partly that we are blessed for old meadows around here and partly that waxcaps have been underrecorded.

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