My favourite Waxcap

The Splendid Waxcap is appropriately named. I have only seen it here at The Beeches and only once before in 2015. It kindly made its reappearance on book launch day. It is distinguished from the other two big red Waxcaps by a dry cap and a distinctive shade of red, and has a stout contorted stipe and a strongly and sharply umbonate cap.

Crimson Waxcap

Back at The Beeches is the Crimson Waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea) which appeared for the first time last year. I found three examples of this superb waxcap on book launch day (22 October) plus some other fungi out for the first time this year.

Garlic Waxcap at New Grove

A new species for me - found at nearby New Grove Meadows. Brilliantly it smells faintly of garlic which helps a lot with the ID. A microscopic examination was also done as basically apart from the smell and the lab work it is difficult to nail down being very similar to the Vermillion Waxcap in most respects.

Black Fallow Deer again

We seem to have a number of black fallow deer as opposed to the usual fawn colouring. One young one was in the garden yesterday. This is a known colour variation and the lack of white even applies to the rump area. The flash of white from a fast disappearing fallow deer is often a means of identification for me.

New Waxcap Species - Oily Waxcap

I found a rather tired example of a waxcap that must be an Oily Waxcap. The gill colour together with the faded yellow cap are a giveaway. I am losing count of the number of waxcaps I have here - I must be moving from SSSI territory to NNR territory! Of course the reality is that waxcaps and grassland fungi in general are underreported so my daily forays here reveal the true extent of fungal species on what is probably one of many similar waxcap sites in the area. The management regime here is now geared towards waxcaps so that helps.

Wood Blewit

This is a very common fungus - here I find it on compost heaps where it is often profuse. The cap colour is variable from pure lilac to brown but the stipe colour is a distinctive mixture of lilac, white and brown striations. This is a very purpley version although it dries brown and these are fresh and young so not surprising. A very handsome fungus and allegedly edible but the books often say 'best avoided' due to the reaction of some people to it.

New Species - Stump Puffball

I found a whole clutch of Stump Puffballs (Lycoperdon pyriforme) on the footpath just outside the South Field. This is a common species but a first for me here.