There is colour, and then there are waxcaps: the jewels of autumnal meadows, sparkling after the rain.
The UK is internationally important for waxcaps. In a similar vein to wildflowers, these strange and beautiful fungi are dependent on ‘unimproved’ grassland – that is, fields which have not been damaged by fertiliser, reseeding, overgrazing or the other problems of modern agriculture. Some of the best waxcap displays are in the west but we do have a few good places here in the south-east as well.
Golden waxcap is the most common.
Blackening waxcap can start off as a similar hue.
But it soon changes.
Scarlet waxcap does not – a tiny, impossibly vivid ruby in the grass.
There are green waxcaps. There are white waxcaps. There is even one species that is pink. But they are all sensitive to pollution, and if grassland is damaged, they can take decades to recover.
Meanwhile, back in the shelter of the trees, fly agaric reach preposterous sizes.
What is a fungus? The bright caps catch our attention, but are only the fruiting body. The actual organism, which is neither plant nor animal, exists as strands of white threads – mycelium – in the soil or other substrate. Many species form symbiotic relationships with plants, supporting them with nutrients. Fungi are essential to life, but they are also patient: in any given year, a field will not have all species in fruit, and discovering all the fungi that actually live there can take a good part of a lifetime.
Patience. A good word to remember in this uncertain year.
A Walk with Wildlife 
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