Gather ye waxcaps while ye may

Okay, that’s not really how the 17th-century poem (‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time’, by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick) begins but, when it comes to gathering waxcaps, you really do need to seize the day because

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same [fungi] that smiles today

To-morrow will be dying.

This blog was supposed to be full of deliciously luscious photographs of waxcap fungi taken somewhere up a hill in the wilds of the Welsh valleys after an outing with my new friends from the Glamorgan Fungi Group. Then Storm Abigail decided to sweep across Britain, with her whistling winds, hail showers and torrential rain. Though some of the dedicated – some might say mad! – followers of fungi still braved the hill, I chose to remain indoors.

Luckily, I have a magnificent and very abundant source of waxcaps much closer to home, at Cathays Cemetery. The fact that its 110-acre grounds have remained largely undisturbed since the cemetery closed to new burials about 35 years ago means the grassy spaces between and around the graves are ideal for waxcaps, as the hygrocybe species are sensitive both to pollution and to agricultural chemicals.

I am still very much a novice when it comes to identifying fungi – if you’ve ever tried it, you will know what a difficult process it can be. Is the fungus slimy or dry? Where is it growing? Is it alone or in a cluster? What is the texture of the cap? How are the gills attached to the stem? What colour are the spores? These are just a few of the myriad questions you must answer. It is at once frustrating, entrancing, infuriating, captivating … and highly addictive!

I think I know the identities of all the waxcaps in these photographs but, just in case I’m wrong, let’s just focus on how beautiful they are and not bother about what they’re called. Enjoy!

For more facts and an identification guide to waxcaps in particular and fungi in general, check out the First Nature website. 

A feast for Fungus Day

It’s prime fungi time here in the Northern Hemisphere and this coming Sunday, 11 October, is UK Fungus Day. So, what better time to share with you some of the incredibly diverse range of fungi I’ve managed to photograph just this week.

And what better location to go fungi spotting than in a place that’s been designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), a place that’s fast becoming one of my favourite places in Cardiff for so many reasons, Cathays Cemetery.    

The main reason the cemetery was designated a SINC by Cardiff Council was because of its fungi. At least fourteen species of waxcaps have been found within the grounds of the cemetery – for those with a mycological bent, they are Hygrocybe aurantio-splendens, H. calyptriformis, H. ceracea, H. chlorophana, H. citrinovirens, H. coccinea, H. conica, H. glutinipes, H. intermedia, H. pratensis, H. psittacina, H. punicea, H. quieta and H. virginea. Many of these waxcaps are common but, apparently, Hygrocybe punicea, H. aurantio-splendens, H. calyptrifomis, H. intermedia and H. citrinovirens are all significant finds within the county of Glamorgan in which Cardiff is located.

Fairy rings of waxcaps

Of course, the cemetery doesn’t just have waxcaps. You can also find a selection of the more common fungi found in grassland sites, including ‘fairy’ rings of Blewits (Lepista cf sordida) and Clouded agaric (Clitocybe nebularis). And, just this week, I found some Coral fungi (below), which may or may not be Ramarai pallida – it seems positive identification involves the use of a microscope!

I’m a keen fungi-finder but their identification is always a bit of a mystery to me as I find the photographs and descriptions in most books difficult to relate to what I’m seeing in the flesh, and googling doesn’t often help either. That – and the fact that I am new to Cardiff – are my excuses for not having identified most of the fungi in my photographs. If you can help with their identification, I would be very pleased to hear from you.

In the meantime, I hope you can get out and enjoy some fungi spotting this Fungi Day, and in the weeks to come. And, remember, only eat them if you can positively identify them – many are poisonous, some can kill!

On the left, perhaps Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), and the one on the right looks like one of my omelettes!

A favourite feast for the slugs

I love how these clumps burst from the ground, almost growing before your eyes

A lesson in persistence, as these Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) force their way through cracks in a gravel path. 

Possibly Tricholomopsis rutilans, also known as 'Plums and Custard' fungus