Waxcaps
Waxcap fungi thrive on damp, ‘unimproved’ grassland, or rather grassland which hasn’t be ruined by artificial fertiliser or herbicides. A trip to Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor becomes a thrill when I spot some.
![Waxcaps - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Emsworthy-Mire-The-Hall-of-Einar-0673-725x483.jpg)
Aren’t their colours intense?
They might be Crimson Waxcaps, Hygrocybe punicea:
There are orange coloured Meadow Waxcaps here, Hygrocybe pratensis:
![Waxcaps - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Devon-The-Hall-of-Einar-8946-725x483.jpg)
![Waxcaps - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Devon-The-Hall-of-Einar-8949-725x725.jpg)
I’ve seen them before too:
A day out at Challacombe Farm shows another wonderful collection of Waxcaps. The surprise of the intensity of their colour against grass is always a joy:
![Challacombe Farm Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Challacombe-Farm-The-Hall-of-Einar-9189-725x544.jpg)
This more delicate white Waxcap is an interesting find. Unfortunately I forgot to sniff this one. The Cedarwood Waxcap, Hygrocybe russocoriacea, smells of lead pencils. The Snowy Waxcap, Hygrocybe virginea, doesn’t.
![Challacombe Farm Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Challacombe-Farm-The-Hall-of-Einar-9192-725x544.jpg)
The gills of Waxcaps are quite distinctive. I particularly like this artistic red to yellow fade.
![Challacombe Farm Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Challacombe-Farm-The-Hall-of-Einar-9202-725x725.jpg)
There are Blackening Waxcaps, Hygrocybe conica, on the drive home. I’ve seen them before. They are known as Witches’ Hats:
They look characterful in this sunshine:
![Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Dartmoor-The-Hall-of-Einar-9160-544x725.jpg)
There are more white Waxcaps here.
![Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Dartmoor-The-Hall-of-Einar-9170-725x544.jpg)
I forget to smell them, too.
Back at Emsworthy Mire a few days later and there is a hugely overgrown Meadow Waxcap with veins on the gills which make them look like orange segments:
![Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Waxcap-The-Hall-of-Einar-0746-725x580.jpg)
And there are intense yellow to red coloured Waxcaps splitting in the short grass.
![Waxcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Waxcap-The-Hall-of-Einar-0744-725x725.jpg)
If someone would like to buy me David Boertmann’s book: ‘The genus Hygrocybe, 2nd revised edition’ (2010) for Christmas, that would be very kind. Then I might actually be able to identify them correctly!