Waxcaps on the Wall

On Wednesday I was on the Roman Wall at Steel Rigg.  Across the road from the carpark is a grassed area that is apparently well-known for its waxcaps.  2015 hasn't been a good year - too dry - and the grass hasn't been well enough grazed so it's rather coarse and tufted.

Nevertheless we found a decent selection of fungi.  Leaving aside the Magic Mushrooms (Psilocybe semilanceata) which are now classed as a Class A drug and so one must not be caught in possession (!), there were several club and spindle species.  The Scarlet Caterpillarclub (Cordyceps militaris) has its mycelium in the carcass of an insect larva or pupa.  The Smoky Spindles (Clavaria fumosa) and Beige Coral (Clavulinopsis umbrinella) were two more of the fungal flora here that I'd not seen before.

Then there were the Waxcaps - Hygrocybe spp.  We found seven, but I didn't get decent photos of all of them.  There were Crimson, Scarlet and Ballerina Waxcaps and not pictured were Golden, Heath, Honey and Blackening Waxcaps.  We looked carefully for Parrot, but failed.

As a non-mycologist I was pleased with the haul.

In sequence below are Smoky Spindles, Scarlet Caterpillarclub, Beige Coral, Ballerina, Scarlet, Crimson and Magic Mushroom.