Is that a ballerina in your churchyard, or is it a parrot?

By Gary Easton, member of Devon Fungus Group and BMS Fungal Education and Outreach Committee

As you’re reading this blog for UK Fungus Day, I’m sure you’ve already realised that Ballerinas and Parrots are common names for fungi. They are in a group known as the Waxcaps, because of their appearance and bright colours.

The Ballerina (or Pink) Waxcap (Porpolomopsis calyptriformis) is the rarer of the two and has a pink conical cap with a white stipe. As it ages, the cap tends to turn up at the edges, which has reminded observers of a ballerina’s tutu.

The Parrot Waxcap (Gliophorus psittacinus) is more often seen, and generally is a combination of bright green and yellow, or green and purple, with a very slimy cap and stipe, unless it has been a very dry year.

Image: Ellyn Baker

Other Waxcaps are brightly coloured red, yellow, orange and some more soberly - beige and brown. As we’re considering churchyards, perhaps I should also mention the Blackening Waxcap (Hygrocybe conica), also known as Witches Hat. So called because the cap begins as a yellow-orange cone and slowly turns completely black-looking, as if it has been burnt to a cinder.

Image: British Mycological Society

These fungi inhabit unimproved grassland, an increasingly rare habitat in the UK, with over 90% lost to land use changes since 1930. Ploughing, reseeding and use of fertilisers generally hasn’t affected churchyards and burial grounds; these grasslands are regularly mown and the clippings removed, mimicking animal grazing and reducing fertility. This results in mossy, herb-rich swards that can be havens for Waxcaps and other rare grassland species.

A note about names: many Waxcap fungi used to be in the genus Hygrocybe but advances in fungal DNA sequencing have provided more information about the relatedness of fungi, resulting in re-classification and changes to names. The genus Hygrocybe is now smaller and includes only those fungi related to Hygrocybe conica. The relatively rare grassland fungi are known as the ‘CHEG’ fungi, comprising the Clavarioid group (Fairy Clubs), Hygrocybes (Waxcaps), Entolomas (Pinkgills), and Geoglossaceae family (Earthtongues).

A word of caution: an autumn stroll through a mown churchyard leading to the discovery of these brightly coloured “fungal flowers” could easily draw you deep into the world of fungi. Before long you’ll be going on group forays, trying to remember innumerable names, and possibly even getting a microscope or joining the BMS. It happened to me and I’m still really enjoying the challenge!

Want to know more? Lots of information about Waxcaps can be found on Plantlife’s Waxcap Watch website. More about nature conservation in UK burial grounds can be found here. The BMS website has a list of English names for fungi.