#33 Pink Waxcap by Steve Hindle
Meet Steve Hindle, Ancient Grasslands Project Officer for the National Trust!
Based in West Yorkshire, Steve’s role as Ancient Grasslands Project Officer involves focusing on grasslands of conservation concern which might otherwise be overlooked as botanically mundane. Rather than consider the sites’ flora, Steve looks at indicator species from another kingdom, fungi. Specifically, he focuses on CHEGD fungi, a group restricted to undisturbed ancient grasslands. The most well-known of these fungi are the Waxcaps, often striking and colourful species. Steve’s work is focused on surveying land where change of use is being considered. In this time of increasing pressure on land use, it’s incredibly important that we have clarity about the current condition of land before we make any changes. Steve also manages his own small farm which has both ancient and pasture meadows.
With such a diverse and beautiful group of species to pick from, it’s hard to choose just one to feature. Steve has his own favourites, but his chosen species for this piece is the Pink Waxcap, or Ballerina Porpolomopsis calyptriformis. This species was formerly known as Hygrocybe calyptriformis between 1889 and 2008, before being renamed as Porpolomopsis (a common occurrence in the fungi world!). Currently only two species have been identified within this genus, the other an Antipodean species, but there is also a similar unnamed species found in North America. The Pink Waxcap is beautiful in appearance and one of our most photogenic fungi - the conical pink cap contrasts the grassland as it pierces the sward, followed by a pure white stem. As the cap opens to release its spores, the cap edge curls upwards giving the appearance of a ballerina in mid pirouette, giving the species its other name. It is found in old, undisturbed and unimproved grasslands, usually natural and semi natural pastures and meadows but also the lawns of historic buildings. Whilst many waxcaps can be difficult to identify in the field, this species is hard to confuse with any other. The rare Jubilee Waxcap can have a similar coloured cap, but the stem and form are different. Plantlife’s Waxcaps and Grassland fungi guide is a useful ID tool, as is Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre’s Grassland Waxcap Identification Support Tool.
Pink Waxcap
We often hear that we have lost 95% of our wildflower meadows in the past century, but this figure can be applied to ancient grasslands more generally. The Pink Waxcap, and other species in the CHEGD group tell us that an area has been grassland for decades at least, probably centuries, and maybe even millennia. These waxcap grasslands are irreplaceable - once lost, they cannot be restored. A real jewel in the crown of UK fungi, we are Pink Waxcap’s global stronghold. Unfortunately, it is rare across Europe and on the Red List of many countries. Initially added to the UK Red List in 1992, it was found to be more common than had been first thought after detailed surveys and media attention and subsequently it was omitted from our revised list in 2006, but remained a UK Biodiversity Action Plan species until 2007. It has been assessed by the IUCN as Vulnerable to extinction due to loss of habitat and land use change, making its stronghold in the UK even more important. The Pink Waxcap is also regarded as a High Density Indicator, meaning that places it is found are likely to support a diverse population of associated fungi.
The ecology of Waxcaps is still not fully understood, nor its distribution in Yorkshire fully known. Waxcaps are a characteristic part of a community in low nutrient environments with grasses, woodrushes and flowering plants, and their role is likely to be symbiotic. Some Waxcaps are known to be endophytic, which means that they are active within plant tissues. As part of this community, they facilitate the best use of the very limited resources available. Additionally, there are a number of reasons as to why we don’t have a clear idea of their population size in our region. This is partly due to the fact that fungal fruiting (the visible fungi appearing above ground) is transient and affected by weather conditions, but also, much of the habitat suitable for them is privately owned and has not been surveyed. Regardless of knowing exactly where and how large the population is, we know that the habitat is currently under pressure, with changes in farming subsidies encouraging more intensification and the well-meaning desire to plant trees to capture carbon and improve biodiversity resulting in these carbon rich grasslands losing both carbon and threatened species.
Much of Steve’s work involves surveying for this and related species, raising awareness of the habitat and the threats to it, and running training to identify CHEGD species in the field. Because of the imminent threat to ancient grassland habitat from land use change and the lack of records for this and other related fungi, more work is underway to carry out surveys. Steve’s current project takes a locally-focused approach and has already identified the Yorkshire South Pennines as globally significant for CHEGD fungi. NEYDEC have recently embarked on a project to identify sites, whilst citizen science projects like Plantlife’s Waxcap App have also helped to highlight sites which we were unaware of. In some places such as West Yorkshire, criteria have been established to assess and designate areas as Local Wildlife Sites based on their grassland fungi populations. Other authorities are developing similar criteria, such as Natural England’s CHEGD criteria for designating SSSIs. During Steve’s two-year project, 25 local sites have reached or exceeded thresholds for SSSI designation, highlighting the importance of identifying grasslands on a local scale.
Species such as the Pink Waxcap serve as a reminder of the importance of UK habitats, particularly in light of the global biodiversity crisis. You can read more about the importance of grasslands, their biodiversity, and threats and solutions to them as part of the Save Our Wild Isles project: Grasslands | Save Our Wild Isles. Next time you’re wandering on grassland in the autumn, keep your eyes peeled for special gems like the Pink Waxcap, and appreciate the importance of the ground you stand on.
Pink Waxcap after releasing its spores, resembling a ballerina’s tutu.
Recording & monitoring
NEYEDC’s Waxcaps project will be active again in autumn of 2023. Funded by Yorkshire Water's Biodiversity Enhancement Programme, this 3-year project started in Autumn 2022, recruiting a cohort of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to help us catalogue and survey important fungi grassland sites at a local level, similar to the resolution of Steve’s work. The project hopes to improve our knowledge of these important sites throughout Yorkshire. Alongside dedicated survey volunteers, the project also encourages casual volunteers to use a version of Plantlife’s Waxcap App to record any waxcaps they find whilst out and about, including Pink Waxcap. To find out more and how to get involved: Waxcaps — neyedc.
Records for Pink Waxcap and associated CHEGD in West Yorkshire can also be sent directly to Steve at steve.hindle@nationaltrust.co.uk.
Further information and acknowledgements
NEYEDC would like to thank Steve for his time and expertise in helping to create this piece. If you’d be interested in contributing to the project, please contact Lucy at lucy.baldwin@neyedc.co.uk.