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NEYEDC improve and inform environmental decision making, conservation, land management and sustainable development in North and East Yorkshire through the collation, management, analysis and dissemination of biodiversity information.

The Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species

Explore the rich and diverse natural history of our region through the stories of 100 species, told by the people who know them best.

#48 Blackening Waxcap by Richard Farrah

Meet Richard Farrah, National Trust Ranger at Nostell, West Yorkshire!

Richard works as a Ranger for the National Trust at Nostell in West Yorkshire. Over the 7 years being in the job, Richard’s role has developed into carrying out more wildlife surveys on site, creating new habitat opportunities based on survey evidence and old archive maps to use both the past and present to shape habitat creation at Nostell going forward.

As a Ranger, Richard’s role involves looking after the 300-acre parkland alongside members of staff and dedicated teams of volunteers and community groups. The work includes everything from presentation work, woodland management, grassland management and habitat creation. In addition to this, Richard carries out surveys of the estate, documenting the range of ecology on site. These include wildflower meadow surveys, looking for high level positive indicator species such as Yellow Rattle and Trefoils, butterfly surveys which have shown an increase in the Gatekeeper over the years and bird counts in the woodlands and hedgerows. All the data collected in these surveys gives the opportunity to improve existing areas, introduce species or create new areas entirely to increase biodiversity. Richard can be contacted at Richard.farrah@nationaltrust.org.uk.

Following a survey and walk round last year lead by Steve Hindle, Ancient Grasslands Project Officer, also of the National Trust, Richard has turned his attention to Waxcaps (Hygrocybe) and what these indicator species mean for an area on site, the stories they tell and what work can be done to preserve them.

Blackening Waxcap

With such a variety of species found onsite last year, narrowing it down to one species was difficult, but Richard’s chosen species is the Blackening Waxcap Hygrocybe conica. This species was discovered on the grassland at Nostell and while not the rarest species, it certainly catches the eye. The species is known for its pointed cap and vibrant orange colour that eventually fades to black and gives a nice autumnal display amongst the grass, whilst also being a CHEGD indicator species that also has some fun links to old folklore. Like other waxcaps, the species is found in low nutrient grassland pasture.

Also known as the Witch’s Hat in North America, the Blackening Waxcap adds some seasonal humour as we head through the Halloween season. Another CHEGD species that shares the spooky spotlight with the Blackening Waxcap is the Apricot Club Clavulinopsis Luteoalba. These fungi are usually found in the same area and their orange/yellow colour makes them easily identifiable. Their skinny, finger like shapes makes them look like sinister hands reaching out of the soil and when combined with the Blackening Waxcaps creates a good seasonal display for Nostell’s visitors for fungi walks around the estate.

The discovery of these species was obviously a very positive one as it meant that Nostell has an area of waxcap grassland on its estate adding to its overall biodiversity, however the main questions from this discovery were how has the estate supporting the waxcaps? Has the grassland management changed to favour the waxcaps? And how can this success be potentially repeated?

Apricot Club

The answer to these questions is to look back at the 1849 Ordnance survey map of Nostell which shows the main grassland vista practically unchanged in terms of its layout and possibly its management which suggests that the area was grazed as it is currently.

The estate undergoes annual stock grazing by cattle which is beneficial in supporting waxcaps as the herd are rotated regularly enough to avoid over grazing, whilst still maintaining a short sward. The grassland has also been maintained over the years following useful guidelines set out by Plantlife.

This has been achieved through avoiding the use of fertilisers, manures, and herbicides as these are detrimental to grassland fungi and ensuring that the existing drainage is not impaired, as many species require free-draining conditions. Retaining permanent grassland is also important, as cultivation of the soil disrupts or destroys the underground networks mycelia, and grassland fungi can take decades to recover from this. Nostell has avoided activities that cause major soil compaction which may affect the soil structure and damage the mycelia. Maintaining the grassland through livestock grazing and/or grass cropping as the removal of excess growth also helps to maintain a low nutrient level. An additional level of maintenance has also been achieved by cutting the grass that the cattle couldn’t reach manually using brush cutters and taking away the excess to avoid adding nutrients to the soil. Another suggestion by Plantlife, which wasn’t necessary in Nostell’s case, is to prevent the encroachment and establishment of trees and scrub which will render the habitat less suitable for grassland fungi.

All this evidence and the following of good practice has led to a great display of waxcaps at Nostell, including the Blackening Waxcap and gives the property the knowledge to maintain these habitats for biodiversity and continued surveys for new species.

Richard will continue to monitor waxcaps at Nostell and input the survey data into a database to compare trends. Richard also uses iRecord to input discoveries, which is a very useful tool for species - so if anyone finds any waxcaps whether they are colourful or unusual, please feel free to add them to the list!

The waxcap grassland at Nostell, with the Georgian mansion in the background.

Recording and monitoring

Records of this species and other waxcaps can be submitted to your local LERC or to iRecord. NEYEDC are currently in the second year of our ‘Waxcaps: the hidden jewels in Yorkshire’s grasslands’ project, funded by the Yorkshire Water Biodiversity Enhancement Programme which seeks to identify new waxcap and CHEGD fungi sites across Yorkshire. You can read more about the project and how you can contribute here: www.neyedc.org.uk/waxcaps.

Further information and acknowledgements

NEYEDC would like to thank Richard for his time and expertise in helping to create this blog.

NEYEDC