Waxcaps are one of the most colourful genera in Mycology. These five specimens were found in the fields between Threshfield and Linton. The Scarlet Waxcap Hygrocybe coccinea being particularly plentiful. The Yorkshire Dales are known for the variety of the species, as they are most often found in unimproved grassland which has been grazed or cut. Apart from the colour, and there are several red and yellow ones, one of the important identification features is the viscidity of the cap and stem. The cap of the Parrot wacap H.psittacina is very viscid.
In the featured image, there is the Scarlet Waxcap, the white is the Snowy Waxcap H.virginea, the smaller yellow/green is the Parrot Waxcap; the light brown is Meadow Waxcap H pratensis and the yellow, the Golden Waxcap H.chorophana.
I find identifying fungi is far more difficult than little white flowers and small brown birds, so the above are correct as far as my limited knowledge goes.
Christine Bell
