Nature on our doorsteps: What about Wax Caps?

Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into nature on our doorsteps and the beautiful biodiversity of its plants and wildlife.

IN SUMMERTIME, the meadows and grasslands in our parks can be great places to spot a wide variety of grasses and colourful wildflowers.

In autumn and early winter, they can also be a place to spot mushrooms, maybe even the very colourful Wax Caps.

These mushrooms are so named because of the wet, slippery, shiny texture on the fungus’s cap.

They come in a variety of different colours, including vibrant red, yellow, orange, and even green.

Their common names can be just as colourful, including the Pink Ballerina, the Green Parrot, The Crimson Cap, Scarlet Cap, and the Butter Wax Cap. Wax Caps grow best in short grass rather than in long grass.

For this reason, they are mostly found in grasslands that are well-grazed by cattle, sheep, horses, and rabbits, or where the grass is cut short at the right time before autumn sets in.

Wax caps mostly appear to grow in what are termed old soils. This describes soils that have not been ploughed for a long time.

Ploughing disturbs the soil and breaks up the fungus’s underground mycelium, which look like a mass of tiny white roots.

Also, because these fungi prefer low-nutrient soils, they do best in old soils which have not been fertilised for a long time.

When conditions are right, Wax Caps can pop up in old meadows and pastures, coastal cliff paths, upland soils and heaths, and also in urban lawns, parks and roadside verges.

Many species of fungus grow in partnership with plants and trees, where the fungus breaks down soil matter and supplies it to the plants in return for sugars which the fungus needs.

Scientific studies, however, suggest that Wax Caps appear to partner with mosses instead, not plants. Low nutrient, mossy, unploughed meadows are no longer very common habitats in Ireland.

This makes it particularly delightful when we see Wax Caps popping up, bringing a colourful display to areas of short green grass in October and November.