I saw wax caps and a lawyer's wig this morning

Much as I love the butterflies, bumble bees and flora up the Welcombe Hills, when I come across the first of the wax caps of the year peeking out, their white, orange, deep crimson and assorted other colours cascading down the grassy slopes, I must confess to getting a little bit excited.

Welcome though the recent dry spell has been - we have just enjoyed a wonderful week in Wales after all- the fungi have been stimulated to sprout with today's rain. Wax caps thrive on unimproved grassland, i.e. grassland that has not been cultivated and improved by the use of fertiliser. There are areas of the hills that fit that description well.

Well, I'll let the images speak for themselves.

 Above, Meadow Wax Caps. These tend to be larger than others. Note the gills run down the stem (decurrent) and the gills are not crowded but open. The cap is brown-orange and waxy to the touch. It's edible but to be honest gives more pleasure where it is.

 Above, a Meadow Wax Cap and a Snowy Wax Cap I positioned amongst a group of Scarlet Hoods. wonderful.

Left, the Lawyer's Wig or Shaggy Ink Cap found under trees close to the reservoir area. It's edible when young but will turn to an inky mush rendering it inedible when older. You can see the blackening of this one around the bottom of the cap.