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Smoky Spindles

Clavaria fumosa 

Smoky Spindles

What to look for?

  • Smoky spindles have simple, unbranched tapered clubs, often formed into a cluster among the grass – or they can be growing singly. They are very brittle and can snap easily.
  • Their colour ranges from greyish brown to pinkish brown to pale-ochre brown. Their tips go darker with age and their spores are white.
  • They are often somewhat laterally flattened – sometimes straight, but more often wavy with bluntly pointed or rounded tips.
  • The individual stems are typically 2-12cm tall and 3-10mm in diameter.

Where to find them?

They are generally found in unimproved grassland (favouring acid or neutral grassland) and in leaf litter on woodland edges and clearings.  In the summer and autumn, they can be found on road verges, in cropped grassland and in churchyards.

After years of low-nutrient management, they can also appear on lawns.

Don’t mistake it with…

  • Clavaria fragilis is similar but has white spindly fruitbodies.
  • Clavulinopsis fusiformis has a similar form but is golden yellow. 

Other Species

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Meadow Waxcap

Hygrocybe pratensis

Months

Season

Habitat

Apricot mushroom with flat top

How to identify:

CapApricot, slightly pitted and with powdery bloom sometimes visible with a hand lens, fading to buff with age. Convex, becoming flattened or slightly concave. 
Cap Diameter2.5 – 10 cm 
GillsPale whitish apricot 
StemsWhitish apricot, tapering to the base. 
FleshWhitish apricot 
SporesWhite

 

 

Where to find them?

Meadow Waxcaps (Hygrocybe pratensis) are a common find on cropped grassland and upland pastures. It appears from late August until December. Particularly in upland areas on acidic soil, the Meadow Waxcap is one of the few waxcap species that can tolerate small amounts of fertiliser being applied to its grassland habitat.

Did you know?

Two varieties of the Meadow Waxcap occur in BritainOne is apricot and the other is paler and almost white. It is a conspicuous and robust waxcap often persisting for several weeks. 

Don’t mistake it with…

Pink Ballerina

Other Species

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Hart’s-tongue Fern

Asplenium scolopendrium

Months

Season

Colour

This evergreen plant has long, tongue shaped leaves with a pointy end.

Distribution

Widespread across Britain, except in the far north.

Habitat

Can be found in sheltered moist habitats such as woods, on hedge banks, in walls and in ditches.

Did you know?

  • The underside of the leaves have little marks reminiscent of centipedes legs, leading to the species name ‘scolopendrium’ (the Latin for centipede!)
  • A hart was an old name for a deer, so the plant was so-named as it specifically looks like a deer’s tongue.

Other Species

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

Ivy

Hedera helix

A evergreen woody climbing wild plant, commonly seen on old walls and tree trunks.

Ivy is often found carpeting the ground or growing up walls and trees.

Its flowers bloom in an umbrella-like spread. In fact the term for such a bloom – an ‘umbel’ – derives from the same source as umbrella – umbra, the Latin word for shade.

It’s leaves are dark green glossy above, paler below. On flowering shoots leaves are pointed oval.

Distribution

Widespread throughout the UK.

Habitat

Woods, hedgerows, rocks and walls. Very commonly found on tree trunks.

Best time to see

Flowers September to November.

Did you know?

  • Ivy is, of course, celebrated with holly in the Christmas Carol of the same name. Its symbolism, however, predates Christianity. As evergreen species both holly and ivy were seen as especially powerful during the leafless days of winter. Sprigs were said to ward off evil spirits and inside the home kept the house goblins at bay. Of the two, ivy – shapely and curvaceous – was said to represent the feminine as compared to the spiky, angular masculinity of holly.
  • Local names include Bentwood, Bindwood, Hibbin, Ivin, Ivery and the enchanting Love-Stone used in Leicestershire.
  • In the Highlands and Islands it has been used as protection, to keep evil away from milk, butter and the animals. Circlets of ivy alone, or ivy plaited with Rowan and honeysuckle were hung over the lintels of byres and put under milk vessels.

Other Species

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe conica 

A dark pointed mushroom with long stem growing in the grass

How to identify:

CapConical in shape. Typical waxcap texture. Dark to pale orange/yellow, blackening at the tip first or where bruised. 
Cap Diameter1.5 – 3.5 cm 
GillsPale lemon, also blackening with age. 
Stems Pale yellow, blackening with age.
FleshYellow
SporesWhite

 

Where to find them?

Blackening Waxcaps (Hygrocybe conica) sometimes appears in lines along roadside verges, particularly on hillsides or where the grass is well shaded, moist and mossy. 

Other common names

Witches Hat

Did you know?

Blackening Waxcaps can appear remarkably quickly after rain in late summer and autumn, but once mature they remain standing sometimes for more than two weeks. 

They are one of the most common waxcaps in Northern Europe.

Other Species

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Meadow WaxCap
Apricot mushroom with flat top

Meadow WaxCap

Hygrocybe pratensis

Parrot waxcap

Gliophorus psittacinus 

Months

Season

Colour

Habitat

A Parrot Waxcap.

How to identify:

CapMainly green with underlying pink or yellow. Conical becoming flattened. Slimy texture. 
Cap Diameter2 – 4 cms 
GillsYellow, sometimes tinged green 
StemYellow-green, greener nearer the top 
FleshVariable, usually matches the cap colour 
SporesWhite

 

Where to find them?

The Parrot Waxcap (Gliophorus psittacinus) can be found in the summer and autumn on roadside verges,  cropped grassland and in churchyards. Appearing on lawns only after years of low-nutrient management.

It favours unimproved acid or neutral grassland, and are most plentiful in western Britain and particularly in Wales. 

Did you know?

There are two Parrot Waxcap species that are recognised: Gliophorus psittacinus and Gliophorus perplexa; the latter was previously considered to be a mere variety. 

 

 

Other Species

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Snowy Waxcap

Cuphophyllus virgineus

How to identify:

CapIvory white sometimes with a slight yellow tinge. Young snowy waxcaps have convex caps (more pointed) but these flatten with age. Often they have a slight umbo (raised area in the centre of the cap). Greasy texture.
Cap Diameter5- 7cm
GillsDecurrent gills (gills extend slightly down the stem), gills are widely spread. Brighter white than the cap but become more ivory in colour as they age
StemSlender and white, sometimes a little curved
StemSlightly greasy to touch, feels waxy when crushed.
SporesWhite

 

 

Where to find them?

Snowy Waxcaps (Cuphophyllus virgineus) can be found in parkland, garden lawns, churchyards and pastures around autumn time.

Did you know?

One of the most widely recorded waxcaps in unfertilised grassland. A variable species which includes varieties having pale buff-brown colours on the cap. Snowy waxcaps are a little more hardy than other waxcap species.

Don’t mistake them for….

The  Cedarwood Waxcap (similar white colour with distinctive smell of woof chippings).

Other Species

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Fibrous Waxcap

Hygrocybe intermedia 

Orange waxcap with pointed cap in grass

How to identify:

CapBright orange and can be quite large. Conical, flattening with age, umbonate. Texture quite unique, with coarse scales, like wet velvet. The edge is irregular and splits with age. 
Cap diameter 5-11 cm
GillsPale to bright yellow
StemSimilar colour to cap, but sometimes more yellow and white showing. Very fibrous also. 
FleshPale yellow
SporesWhite

 

Where to find them?

The Fibrous Waxcap (Hygrocybe intermedia) is an uncommon to occasional find in most of Britain and Ireland except in some parts of Wales, where it is more frequently recorded. Most often seen in unimproved grassland and, occasionally, in sand-dune systems. 

Did you know?

The bright right orange (with hints of yellow) cap, fades and sometimes blackening with age.

Don’t mistake it with..

The Blackening Waxcap

Other Species

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Scarlet Waxcap

Hygrocybe coccinea

9 scarlet red waxcap mushrooms in among grass.

How to identify:

CapRed, moist and domed at first, becoming flatter with age
Cap DiameterTo 6 cm
GillsRed or yellow, broadly attached to the stem
StemRed or orange, dry and smooth
FleshRed or the same colour as the outside of the mushroom
SporesWhite

 

 

Where to find them?

With a preference for unfertilised land, the Scarlet Waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea)  can be found on cropped grassland and woodland clearings. They often appear in large troops (a group).

Did you know?

Hygrocybe means ‘watery head’, these waxcaps are always very moist.  Coccinea means bright red (as in the food colouring cochineal) . The image above shows the justification of the name.

Don’t mistake it with…

The Crimson Waxcap

Other Species

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea

String-of-sausages lichen

String-of-sausages lichen

Hemlock

Conium maculatum

Hemlock flowerhead

Identifying Hemlock

Hemlock has umbrella-like white flowers, which appear in dome shaped rounded clumps in summer, which are usually 2-5 cm across.

One of the easiest ways to identify Hemlock is by its stems – which are mostly large, hairless and have purple spots or blotches along their length.

The leaves are fine and look similar to ferns – lacy and similar to that of others in the carrot family.

Hemlock is one of the UK’s tallest native umbellifer species, growing up to 2 metres and can smell quite unpleasant. The unpleasant smell is caused by the poisonous chemicals and acts as a deterrent to animals.

All parts of this plant are poisonous and all members of this family should be treated with caution, notably because Hemlock can be easily mistaken for Cow Parsley and other harmless members of it’s family.

A close up of the blotched stem of the Hemlock

Similar Species

The hairless purple blotched stems are key to identifying this plant (pictured), as well as the extremely unpleasant smell.

It can also be distinguished through it’s flowering time, as it flowers after Cow Parsley, and around the same time as Hogweed, in June and July.

Hemlock could be confused with Hogweed, Upright Hedge-parsley and Hemlock Water-dropwort (also poisonous).

Habitat

Likes damp places such as along streams, but can also be found growing in dry habitats such as scrubland and waste land.

Distribution

Widespread in most of England and the lowland areas of Wales, also found in some southern or coastal areas of Scotland.

Did you know?

  • Pollinators love it! Hemlock is a larval food-plant for several moth species, and a host to a hidden world of specific fungi species. These have all evolved alongside it to be able to tolerate the toxins.
  • Common names include Mother dies, Kexies and Woomlicks.
  • In 399 BC, Greek philosopher Socrates was found guilty of corrupting the young minds and for not believing in the gods of the state. He was sentenced to death and forced to drink an infusion of Hemlock.

 

We must remember that almost all wild plants & fungi are no danger to us as we go about our days. Plants are the foundation of life, and we need a world rich in plants to tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crises.

Other Species

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Shaggy strap lichen
Shaggy Strap Lichen

Shaggy strap lichen

Ramalina farinacea