Hygrocybe calyptriformis

Hygrocybe calyptriformis
Conservation status
On several European red lists of threatened fungi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Subkingdom: Dikarya
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Hygrophoraceae
Genus: Hygrocybe
Species: H. calyptriformis
Binomial name
Hygrocybe calyptriformis
(Berk.) Fayod (1889)
Synonyms

Agaricus calyptriformis Berk. (1838)
Hygrophorus calyptriformis (Berk.) Berk. (1860)
Godfrinia calyptriformis (Berk.) Herink (1958)
Porpoloma calyptriformis (Berk.) Bresinsky (2003)
Porpolomopsis calyptriformis (Berk.) Bresinsky (2008)

Hygrocybe calyptriformis is a species of agaric (gilled mushroom) in the family Hygrophoraceae. It has been given the recommended English name of Pink Waxcap in the UK.[1] The species has a north temperate distribution, occurring in grassland in Europe and in woodland in North America and northern Asia. It typically produces basidiocarps (fruit bodies) in the autumn. In many European countries, H. calyptriformis is of conservation concern, appearing on national red lists of threatened fungi.

Contents

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1838 by the Rev. Miles Joseph Berkeley as Agaricus calyptraeformis (so spelt), based on specimens he collected locally in England. In 1889, Swiss mycologist Victor Fayod moved it to the genus Hygrocybe. The specific epithet comes from Greek καλὐπτρα (= a woman's veil) + Latin forma (= shape), hence "veil-shaped".[2]

Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, suggests that Hygrocybe calyptriformis does not belong in Hygrocybe sensu stricto and should be moved to another genus.[3] In 2008, Bresinsky proposed the genus Porpolomopsis to accommodate the species, but as yet (2011) this has not been widely adopted.[4][5][6]

Description

Basidiocarps are agaricoid, up to 125mm (5in) tall, the cap narrowly conical at first, retaining an acute umbo when expanded, up to 75mm (3in) across, often splitting when expanded, the margins turning upwards. The cap surface is smooth to fibrillose, slightly shiny or greasy, pale rose-pink to lilac-pink (rarely white). The lamellae (gills) are widely spaced, waxy, cap-coloured or whiter. The stipe (stem) is smooth, white to pale cap-coloured, lacking a ring. The spore print is white, the spores (under a microscope) smooth, inamyloid, ellipsoid, c. 6.5 to 8.0 by 4.5 to 5.5μm.[4]

The species can normally be distinguished in the field, thanks to its shape and colour. No other north temperate waxcap is pink with a pointed cap.[4]

Distribution and habitat

The Pink Waxcap is widespread throughout the north temperate zone, occurring in Europe, North America, and northern Asia. Like other waxcaps, it occurs in old, unimproved, short-sward grassland (pastures and lawns) in Europe, but in woodland in North America and Asia. Recent research suggests waxcaps are neither mycorrhizal nor saprotrophic but may be associated with mosses.[7]

Conservation

In Europe, Hygrocybe calyptriformis is typical of waxcap grasslands, a declining habitat due to changing agricultural practices. As a result, the species is of regional conservation concern and is one of 33 larger fungi proposed for international protection under the Bern Convention.[8] Hygrocybe calyptriformis also appears on the official or provisional national red lists of threatened fungi in several European countries, including Austria,[9] Bulgaria,[10] the Czech Republic,[11] Denmark,[12] France,[13] Germany (Bavaria),[14] Hungary,[13] Italy,[13] Poland,[15] Slovakia,[16] Spain,[13] and Switzerland.[17] In 2008, the Pink Waxcap was featured on a postage stamp issued by the Republic of Ireland.[18]

In the United Kingdom, Hygrocybe calyptriformis was originally placed on the provisional red list of fungi (Ing, 1992)[19] and made the subject of a Biodiversity Action Plan.[20] Increased publicity and interest in waxcap grasslands, however, produced a commensurate increase in records of the species. By 2006, it had been recorded from over 360 hectads.[13] As a result, the pink waxcap was deemed to be not uncommon in the United Kingdom and was consequently removed from the current (2006) red list[21] and from the current list of BAP species.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Recommended English Names for Fungi in the UK" (PDF). British Mycological Society. http://www.fungi4schools.org/Reprints/ENGLISH_NAMES.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  2. ^ Rea C. (1922). British Basidiomycetaceae: A Handbook of the Larger British Fungi. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 799. 
  3. ^ Babos M, Halász K, Zagyva T, Zöld-Balogh Á, Szegő D, Bratek Z. (2011). "Preliminary notes on dual relevance of ITS sequences and pigments in Hygrocybe taxonomy". Persoonia 26: 99–107. doi:10.3767/003158511X578349. 
  4. ^ a b c Boertmann D. (2010). The genus Hygrocybe (2nd ed.). Copenhagen: Danish Mycological Society. pp. 200. ISBN 9788798358176. 
  5. ^ "Porpolomopsis calyptriformis". Index Fungorum. CAB International. http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=537681. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  6. ^ "Porpolomopsis calyptriformis". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=537681. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  7. ^ Seitzman BH, Ouimette A, Mixon RL, Hobbie EA, Hibbett DS. (2011). "Conservation of biotrophy in Hygrophoraceae inferred from combined stable isotope and phylogenetic analyses". Mycologia 103 (2): 280–290. doi:10.3852/10-195. 
  8. ^ "33 threatened fungi in Europe". ECCF. http://www.artdata.slu.se/Bern_Fungi/ECCF%2033_T-PVS%20%282001%29%2034%20rev_low%20resolution_p%201-14.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  9. ^ "Austrian fungi database". Austrian Mycological Siociety. http://austrianfungi.mykodata.net/Enter_database.html. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  10. ^ Gyosheva MM, Denchev CM, Dimitrova EG, Assyov B, Petrova RD, Stoichev DT. (2006). "Red List of fungi in Bulgaria". Mycologia Balcanica 3: 81–87. http://www.wsl.ch/eccf/Bulgaria.pdf. 
  11. ^ "Red list of fungi (macromycetes) of the Czech Republic". Czech Scientific Society for Mycology. http://web.natur.cuni.cz/cvsm/. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  12. ^ "Den danske rødliste". Aarhus Universitet. http://www.dmu.dk/dyrplanter/redlistframe/soegart. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  13. ^ a b c d e "Species dossier: Hygrocybe calyptriformis". Plantlife. http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uploads/documents/Hygrocybe_calyptriformis_species_dossier.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  14. ^ "Rote Liste gefährdeter Großpilze Bayerns". Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt. http://www.lfu.bayern.de/natur/rote_liste_pilze/doc/roteliste_grosspilze.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  15. ^ "Czerwona Lista grzybów Polski". http://www.grzyby.net/lista.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  16. ^ "Red list of Slovak fungi". Slovak Mycological Society. http://www.wsl.ch/eccf/Slovakia.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  17. ^ "Provisorische Rote Liste". Pilze Schweiz. http://pilze.ch/roteliste/RListe_kurz.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  18. ^ "Stamp News: fungi get stamp of approval". http://www.stampnews.com/stamps/stamps_2008/stamp_1217707294_530447.html. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  19. ^ Ing B. (1992). "A provisional red data list of British fungi". The Mycologist 6 (3): 124–128. 
  20. ^ "Species Action Plan: Pink Waxcap". http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110303145213/http://ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=382#1. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  21. ^ "Red Data List of threatened British fungi". http://www.fieldmycology.net/Download/RDL_of_Threatened_British_Fungi.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  22. ^ "UK BAP priority fungi species". http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-5165. Retrieved 2011-10-12.