Hygrocybe: Difference between revisions

Their metabolism has long been debated, but recent research suggests that they are not [[saprotrophic]] <ref name="Seitzman" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Halbwachs|first=Hans|last2=Dentinger|first2=Bryn T.M.|last3=Detheridge|first3=Andrew P.|last4=Karasch|first4=Peter|last5=Griffith|first5=Gareth W.|date=December 2013|title=Hyphae of waxcap fungi colonise plant roots|url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2013.08.003|journal=Fungal Ecology|volume=6|issue=6|pages=487–492|doi=10.1016/j.funeco.2013.08.003|issn=1754-5048}}</ref> but rather [[symbiosis|symbiotically]] associated the roots of higher plants or mosses. Hyphae of ''[[Hygrocybe conica|H. conica]]'' have been detected in plant roots <ref name=":0" /> and other waxcap species have been detected as systemic endophytes of ''Plantago lanceolata'' .<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tello|first=Sofia A.|last2=Silva-Flores|first2=Patricia|last3=Agerer|first3=Reinhard|last4=Halbwachs|first4=Hans|last5=Beck|first5=Andreas|last6=Peršoh|first6=Derek|date=2014-08-01|title=Hygrocybe virginea is a systemic endophyte of Plantago lanceolata|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11557-013-0928-0|journal=Mycological Progress|language=en|volume=13|issue=3|pages=471–475|doi=10.1007/s11557-013-0928-0|issn=1617-416X}}</ref>.

Species are distributed worldwide, from the tropics to the sub-polar regions. Around 150 have been described to date.<ref name="DicFungi" />. Waxcaps receive most attention in northern Europe,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Griffith, G.W.; Gamarra, J.G.P.; Holden, E.M.; Mitchel, D.; Graham, A.; Evans, D.A.; Evans, S.E.; Aron, C.; Noordeloos, M.E.; Kirk, P.M.; Smith, S.L.N.; Woods, R.G.; Hale, A.D.; Easton, G.L.; Ratkowsky, D.A.; Stevens, D.P.; Halbwachs, H.|first=|date=30 August 2014|title=The international conservation importance of Welsh ‘waxcap’ grasslands|url=https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/4/ 5/10|journal=Mycosphere|volume=4( |issue=5)|pages=969 – 984969–984|via=http://www.mycosphere.org/pdf/MC4_5_No10.pdf}}</ref>, where they are found in nutrient-poor pastures .<ref name="Boertmann" />. However, outside Europe, waxcaps are more commonly associated with woodland habitats, for example the sclerophyll forests site at Bush Lane Cove, [[Sydney]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/threatenedspecies/08278tsdsfungi.pdf|title=Protecting and restoring the fungi (sic) community of Lane Cove Bushland Park|last=Published by: Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW|first=|isbn= 978 1 74122 965 3|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref>

In Europe, waxcap grasslands and their associated fungi are of conservation concern, since unimproved grasslands (formerly commonplace) have declined dramatically as a result of changes in agricultural practice. As a result, by 1993, 89% of European ''Hygrocybe'' species appeared on one or more national [[red list]]s of threatened fungi.<ref name="Griffith2002"/>

In several countries, action has been taken to conserve waxcap grasslands and some of the rarer ''Hygrocybe'' species. Guidance

In the United Kingdom, some grasslands have gained a measure of legal protection as [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] because of their waxcap interest, notably [[Llanishen Reservoir]] in Cardiff, where the original [[SSSI]] notification by the [[Countryside Council for Wales]] in 2006 <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.li/ZGZda|title=Llanishen reservoir action group news|date=2007-07-27|work=archive.li|access-date=2018-05-21}}</ref> was upheld following judicial review .<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/legal-ruling-help-protect-rare-2272701|title=Legal ruling to help protect rare fungi|last=WalesOnline|date=2007-02-06|work=walesonline|access-date=2018-05-21}}</ref>.