North Kerry Waxcap Survey 2012 - the Northern Ireland Fungus Group

(Knudsen and Vesterholt, 2008) both still list it as a variety so it is not counted
separately in this study.
• Hygrocybe marchii is considered a synonym of H.coccinea following Funga Nordica.
Despite this, any good database can take these differing definitions into account and a
Microsoft Access database is in use for scoring and ranking grassland sites in Ireland.
These site ranking systems primarily look at the genus Hygrocybe when ranking sites.
Inevitably there will be sites that are particularly good for the other target groups and this is
where the value of the CHEG scores is obvious. Some studies (Griffith et al., 2006) have
added the different elements of a CHEG scores together but this has to be viewed with caution.
Entoloma is a genus in which species are particularly difficult to identify and being honest even
very good mycologists will often not get every Entoloma identified. Hence the Entolomataceae
are not as well recorded and often only partially so an “E” score is often difficult to interpret.
Added to this, there are many more species of Entoloma than in the other groups so adding
CHEG scores together can just end up highlighting sites where mycologists who can identify
Entoloma have visited.
Table 1 shows the total numbers of CHEG and related species as occurring in grasslands in
the British Isles according to the Checklist of the Basidiomycetes of Britain and Ireland (Legon
and Henrici, 2005) and (Ridge, 1997):
Group Total Grassland Species
Clavariaceae 24
Hygrocybe 51
Entolomataceae 99
Geoglossaceae 12
Dermoloma 4
Camarophyllopsis 5
Porpoloma 1
Table 1: Numbers of grassland CHEG and related species occurring in the British Isles
Aims of this project
The main aim of this survey was to provide a baseline survey of grassland fungi in North Kerry
with the study area described below. This project aim was to locate and survey waxcap
grasslands in as many different 10km squares as possible over a two week period between
27/10/10 and 11/11/10. From experience, the fortnight around the end of October and start of
November is usually the best period for fruiting for grassland fungi in Ireland as this group
always fruits later than woodland fungi. The target group of species were the Waxcaps (genus
Hygrocybe), the non-woodland Fairy Clubs (Clavariaceae), the Pink gills (Entolomaceae), the
earth tongues (Geoglossaceae) and the genera Camarophyllopsis, Dermoloma and
Porpoloma. These species would be thoroughly searched for. Records would be made of
other species but the maps generated may not necessarily be complete for these groups.
The data collected was to be compared with other Irish data as well as GB data to provide a
British Isles context for the North Kerry sites. This data and interpretation would also feed into
the National Biodiversity Data Centre. All images collected during this survey are available for
unlimited usage for the Heritage Council or the National Biodiversity Data Centre.
In addition, all published records of fungi that included records for the whole of county Kerry
were entered into a database with an output being a biodiversity species list of fungi for County
Kerry. Recommendations are also made on possible fungal Priority species for Kerry.
6