Help spot waxcap fungi, says charity

People are being urged to look out for colourful waxcap fungi as part of efforts to help protect carbon-storing grasslands.

Plantlife, a wild plant conservation charity, said it received hundreds of records for waxcap last year, and is urging volunteers to send in sightings using its “Waxcapp” app.

Fungi in meadows and lawns are an indicator of undisturbed grassland habitat. They are a key solution in the climate crisis, the charity said.

Undisturbed grasslands store a third of the world’s land-based carbon in their soils. The UK has lost 97 per cent of its traditional meadow and grassland habitat, which now covers less than 1 per cent of the country’s land area.

Dave Lamacraft, of Plantlife, said: “We can’t overlook this vital habitat as a key contender in the fight against climate change with its carbon-locking ability, but we need to know where the missing pieces are first.”