Woodlands Field lies at the northern extremity of Allestree Park, off Woodlands Lane, just north of the water tower. It is a rare example of· 'unimproved grassland', containing an array of interesting plants and, notably, several species of wax-cap fungi, which produce their exquisite spore-producing 'toadstools' in autumn. For this reason woodlands Field is a designated 'City Wildlife Site' within the Local Nature Reserve of Allestree Park as a whole.
Wax-caps are particularly associated with old grasslands like this and are becoming increasingly rare in the general countryside as agriculture becomes more intensive.
Wax-caps are often brightly coloured and sometimes shiny mushrooms of the genus Hygrocybe Some sixty species of Hygrocybe occur in Europe most commonly in Western and Northern regions.
Some of the wax-caps photographed by Bill Grange in autumn 2011 at Woodlands Field are shown here.
Can you eat wax-caps? None of the waxcaps shown here are poisonous, but it is very easy to confuse edible fungi with poisonous ones, so please don't try to eat any you find in the fields and woods unless you are an expert in identifying fungi. In any case, it is better to leave them for their decorative qualities. Remember that some fungi are deadly poisonous and it may take only one toadstool to produce fatal results!
Woodlands Field in November 2011
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