Date Waxcap (Hygrocybe spadicea)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Fungus or lichen > fungus > Fungus |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Hygrocybe spadicea |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Scop.) P. Karst. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Assessed as Near Threatened (2006) - A very broad distribution throughout England, with hotspots in Northumberland and Devon. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Without evidence of the current national status of this species it will be very difficult to assess if there are any other species-specific actions required for its conservation; or if it is need of conservation at all. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | There is no evidence that an increase in the structural diversity of the habitat will directly benefit this species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Life history factor/s |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | This species is considered to be a slow coloniser, and is restricted to areas of ancient, unimproved, grazed grassland on a variety of doil types |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: An assessment of the necessary national species records should be made according to IUCN guidelines to provide a recognised redlist status criteria for this species.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: As no IUCN recognised assessment exists for this species, this action should be prioritised.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: targeted land management advice should be provided stressing the importance of grazing regimes and explaining other current best practice methods of grassland fungi habitat management for this species and its assemblage.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: Habitat quality maintenance and improvement for this priority species will benefit the recovery of many other scarce and rare grassland fungi as a side consequence
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Recognition of waxcap grasslands as a priority habitat
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Legal protection
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Not applicable
Comments: Majority of waxcap grassland where this species is found are outside of SSSIs and not protected. Tree planting is the greatest threat to this spp, but rarely considered
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.