Rare pink fungi discovered in ancient UK sites

The Plantlife charity enlisted 850 volunteers for a citizen science survey in the UK, which resulted in the discovery of hundreds of new locations for two rare, brightly colored grassland fungi.

Graveyards and green lands are primarily among the hundreds of new sites for rare pink fungi discovered by citizen scientists.

The data was collected from places such as private gardens and other areas to which scientists had no previous access.

They found 300 new locations of the candy-colored pink waxcap, which is classed as vulnerable on the global International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and 18 new locations of the vibrant violet coral, Clavaria zollingeri.

Surprisingly, just over 1,000 pink waxcaps and 183 violet coral sites were recorded in the British Mycological Society’s database before the survey, and the new findings have significantly expanded that data. 

It has been observed that a relatively high number of these fungi were unearthed in the UK because they thrive in a type of nutrient-poor ancient grassland found in Britain.

Senior fungi conservation officer at Plantlife, Dr Aileen Baird, said, "They are a habitat that we are losing massive amounts of, and these fungi can also be a really good way of finding out where these remnants of ancient grasslands are."

The discoveries of the fungi made by UK citizen scientists represents an impressive collaboration; this effort yielded crucial expansion of knowledge and highlighted the rare biodiversity found in towns.