Honey and dew

A perfect morning to welcome in October; above, buzzards are circling and mewing in a blue sky, and below, 2 honey waxcaps are emerging from grass sparkling with a heavy dew.

The honey waxcap Hygrocybe reidii is unusual in that its cap is dry and slightly scurfy whereas most members of the genus are either greasy or slimy with a smooth cap surface. The common name doesn't refer to the colour of the mushroom but to the fact that when crushed it smells of honey.

Usually, these days, the scientific name given to a species is in some way descriptive of that species. The cougar, for example is placed in the Genus Felis with the other cats and is given the descriptive specific epithet concolor, meaning same-coloured. In contrast, the brightly coloured African wild dog, the only member of the Genus Lycaon, is given the specific epithet pictus which means painted. Sometimes, however, taxonomists name a newly discovered species after a biologist whom they wish to honour for their contributions to science. They do this by using a Latinised version of the biologist's name as the specific epithet, or, more rarely, as the Genus, or very rarely as both Genus and Species. My favourite must be the parasitic copepod Bobkabata kabatabobbus, named after the fish biologist Dr Bob Kabata. Bob Kabata is a remarkable man, with a most remarkable background. You can read a very short account of his amazing life here.

In the case of the honey waxcap the specific epithet reidii was chosen in honour of Derek Agutter Reid (1927-2006), who for many years held the post of the head of mycology at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.