Species details
Parrot waxcap
Gliophorus psittacinus
Inedible
Photo: Alan Rockefeller · CC BY 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A small very slimy waxcap with green, yellow, and later orange-red colours reminiscent of a parrot.
Identification features
The cap is 2–5 cm wide, young olive- or blue-green, shiny and slimy, later yellow to brick-red. Gills are yellow, thick, and spaced. The stem is thin, slimy, and greenish at least near the top.
Identification checklist
Check the strongly slimy cap and stem and the characteristic green tones, especially in young specimens. Old fruitbodies may lose almost all green colour.
How to separate similar species
Waxcaps are highly variable in colour. Old specimens lacking green tones can become very difficult to identify.
Habitat
Grows in unimproved meadows, pastures, and other nutrient-poor grassland, mainly in summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
July, August, September, October, November
Similar species
- Hygrocybe species
- Gliophorus perplexus