Gliophorus psittacinus, the parrot waxcap, is a small, very slimy grassland waxcap that is green when young and turns yellowish or pinkish with age, while the stem apex stays green. It has broad, greenish gills with yellow edges and a white spore print. It is widespread but apparently declining in Europe as its grassland habitats are degraded.
Not recommended: generally considered edible, but too small and slimy to be worthwhile.
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Habitat
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Grasslands, including meadows and pastures. Fruits late summer to autumn (September to November).
Distribution
Widespread: western Europe including the UK, Iceland, Greenland, North America, South Africa and Japan. Most early Australian records were later reidentified as G. graminicolor or G. viridis; it is known in Australia from one site near Sydney.
Characteristics
Cap: up to 4 cm, convex to umbonate, slimy; green when young, becoming yellowish or sometimes pinkish-tinged. Gills: broad, adnate, greenish with yellow edges. Stem: 2-8 cm long, 3-5 mm wide, slimy, green to greenish yellow, staying green at the apex even in old specimens. Odour and taste: mild. Spore print: white. Spores: elliptical, smooth, inamyloid.
