15 November 2008 West Sussex. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. Synonymns Hygrocybe psittacina Common Name Parrot Wax Cap Cap Convex, then flattened with a central bump, translucent radial lines at the margin, surface viscid, colour very variable, usually green when young, then sometimes yellow, pink or rarely white, or a mix of colours, hygrophanous, to about 4 cm across Gills Adnate, broad, distant, more or less concolorous with the cap Stem Equal, smooth, viscid, concolorous with the cap, but usually green at the apex, to about 4 cm high Flesh Concolorous with surface or paler Smell Indistinct Taste Indistinct Season Autumn Distribution Common Habitat In unimproved grassland, lawns, deciduous woods and on dunes Spore Print White Microscopic Features Spores ellipsoidal, smooth (8-9.5) x (5-6) µm2 Edibility Edible, poor Notes This is an extremely variable species, but the slimy surface, and the presence of green at the stem apex are diagnostic. Recent DNA studies have identified several closely related species, with perhaps more to be discovered. 
October 2004 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
October 2001 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
3 November 2007 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
November 2000 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
October 2001 Berkshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
9 November 2008 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. |