Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe / Gliophorus psittacinus) – Identification

Parrot Waxcap / Summer / Autumn / Winter / Inedible

The Parrot Waxcap is an amazing mushroom with great variation in colour! greens, blues and yellows can all be found on this particular mushroom!

Scientific Name

Hygrocybe / Gliophorus psittacinus

Family

Hygrophoraceae

Habitat

In unimproved grassland like fields and pastures or graveyards also known to occur in damp open woods.

Description

An amazing mushroom with great variation in colour! greens, blues and yellows can all be found on this particular mushroom! It is one of the slimy waxcaps and its quite uncommon and should be left alone if possible

Identifying Features of the Parrot Waxcap:

Cap:

The cap has green, yellow, blue, grey and brown colours although when young it will usually be a deep bottle green. The cap is slimy and flattens with age retaining an umbo or boss in the centre of the cap.

Stem:

Somewhere between green and yellow, usually more dark green/blue towards the top and very slimy.

Gills:

Mainly off white to yellow with some green colouring, thick and widely spaced. there are often what are called transverse gills which are small gills or veins that run across the underside of the veins.

Smell:

A gentle mushroomy smell there is no other distinctive smell with this mushroom.

Spores:

White

Uses

this is an inedible mushroom and has no medicinal benefits.

In food

this is an inedible mushroom and has no medicinal benefits.

Harvesting

this is found from September to December. however this is inedible and is also quite rare due to habitat loss. It is best to leave this mushroom in situ.

Known hazards

This is an inedible mushroom and has no medicinal benefits.

Potential lookalikes

there is really nothing that looks like this mushroom it is very distinctive. So you shouldn’t mix this up with any other mushroom.

Check out other Waxcaps on our introduction to Waxcaps space