Gliophorus psittacinus

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Gliophorus psittacinus
Hygrocybe psittacina 54530.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Hygrophoraceae
Genus: Gliophorus
Species:
G. psittacinus
Binomial name
Gliophorus psittacinus
(Schaeff.) Herink (1958)
Synonyms [1]
  • Agaricus dentatus L. (1753)
  • Agaricus psittacinusSchaeff. (1774)
  • Agaricus cameleon Bull. (1792)
  • Hygrophorus psittacinus(Schaeff.) Fr. (1838)
  • Hygrocybe psittacina(Schaeff.) P. Kumm. (1871)
  • Bolbitius dentatus(L.) Kuntze (1898)
Gliophorus psittacinus
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svg Cap is convex
Adnate gills icon2.svg Hymenium is adnate
Bare stipe icon.svg Stipe is bare
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is white
Mycorrhizal fungus.svgEcology is mycorrhizal
Mycomorphbox Edible.pngEdibility is edible

Gliophorus psittacinus, commonly known as the parrot toadstool or parrot waxcap, is a colourful mushroom that is a member of the genus Gliophorus. It was formerly known as Hygrocybe psittacina, but a molecular phylogenetics study found it to belong in the genus Gliophorus . It had already been placed in Gliophorus, but it had been considered a synonym of Hygrocybe . [2] It has a cosmopolitan distribution.

Contents

Description

On Faroe Islands stamp Faroe stamp 306 hygrocybe psittacina.jpg
On Faroe Islands stamp

The parrot toadstool is a small mushroom, with a convex to umbonate cap up to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in diameter, which is green when young and later yellowish or even pinkish tinged. [3] The stipe, measuring 2–8 cm (0.8–3.1 in) in length and 3–5 mm in width, is green to greenish yellow. [3] The broad adnate gills are greenish with yellow edges and spore print white. The green colouring persists at the stem apex even in old specimens. The spores are white, elliptical, smooth and inamyloid. [3] The spore print is white. [4]

Its odour and taste are mild. [3] There are no known chemical tests.

It fruits late summer to autumn (September to November). [5] [6]

Similar species

It can resemble other species of its genus and Bolbitius callistus . [4]

Distribution and habitat

Gliophorus psittacinus is widely distributed in grasslands in western Europe, United Kingdom, Iceland, Greenland, North America, [4] Americas, South Africa, Japan, being found in late summer and autumn.

Early Australian records of this form have been found to be the similar green toadstools Gliophorus graminicolor or G. viridis on reexamination. Gliophorus psittacinus is known to occur at one site in the Lane Cove River valley near Sydney. [7]

Conservation

In Europe it is apparently in decline due to the degradation of habitats.

Edibility

Gliophorus psittacinus is generally considered edible, but not worthwhile due to its small size and sliminess. [3] [6]

References

  1. "Gliophorus psittacinus (Schaeff.) Herink". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  2. Babos et al. 2011. Preliminary notes on dual relevance of ITS sequences and pigments in Hygrocybe taxonomy. Persoonia 26, 2011: 99–107
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861. Archived from the original on 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  4. 1 2 3 Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 395. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
  5. Sterry, Paul (2007). A Photographic Guide to Mushrooms of Britain and Europe. Connaught. ISBN   978-1-84517-038-7.
  6. 1 2 "Parrot Waxcap". Wild Food UK. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  7. D.W. Noble, Fungi of the Sydney Region Facebook Group - July 2019