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Hygrocybe psittacina: The Parrot Mushroom [ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Tricholomataceae > Hygrocybe . . . ]
by Michael Kuo The parrot mushroom is unmistakable, if you catch it in its early stages of development when it is distinctively parrot-green (and decidely slimy). But it quickly begins to change colors, turning yellow or orange, and then fading to a sort of dingy straw color (see the illustrations). By the end of this transformation, the parrot mushroom has become a nondescript little thing, dirty yellowish and very difficult to identify. Ah, the splendors of youth! If you are wondering about its edibility, you need something better to do with your culinary time. The parrot mushroom is tiny, green, and slimy, and about as appetizing-looking as a piece of puppet felt soaked in corn oil, though it is true that field guides list it as "edible." Description: Ecology: Saprobic in conifer and hardwood forests; growing scattered to gregariously; frequently on embankments along wooded roadsides; spring through fall (or over winter in warmer climates); widely distributed in North America. Cap: 1-3 cm; conic to bell-shaped, becoming convex to flat; slimy, or appearing lacquered when dried out; dark "parrot" green when young, soon changing to yellowish, orangish, or pinkish, finally dingy yellow; the margin thinly lined at first. Gills: Attached to the stem; almost distant, thick and waxy; light green becoming reddish to yellowish. Stem: 3-7 cm long; 2-5 mm thick; green above or completely green when young, changing to yellow or orange like the cap; slimy; equal; hollow. Flesh: Colored like the cap, thin. Odor and Taste: Not distinctive. Spore Print: White. Microscopic Features: Spores 6.5-8 x 4-5 µ; smooth; elliptical. Gill tissue parallel. REFERENCES: (Schaeffer, 1774) Kummer, 1871. (Hesler and Smith, 1963; Bird & Grund, 1979; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Largent, 1985; Arora, 1986; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Boertmann, 2000; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 09039406, 06160208, 01120501, 01130511. Hygrophorus psittacinus is a synonym. Further Online Information: Hygrophorus psittacinus in Hesler & Smith (1963) |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2004, December). Hygrocybe psittacina: The parrot mushroom. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hygrocybe_psittacina.html |