- Hygrocybe psittacina
Taxobox
name = Hygrocybe
image_width = 220px
image_caption = "H. psittacina",
Wyre Forest, England
[http://www.flickr.com/people/10418314@N00/ Rosemary Winnall]
regnum =Fungi
divisio =Basidiomycota
classis =Agaricomycetes
ordo =Agaricales
familia =Hygrophoraceae
genus = "Hygrocybe "
species = "H. psittacina"
binomial = "Hygrocybe psittacina"
binomial_authority = (Schaeff.: Fries) Kumm.mycomorphbox
name = Hygrocybe psittacina
whichGills = adnate
capShape = convex
hymeniumType= gills
stipeCharacter= bare
ecologicalType=mycorrhizal
sporePrintColor=white
howEdible=edible"Hygrocybe psittacina", commonly known as the Parrot Toadstool or Parrot Waxcap, is a colourful member of the genus "Hygrocybe", the waxcaps, found across Northern Europe. Originally described as "Hygrophorus psittacinus", there have been at least two subspecies described, "H. psittacina" var. "psittacina" and "H. psittacina" var. "perplexa", which was initially described as a separate species "H. perplexa".
The bright green colour of this
fungus is not due tochlorophyll ; fungi do not possess this chemical.Description
The Parrot Toadstool is a small mushroom, with a convex to umbonate cap 1-3
centimetres (⅓-1 in) in diameter, which is green when young and later yellowish or even pinkish tinged. The 2-4 cm stipe is green to greenish yellow. 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.Distribution and habitat
"H. psittacina" var. "psittacina" is widely distributed in grasslands in
Western Europe ,Iceland ,Greenland , the Americas, South Africa and Japan, being found in late summer and autumn. In Europe it is apparently in decline due to the degradation of habitats. Early Australian records of this form have been found to be the similar green toadstools "Hygrocybe graminicolor " or "H. stevensoniae" on reexamination."H. psittacina" var. "perplexa" has been recorded in Western Europe, the Americas and Japan as well as one Australian record in Eastern Victoria.
Edibility
Despite its small size and being coated in a sticky substance, "Hygrocybe psittacina" is often listed as edible in mushroom guides. Consumption of over 20 specimens in one sitting, however, can cause
gastrointestinal disorders .References
*cite book | author = Phillips, Roger | year = 1981 | title = Mushrooms of Great Britain and Europe | publisher = Pan Books, London | id = ISBN 0-330-26441-9
*Fuhrer, Bruce Alexander (2005) "A Field Guide to Australian Fungi" Bloomings Books, Melbourne, Australia, ISBN 1876473517 ;
*cite book | author= Spooner, Brian | year =1996 | title = Mushrooms and Toadstools | publisher = Collins, Glasgow | id = ISBN 0-00-220007-4
*cite book | author= Young, A.M. | year =2005 | title = Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae | publisher = (Australian Biological Resources Study) CSIRO, Canberra, ACT | id = ISBN 0-643-09195-5
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