Parrot Mushroom; Parrot Waxcap
In Europe this strikingly colorful and cosmopolitan species is found in grasslands, but in North America and especially the PNW it decorates the floor of forests where it prefers an acid and wet soil with nearby moss. It is often solitary but may be scattered or even gregarious. It is shown here in its orangish yellow iteration, but the species is known for its variety of colors. It typically features a bright to subdued green color looking almost glass-like, but becomes orange or yellow or yellow orange over time. Amazingly it may start yellow or yellow-orange and become green, or even go back to yellowish again. Occasionally it may undergo a pinkish phase. In age it usually is a dull straw yellow. Caps are 2-4 cm and strikingly viscid to glutinous, often with light radial striation. The gills may be green or yellow or orange-yellow, and are close to subdistant, attached and frequently with a decurrent tooth. The stipes are green or yellow, smooth, glutinous, equal and often somewhat curved. Whatever color, the apex of the stalk usually retains some greenish tints. Stipes are 2-6 cm tall and 3-5 cm across. There is no odor and the taste is mild. It is edible but rather tasteless. Genetic work has shown this fungus to be a complex without much to allow morphologic differentiation. It is in need of further study.