About Gliophorus psittacinus (Schaeff.) Herink
The parrot toadstool, Gliophorus psittacinus, is a small mushroom. Its cap ranges from convex to umbonate, reaching up to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in diameter. Young caps are green, while older caps develop yellowish or even pinkish tinges. The stipe is 2–8 cm (0.8–3.1 in) long and 3–5 mm wide, with a green to greenish yellow colour. Its broad, adnate gills are greenish with yellow edges, and the spore print is white. The green colouring remains at the stem apex even in old specimens. The spores are white, elliptical, smooth, and inamyloid. Both odour and taste are mild, and there are no known chemical tests for this species. It fruits from late summer to autumn, which falls between September and November. Gliophorus psittacinus has a wide distribution, growing in grasslands in western Europe, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Greenland, North America, South America, South Africa, and Japan. It occurs in late summer and autumn in these regions. Early Australian records of this species were reclassified on reexamination, and the original specimens were identified as the similar green species Gliophorus graminicolor or G. viridis. Currently, G. psittacinus is confirmed to occur at just one site in the Lane Cove River valley near Sydney, Australia.
