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The Gigrofor parrot is a representative of the Gigroforov family, the Gliophorus genus. The Latin name for this species is Gliophorus psittacinus. It has many other names: parrot hygrocybe, motley hygrophor, green gliophore and hygrocybe psittacina.
What does a parrot hygrophor look like?
The species got its name due to its rather bright and variable color.
You can recognize a parrot hygrocybe by the following characteristic features:
- At the initial stage, the cap is bell-shaped with ribbed edges, as it grows, it becomes prostrate, while the central wide tubercle remains. The surface is smooth, shiny, slimy. Colored green or yellow, as it grows, it acquires a variety of shades of pink. Since this variety is inherent in changing the color of the fruit body to bright colors, it was nicknamed the motley parrot.
- On the underside of the cap there are rare and wide plates. Painted in a yellowish color with a greenish tint. Spores are ovoid, white.
- The leg is cylindrical, very thin, its diameter is 0.6 cm, and its length is 6 cm. It is hollow inside, and mucous outside, painted in a greenish-yellow tone.
- The pulp is brittle, fragile, usually white, but sometimes you can see yellowish or greenish spots on it. It has no pronounced taste, but has an unpleasant odor of dampness or earth.
Where does the motley hygrophor grow
You can meet this species throughout the summer and autumn in glades or meadows. Prefers to grow among grass or moss in mountainous areas or sunny edges. Gigrofor parrot tends to grow in large groups. Most common in North and South America, Western Europe, Japan, Greenland, Iceland, Japan and South Africa.
Is it possible to eat a hygrophor a parrot
The variety belongs to the category of conditionally edible mushrooms. Despite this, the parrot hygrophor has no nutritional value, since it is tasteless with an unpleasant aroma.
False doubles
Prefers to grow in temperate climates
Due to the bright and unusual color of the fruit bodies, the hygrophor is quite difficult to confuse the parrot with other gifts of the forest. However, in appearance, this species is most similar to the following specimens:
- Hygrocybe dark chlorine - an inedible mushroom. The size of the cap in diameter varies from 2 to 7 cm. The main distinguishing feature is the brighter and more striking color of the fruit bodies. As a rule, a double can be recognized by an orange-yellow or lemon-colored hat. The color of the fruit pulp is also different; in a dark chlorine hygrocybe, it is colored in various shades of yellow. It is very fragile, does not have a pronounced smell and taste.
- Hygrocybe wax - belongs to the group of inedible mushrooms. Most common in Europe and North America. It differs from the parrot's hygrophor in the small size of the fruit bodies. So, the double's hat in diameter is only 1 to 4 cm, which is painted in orange-yellowish shades.
Collection rules and use
Going in search of a parrot's hygrophor, you should know that he perfectly knows how to disguise himself, sitting in the grass or on a moss bed. Fruit bodies of greenish-yellow color are very thin, fragile and small. Therefore, it is necessary to collect these mushrooms as carefully as possible.
Conclusion
Not every mushroom picker knows such an instance as a parrot hygrophor. It is a small fruiting body with a bright color. It belongs to the group of conditionally edible mushrooms, but it is not successful in cooking. This is due to the fact that this variety is characterized by the small size of the fruit bodies, the absence of a pronounced taste and the presence of an unpleasant aroma.
