Parrot waxcap or Yellowleg bonnet

The cap is 1.5 to 4 cm across, occasionally up to 5 cm. It starts bell-shaped or hemispherical, then becomes convex and flattened, often with a low, broad bump. The margin is finely lined when wet.

The surface is coated in thick, glossy slime. Young caps are bright or dark green; the green fades from the centre outwards, leaving the cap yellow, orange-yellow, pinkish or even greyish.

Cap 1-2.5 cm across, bell-shaped or conical with a little bump, becoming convex with age. It's yellowish, yellow-olive or lemon-yellow, darker in the centre, where it turns brownish-yellow. The surface is noticeably slimy in wet weather, and this is the species' main diagnostic feature: you can catch the slime with a fingernail and peel it off as a film. In dry weather the cap is just shiny, without obvious sliminess. The margin is thin, with radial grooves.

The gills are thick, broad, waxy and widely spaced, narrowly attached to the stem. They're greenish near the stem and yellow towards the cap edge, losing the green with age.

The spore print is white.

Gills whitish to pale yellowish, moderately distant, notched (adnexed) where they meet the stem. Spore print white.

The stem is 2 to 7 cm tall and 3 to 8 mm thick, smooth and slimy, with no ring. It's green at the top and yellow to orange-yellow below. It yellows with age, but the green at the top persists even on old specimens, which makes it the best feature to check.

Stem 4-8 cm tall, 0.1-0.2 cm thick: very thin, threadlike, fragile, slimy in wet weather. It's yellowish above, darkening with age to yellow-brown toward the base. The surface is smooth, with a noticeable layer of slime.

The flesh is thin and whitish, sometimes with yellow or green spots.

Flesh very thin, watery, yellowish. Does not change colour when cut. Smell faint; in some populations rancid, with a note of old fat or fish. Taste mild, unremarkable.

The smell is faint, sometimes earthy.

In some populations it's faint and rancid, with a note of stale fish oil or old butter. Not every find has it: some yellowleg bonnets have no smell at all.