A distinctive olive-green waxgill with mauve-tinged gills and a hollow stipe whose olive flesh is continuous with that of the pileus, except for a contrasting ventral plug. The combination of olive and mauve tones makes it unlike any other New Zealand Hygrocybe.

Pileus: to 30-45 (-60) mm, olive green; hemispherical, some with a broad umbilicus; flocculose. Flesh olive green, continuous with that of the hollow stipe; ventral plug differing in texture.
Lamellae: adnate; mauve‑tinged on olive‑green; deep, distant. Stipe to 50 x 5 mm, olive green with mauve tinge at base; waxy, smooth with fine striations; hollow, somewhat tough.
Stipe: olive green throughout pileus and stipe except for whitish ventral plug. Odor and taste not distinctive.
Odour/tast: not distinctive