The species was originally named Hygrophorus virescens by American mycologists Lexemuel Ray Hesler and Alexander H. Smith in their 1963 monograph of North American Hygrophorus species.
In February, migrant ''B. v. virescens'' and resident birds sometimes separated as ''B. v. maculata'' occur at Tarpon Springs, Florida | Hygrocybe aurantipes | Heliothis virescens |