Collections of green Microglossum with scaly stipe had been commonly called M. viride.

In 2014 morphological and molecular data revealed another taxon hidden under this name that was segregated and described as new, i.e. Microglossum griseoviride (its epithet meaning "grey-green").

Aside of microscopic characters like spore size, they are distinct also macroscopically – true M. viride has yellow to olive colour and prefers wet habitats (e.g. on wet ground around brooks, often among hepatics) whereas M. griseoviride has colder colours, greyish green to bluegreen and grows far from water in litter from broad-leaved trees.

[1] There is also a group of green to bluegreen species around Microglossum nudipes that have stipe without scales and can be usually found on grasslands and pastures.

[2][3] Microglossum viride species are found in woodlands in North America, Australia and Europe.