nwr: meadow mushroom? . . .

R

robert ames

robert ames
i recently came upon a small patch of mushrooms that very clearly meet all the descriptors (including colour of spore print) for the meadow mushroom, except the mushroom books i have give the size of the meadow mushroom at 1-4 inches. the largest, most mature of the bunch i found was a good 9+ inches across. the audubon guide lists a very similar 'horse mushroom' that is 3-6 inches.

i know that in the amanita family there are similar looking mushrooms, but the audubon book says that by referring to the spore print these can be eliminated.

anyone out there that might have an idea what i've found? my only experience in mushroom foraging with the boletus family.

robert.
 
Pix?

Esp of underside?

Trees nearby?

Color of gills of young and mature specimens?

Partial veil? Bulb at (buried) base?

And for you, how do they smell if you crush the base and sniff?
 
originally posted by SFJoe:

Pix?

Esp of underside?

Trees nearby?

Color of gills of young and mature specimens?

Partial veil? Bulb at (buried) base?

And for you, how do they smell if you crush the base and sniff?
Click to expand...

sorry, no pix.

in a lawn, with fruit trees, dogwood, and arbor vitae (sp?) nearby (within 30ft).

gills--on the immature ones, pale pinkish, on the big mature one, chocolate brown. gills crowded and free at the stem.

stem white, veil on stem. stem on mature mushroom larger diameter in the middle.

meat of stem and cap white, with no bruising.

spore print chocolate brown.

no bulb at stem base.

i tossed them and didn't do the scratch and sniff.

i realise that mushroom id'ing is often difficult. thanks for the reply.

robert.
 
Robert,
The brown gills at maturity safely exclude Amanita, and you sure seem to be well within Agaricus (though note that they used to be classified together). I am away from my books, but there are plenty of large things in Agaricus--the Prince comes immediately to mind.

AFAIK there are no deadly things within Agaricus, only emetics. So you won't die from it (usual disclaimers that I am not the global Agaricus maven). In the ones I know best, the emetics have a very characteristic odor when you crush the base--they smell like phenol, some people call it library paste. This smell is stronger when they are cooked, though I have a friend who doesn't smell it at all and can also eat things like A. hondensis and A. californicus without upset, so go figure. The good ones have more variety of smells, with some (like the Prince, A. augustus) having a pleasing benzaldehyde aroma (almonds or cherries, depending on concentration(, while others are more generically woodsy.

It's good to get to know the smell of the bad ones if you plan to eat Agaricus, and the smells can also help someone with your acute nose sort out the good ones.
 
sfjoe--thanks again for your help.

i've looked in my audubon and the prince looks very likely, except that the mushrooms i found are whiter on the top of the cap. but then i know from picking boletus that mushrooms are not afraid take artistic license with what books say they are supposed to look like.

i'm pretty sure there will be more coming up where i found these, and i will take pictures.

merci.

robert.
 
sfjoe seems to have some great knowledge on the subject, all I can tell you is that I recently found Prince Mushrooms in Occidental and they had an intense odor of almond (plus correct spore print, etc). Also the cover of Arora's book has been etched in my mind, so it seemed unmistakable. We luckily had a UCD professor give his o.k. before we ate them. What town did you find yours in?
 
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