Destroying angel vs meadow mushroom
- Deadly: Destroying Angel
Destroying angels keep white gills, print white and hide a cup at the base. Meadow mushrooms have pink to brown gills and a brown print.
Button mushroom vs destroying angel: how to tell them apart
Quick answer
Button mushrooms have gills that are pale pink in young buttons and turn chocolate brown, a chocolate brown spore print, and a plain stem base; the destroying angel keeps white gills at every age, drops a white spore print, and has a white sac-like cup around a bulb at the base, often buried in soil. A white button picked without its base, or seen in a photo, cannot be told from a destroying angel.
Deadly lookalike
The destroying angel is deadly.
Unlike the button mushroom, the destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera) contains amatoxins. The Missouri Department of Conservation records that symptoms often do not appear until 6 to 24 hours after eating, starting with vomiting, diarrhea and cramps, followed by kidney or liver dysfunction that can lead to death. The CDC explains that amatoxins halt protein production in cells, and that they are heat stable and not inactivated by cooking.
If someone has eaten a wild mushroom and feels unwell, or may have eaten one of these, call poison control now: 1-800-222-1222 in the US. Do not wait for symptoms.
Side by side
The tell for each
Agaricus bisporus
Photo coming
Edible
The tellFree gills that turn from pink to chocolate brown, a ring on the stem, and no cup at the base.
Deadly
The tellPure white all over, with white gills, a skirt-like ring, and a white sac-like cup around a bulb at the base.
How they differ
| Feature | Button Mushroom | Destroying Angel |
|---|---|---|
| Gills | Button MushroomPale pink in buttons, then chocolate brown to blackish brown. | Destroying AngelWhite at all ages. |
| Spore print | Button MushroomChocolate brown. | Destroying AngelWhite. |
| Stem base | Button MushroomPlain, with no sac or cup. | Destroying AngelA bulb in a white, membranous sac-like cup, often buried. |
| Stem | Button MushroomShort and thick, 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 cm). | Destroying AngelTall, 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm), with a skirt-like ring. |
| Where found | Button MushroomCompost, manure, gardens and roadsides; grown indoors commercially. | Destroying AngelWoods and lawns near oaks, beech, birch and pines. |
| Smell | Button MushroomMild. | Destroying AngelFaint. |
FAQ
Common questions
Can a wild white mushroom be a button mushroom?
Yes. Wild Agaricus bisporus occurs in compost, manure and disturbed ground. Pink to brown gills and a brown spore print separate it from white Amanita species.
What does a destroying angel look like?
Pure white all over, with white gills, a skirt-like ring near the top of the stem and a white sac-like cup around a bulb at the base.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Agaricus bisporus
MushroomExpert.com
- Amanita bisporigera
MushroomExpert.com
- Destroying Angel
Missouri Department of Conservation
- Amanita phalloides Mushroom Poisonings, Northern California, December 2016
CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Keep checking
Read both pages in full
- More on the button mushroom
- More on the destroying angel
- Not sure it is either? Narrow it down with the identification key
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
More comparisons
American Caesar's mushroom vs destroying angel
- Deadly: Destroying Angel
Both start as white eggs in a white cup. Sliced top to bottom, a Caesar's egg is orange and yellow inside; a destroying angel's is white throughout.
Destroying angel vs gem-studded puffball
- Deadly: Destroying Angel
Sliced top to bottom, a gem-studded puffball is pure white with no structure. A destroying angel egg shows a cap, gills and stem.
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