Deadly
Destroying Angel
Amanita bisporigera
Destroying angels have white gills at all ages, a white spore print and a sac-like cup at the stem base. They contain amatoxins.
Horse Mushroom
Agaricus fissuratus
Edible
Also called horse agaricus, agaricus arvensis.
The horse mushroom, long called Agaricus arvensis, is a large white Agaricus of pastures and lawns that smells of anise or almond and slowly bruises yellowish. Its gills turn from grayish pink to chocolate brown. The yellow stainer and the white amanitas are the lookalikes field guides warn about.
The tell
Large white cap that slowly bruises yellowish, grayish pink to brown gills, a large ring with a cogwheel pattern beneath, and an anise smell.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Rounded, then convex to flat, white to cream, smooth, aging yellowish and slowly bruising yellowish where handled.
- Underside
- Gills free from the stem, crowded, whitish to grayish pink when young, never bright pink, then chocolate brown. Young gills are covered by a thick veil.
- Stem
- White, smooth, sometimes slightly swollen at the base, with a large, skirt-like ring. The underside of the ring is split into a pattern like a cogwheel. No cup.
- Flesh
- Thick and white, not turning bright yellow in the stem base when cut. Smell of anise or almond.
- Spore print
- Chocolate brown.
- Size
- Cap 3 to 8 inches wide (7.5 to 20 cm); stem 2 to 6 inches tall (5 to 15 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Pastures, meadows, lawns and grassy clearings, sometimes in rings.
- Grows on
- Soil in grass.
- Season
- Summer through fall.
- Range
- Widespread across North America, where several closely related species are grouped under the same name.
Lookalikes
What the horse mushroom gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
Toxic lookalikeYellow Stainer
Agaricus xanthodermus
The yellow stainer turns bright chrome yellow quickly when scratched, and the flesh at the base of the stem turns yellow when cut. It smells of ink or phenol rather than anise.
EdibleMeadow Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
The meadow mushroom is smaller, with bright pink young gills, a thin fragile ring and no anise smell.
EdibleThe Prince
Agaricus augustus
The prince has a cap covered in brown fibrous scales and grows mostly near conifers and on disturbed ground.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Edible
Field guides list the horse mushroom as edible. The same guides note that it overlaps with the yellow stainer, which causes gastrointestinal upset. The horse mushroom's anise smell and slow, mild yellowing contrast with the yellow stainer's chrome yellow staining and ink-like smell. White Amanita species, which contain amatoxins, are separated by white gills, a white spore print and a cup at the base.
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.
FAQ
Questions about the horse mushroom
Is the horse mushroom edible?
Field guides list it as edible. Its toxic lookalike is the yellow stainer, which stains bright yellow and smells of ink, and its deadly lookalikes are the white amanitas.
How do you tell a horse mushroom from a yellow stainer?
Both bruise yellow, but the horse mushroom yellows slowly and mildly and smells of anise. The yellow stainer turns bright chrome yellow within seconds, especially in the flesh at the stem base, and smells of ink or phenol.
What does a horse mushroom smell like?
It smells of anise or almond, most noticeably when the flesh is cut or crushed. That smell is one of the main differences from the yellow stainer, which smells of ink, phenol or creosote.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Agaricus fissuratus
MushroomExpert.com
- Agaricus fissuratus
MykoWeb, California Fungi
- Agaricus fissuratus
Index Fungorum
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