Toxic
Green-Spored Parasol
Chlorophyllum molybdites
The green-spored parasol is closely related and very similar, but its gills turn gray-green with age and its spore print is green. It causes severe gastrointestinal poisoning.
Shaggy Parasol
Chlorophyllum rhacodes
Edible, upsets some people
Also called shaggy lepiota, lepiota rachodes.
The shaggy parasol is a large mushroom with a coarsely scaled brown and white cap that grows in gardens, compost and conifer litter. Its flesh turns orange to red when cut. Field guides list it as edible but record that it upsets some people.
The tell
Coarse, shaggy brown scales on a pale cap, a smooth stem with an abrupt bulb, and flesh that turns orange to red when cut.
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 at first, then convex to flat. A smooth brown cap at the center breaks into coarse, shaggy, upturned brown scales on a whitish, fibrous background.
- Underside
- Gills free from the stem, crowded, white, bruising reddish brown with handling or age.
- Stem
- Smooth, whitish to brownish, without a snakeskin pattern, rising from an abrupt, rimmed bulb. A thick, double-edged ring can slide along the stem.
- Flesh
- White, turning orange to red when cut, especially in the stem, then slowly brown.
- Spore print
- White.
- Size
- Cap 3 to 8 inches wide (7.5 to 20 cm); stem 3 to 8 inches tall (7.5 to 20 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Gardens, compost piles, disturbed ground, lawns, and conifer or cypress litter, often in groups or rings.
- Grows on
- Rich soil and decaying plant matter.
- Season
- Summer through fall; fall and winter in California.
- Range
- Widespread across North America, more common in the West.
Lookalikes
What the shaggy parasol gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
EdibleParasol Mushroom
Macrolepiota procera
The parasol is taller and more slender, with a snakeskin-patterned stem and flesh that does not redden when cut.
Lepiota subincarnata
Photo coming
DeadlyDeadly Dapperling
Lepiota subincarnata
Small Lepiota species that contain amatoxins are rarely more than 2 inches across and lack the thick double-edged ring and reddening flesh.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Edible, upsets some people
Field guides list the shaggy parasol as edible but record that it causes gastrointestinal upset in some people, and some guides record allergic reactions. Its closest lookalike, the green-spored parasol, causes severe gastrointestinal poisoning and is separated most reliably by its green spore print. Several similar Chlorophyllum species occur in North America and are hard to separate.
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 shaggy parasol
Is the shaggy parasol edible?
Field guides list it as edible, with the note that it upsets some people. Its close relative, the green-spored parasol, looks very similar and causes severe gastrointestinal poisoning.
Why does the shaggy parasol turn red when cut?
Its white flesh turns orange to red soon after it is cut, most strongly in the stem, before slowly turning brown. The true parasol does not change color this way.
Where do shaggy parasols grow?
In gardens, compost heaps, lawns and disturbed ground, and in litter under conifers and cypress. They often appear in groups or rings from summer through fall.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Chlorophyllum rhacodes
MushroomExpert.com
- Chlorophyllum rhacodes
Index Fungorum
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