Macrolepiota procera - Parasol

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Macrolepiota procera, the Parasol Mushroom, is a choice edible species found on roadside verges, in neglected pastureland and on grassy seaside cliffs in summer and autumn.

If you gather these large meaty mushrooms to eat, be aware that the somewhat similar Shaggy Parasol, Chlorophyllum rhacodes, can cause tummy upsets. The Shaggy Parasol has flesh that turns red when it is cut, and its stem lacks the snakeskin-like patterning.

Identification guide

	Cap Initially spherical and pale brown with a darker brown area near the crown that breaks into scales, the cap expends until it is flat with a small umbo. The cap diameter at maturity ranges between 10 and 25cm.
	Gills The broad, crowded gills are white or pale cream and free, terminating some distance from the stipe.
	Stem A large double ring persists around the stem but often becomes movable and falls to the base. The stem is smooth and white or cream but decorated with small brown scales that often give it a banded, snakeskin appearance. Inside the stem the tough, fibrous flesh is loosely packed, and sometimes the stem is hollow. Bulbous at the base, the stem tapers inwards towards the apex; the diameter ranges from 1 to 1.5cm (to 2.5cm across the bulbous base), and the stem height can be up to 30 cm.
Spore print	White or pale cream.
Odour/taste	Odour not distinctive; taste sweet.
Habitat	In woodland clearings and in grassy areas next to woodland.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Frequent.
Similar species	Chlorophyllum rhacodes, the Shaggy Parasol, is smaller but with larger, reflexed scales and a stipe that lacks the brown snakeskin patterning.