Panaeolina foenisecii - Brown Mottlegill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Also commonly referred to as the Mower’s Mushroom and the Haymaker, Panaeolina foenisecii springs up on any lawn that is regularly mown but not intensively dosed with selective herbicides. It is probably the most common of the ‘common or garden’ lawn mushrooms, and unfortunately it is inedible and can cause sickness if eaten. (Toddlers are particularly vulnerable!)

The hygrophanous nature of the cap means that colour is not a significant identifying feature.

Identification guide

Cap	1 to 2cm across; initially bell-shaped or conical, expanding to become broadly convex; hygrophanous, medium to dark brown when moist, drying from the centre outwards to a creamy-beige.
Gills	Adnate; pale brown at first becoming mottled dark brown.
Stem	4 to 7cm long and 3 to 5mm dia.; cream flushed towards base with mid brown; cylindrical; finely fibrillose; no ring.
Spore print	Dark brown.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	On lawns, roadside verges and other grassy places.
Season	April to December.
Occurrence	Very frequent.
Similar species	Stropharia semiglobata, the Dung Roundhead, has a transient ring and leaves a brown spore print. Panaeolus fimicola, the Turf Mottlegill, has a dark-brown cap when wet and dries out to become mid brown.