Mazza di Tamburo, Lepiota Bruna

The mazza di tamburo belongs to the Lepiota family and so has very thick gills, which are cream turning pinkish with age. The cap can be oval or round and is borne on a thin brownish stem. As the mushroom grows and the hat opens out, its woolly surface starts to flake from the top, sprinkling the brown skin with white. It is widespread from late summer through to the autumn, growing singly or in very small groups, under pines, in fields near woods and sometimes on large lawns. There is a similar but much smaller mushroom which is poisonous — so take care to pick the right one.