Parasol Mushroom

Macrolepiota procera

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Mushrooms

By Roger Phillips

Published 2006

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Parasol Mushroom Macrolepiota procera (Scop.) Singer syn. Lepiota procera (Scop.) Gray (illustrated 30% life size) Cap 10–25cm across, spherical, button- or egg-shaped, expanding flattened with a prominent umbo; pale buff or grey-brown; covered in darker, shaggy scales. Stem 150–300×8–15mm, 40mm across at the bulb; white with a grey-brown felty covering, which becomes split into snake-like markings as the stem expands; ring large, double, white on upper surface, brown below, movable on the stem. Flesh white; thin, soft; taste sweet, smell slight, not distinctive. Gills free; white. Spores 15–20×10–13¼, ovate, with a germ-pore; dextrinoid. Spore print white. Habitat in open woods and pastures; summer and autumn. Common. Edible excellent. Note field photograph (d) taken by Geoffrey Kibby.