Dangerous mistake
Parasol mushroom or death cap? How to tell them apart
Parasol mushroom is an edible mushroom, while the death cap is a deadly poisonous mushroom. Compare the two mushrooms point by point.
The parasol has a scaly cap, a stem with a snakeskin pattern and a movable ring, and no volva. Pale/white death caps in particular are mistaken for the parasol.
Deadly poisonous; pale or white forms of the death cap in particular are sometimes mistaken for the parasol. The amanita has a smooth cap without scales, an attached (immovable), hanging ring and a sac-like volva at the stem base – always dig out the whole stem.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Parasol mushroom | Death cap |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility | Edible | Deadly poisonous |
| Cap | Large, 10–30 cm across, egg-shaped when young (a “drumstick”), then parasol-shaped with a central umbo; whitish with large, brown, raised scales, the centre uniformly brown. | 5–15 cm, hemispherical, then expanded; greenish, olive, yellowish-green to white (white form), with darker, radially innate fibrils; smooth, usually without patches, margin not striate. |
| Under the cap | Gills white or cream, crowded, broad, free – clearly separated from the stem. | Gills always white (slightly cream-greenish in old specimens), crowded, free; in young specimens covered by a white veil. |
| Stem | Tall (15–40 cm), slender, with a bulb at the base; covered with a brown zigzag (“snakeskin”) pattern; a thick, double ring that can be slid along the stem. No volva. | 8–15 cm, whitish with a yellowish-greenish zigzag pattern; a distinct, hanging white ring; base bulbous, surrounded by a tall, free-standing, white, sac-like volva (often hidden in the soil). |
| Flesh | White, soft in the cap, fibrous in the stem; does not change colour when cut. | White, slightly yellow-green under the cap cuticle; does not change colour when broken. |
| Smell and taste | Smell pleasant, sweetish-aromatic, nutty; taste mild. | Mature fruit bodies smell sweetish and sickly (like artificial honey), young ones mild. Never taste. |
| Habitat | Saprotrophic; edges of broadleaf and coniferous forests, glades, clearings, meadows, parks, roadsides. Avoids acidic and waterlogged soils, likes calcium-rich clay soils. | Common in broadleaf and mixed forests, especially oak and beech woods, less often in coniferous forests; also in parks and grassy areas near trees. Likes fertile soils, neutral to alkaline. |
| Season | July, August, September, October | June, July, August, September, October, November |
How to recognise it: parasol mushroom
- Cap usually over 10 cm, with brown scales on a pale background and a dark umbo
- Stem with a brown zigzag pattern and a bulb, but no volva
- Ring thick, double, movable – it can be slid along the stem
- Flesh does not turn red when cut
- Spore print white
How to recognise it: death cap
- Gills white throughout the life of the fruit body (field mushrooms have pink, then brown gills)
- Sac-like volva at the bulbous stem base – dig up the whole mushroom to see it
- Hanging ring below the cap
- Greenish cap with radial fibrils (can also be white)
- White spore print; sweetish, sickly smell of older fruit bodies
Safety rule
Never eat a mushroom identified only from a website, a photo or an app. Show any doubtful specimen to a certified mushroom inspector at the sanepid (state sanitary inspection); in season the advice points are free. Do not give wild-picked mushrooms to children.
The golden rules of foraging →Frequently asked questions
Parasol mushroom or death cap: how can you tell them apart?
The parasol has a scaly cap, a stem with a snakeskin pattern and a movable ring, and no volva. Pale/white death caps in particular are mistaken for the parasol. Deadly poisonous; pale or white forms of the death cap in particular are sometimes mistaken for the parasol. The amanita has a smooth cap without scales, an attached (immovable), hanging ring and a sac-like volva at the stem base – always dig out the whole stem.
Death cap: what to do if you have eaten it?
Call 112 at once or go to A&E (SOR), and take any leftover mushrooms with you. Amatoxins (mainly α-amanitin) and phallotoxins – phalloides (cytotoxic) syndrome. First symptoms (vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain) only after approx. 8–16 h (on average approx. 12 h), earlier in children; then a deceptive improvement, and after 2–6 days damage to the liver and kidneys; death usually after several days. Hospital treatment, sometimes a liver transplant. At any suspicion go to hospital immediately and keep the mushroom remains.
Sources
- Wikipedia (pl): Czubajka kania
- grzyby.pl (M. Snowarski): Macrolepiota procera
- First Nature: Macrolepiota procera, Parasol
- Wikipedia (pl): Muchomor zielonawy
- grzyby.pl (M. Snowarski): Amanita phalloides
- First Nature: Amanita phalloides, Deathcap
Last checked: 9 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Write to us.