Parasol mushroom

How to recognise it: parasol mushroom

1. 1

   Cap usually over 10 cm, with brown scales on a pale background and a dark umbo

2. 2

   Stem with a brown zigzag pattern and a bulb, but no volva

3. 3

   Ring thick, double, movable – it can be slid along the stem

4. 4

   Flesh does not turn red when cut

5. 5

   Spore print white

Description

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.

Gills

Gills white or cream, crowded, broad, free – clearly separated from the stem.

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.

Flesh

White, soft in the cap, fibrous in the stem; does not change colour when cut.

Smell and taste

Smell pleasant, sweetish-aromatic, nutty; taste mild.

Where and when it grows

Saprotrophic; edges of broadleaf and coniferous forests, glades, clearings, meadows, parks, roadsides. Avoids acidic and waterlogged soils, likes calcium-rich clay soils.

Where are conditions good today?

Look-alikes: what it can be mistaken for

• 

  Death cap Deadly poisonous high risk of confusion

  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.

  Step-by-step comparison: Parasol mushroom or death cap →
• 

  Panther cap Deadly poisonous high risk of confusion

  Severe poisonings have been recorded from panther caps taken for parasols. The panther cap has white patches (not scales) on a brown cap, a striate cap margin, a smooth stem without a snakeskin pattern, an immovable ring and a bulb with rolls of veil remnants.

  Step-by-step comparison: Parasol mushroom or panther cap →
• 

  Deadly dapperling Deadly poisonous high risk of confusion

  Small dapperlings (cap 2–6 cm) contain the same amatoxins as the death cap. Do not pick “parasols” with a cap smaller than approx. 10 cm; dapperlings have a slender stem and a faint, quickly vanishing ring.

  Step-by-step comparison: Parasol mushroom or deadly dapperling →
• 

  Shaggy parasol Poisonous medium risk

  The shaggy parasol has flesh that turns red/brown when cut (especially in the stem), a smooth stem without a zigzag pattern and coarser, raised scales; it does not smell like the parasol. In some people it causes gastrointestinal illness.

  Step-by-step comparison: Parasol mushroom or shaggy parasol →

In the kitchen

Most often breaded and fried caps (a Polish “kania cutlet”); fried caps with bread; young, closed fruit bodies can be pickled. Also used as a seasoning mushroom. The stems are fibrous and are usually discarded.

Protection and sale

• Species protection: the species is not protected.
• Sale: the species is on the list of mushrooms approved for sale (it may be sold only with a mushroom inspector’s certificate).

Where you may pick mushrooms →