Mushroom ID help please

[wildfoodie]

Hi,

I found this mushroom growing in a field and it does not bruise when cut. It also has a faint smell of nuts but nothing particularly overpowering. The cap is about 8cm across. I did the checks on roger's mushrooms but didn't come up with any positive results so I looked through the visual key and thought it most resembled a Melanoleuca arcuata Rogers Mushrooms - Melanoleuca arcuata Mushroom. However the gills on my specimen are brown, not white as for the Melanoleuca arcuata.






Any ideas on what this is are appreciated.

[mollisia]

Hello,

this is Volvariella gloiocephala. It should have a white volva ("Sack") at the stem base, which probably has been left stuck in the earth.

bestr egards,
Andreas

[wildfoodie]

Thanks very much for the reply - that looks about right. I have another mushroom that needs identifying but instead of creating a new thread and clogging up the forum I'll just post it in this one. I think it's a yellow stainer given the little bits of yellow on it but I just want to check because the yellow only appears on the cap and not when it is cut on the stem. Also note how the gills change from pink to brown as it gets older. The young one is about 5 cm across, the old one about 8.



Thanks again

[thelawnet]

Hi, the best bet for identification of Agaricus xanthodermus, the yellow stainer is to rub at the very base (have yours perhaps been snapped off rather than dug out?) with a coin, it should go immediately yelow. Also if you sniff at it the smell should be faintly of iodine, rather than anything more appetising,

Agaricus arvensis, the horse mushroom, is also one of few yellow-bruising Agaricus species, but does so more slowly.

On another note it is site policy that all images must be hosted on the site, you should upload yours to the 'Image Library' or risk deletion.

[thebeard]

little question here? am i right in thinking that a way to tell between A.xanthodermus and A.arvensis is that the latter only goes yellow on the cap, but the former can discolour anywhere on the body, like the stipe and flesh?

[wildfoodie]

Looking through food for free it seems rather confusingly that the yellow stainer isn't the only one that goes yellow. The mushrooms actually smell rather pleasant so that goes against it being a yellow stainer. I found it in some woodland so maybe it's a wood mushroom. It also looks like a horse mushroom as you said so I'm a bit confused. Such is the nature of mushroom hunting though!

[thelawnet]

Originally Posted by thebeard

little question here? am i right in thinking that a way to tell between A.xanthodermus and A.arvensis is that the latter only goes yellow on the cap, but the former can discolour anywhere on the body, like the stipe and flesh?

the smell is different - iodine vs. aniseed - and the discolouration is instant vs. delayed

[stickman]

I'm no good whatsoever with Agaricus but I know there are about 50 reported species in the UK, several bruising yelow.

This, to me, doesn't much like A. silvicolorwood mushroom or A.arvensis horse mushroom, but could be something else entirely.

I'll let someone (braver than myself) comment further...

Cheers, Nick.

[mollisia]

Originally Posted by thebeard

little question here? am i right in thinking that a way to tell between A.xanthodermus and A.arvensis is that the latter only goes yellow on the cap, but the former can discolour anywhere on the body, like the stipe and flesh?

Hello,

the yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthoderma) and its near relatives are the only agarics which discolours yellow INSIDE teh stem base. In all the edible yellow staining agarics the yellow discolouration is restricted to the OUTSIDE of the fruitbody. So when you have the whole fruitbody, just cut the stem base and look if the FLESH INSIDE becomes quickly yellow. In Agaricus arvensis, silvicola etc. the flesh will stay whitish.
Another thing is that the Xanthodermatei discolour the cooking water yellow. So you can throw a piece of the Agaricus in hot water and watch whether it becomes yellow or not. Also the iodine smell becomes much stronger when heated. Just in case that the stems are missing ....

best regards,
Andreas

[thebeard]

Originally Posted by mollisia

Hello,

the yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthoderma) and its near relatives are the only agarics which discolours yellow INSIDE teh stem base. In all the edible yellow staining agarics the yellow discolouration is restricted to the OUTSIDE of the fruitbody. So when you have the whole fruitbody, just cut the stem base and look if the FLESH INSIDE becomes quickly yellow. In Agaricus arvensis, silvicola etc. the flesh will stay whitish.
Another thing is that the Xanthodermatei discolour the cooking water yellow. So you can throw a piece of the Agaricus in hot water and watch whether it becomes yellow or not. Also the iodine smell becomes much stronger when heated. Just in case that the stems are missing ....

best regards,
Andreas

excellent information as always andreas, thankyou very much