A-Z: Parasol

[Crundy]

I note in the A-Z entry for the parasol mushroom it states:

"Odour not distinctive"

However, although I've never come across one personally (only a shaggy parasol), I have heard that the smell of parasol mushrooms is like warm milk, and in one book the author states that the odour is so distinctive they could identify it by smell alone. Thoughts?

[fairplay]

It is not known to have any characteristic smells - it's all down to the individual I guess.

Neil.

[Crundy]

I've seen it referenced in a few places now, e.g:

The Mushroom Diary – Wild UK Mushroom Hunting Blog parasol mushrooms

This scaly snakeskin appearance on the stem that helps in identifying it from a Shaggy Parasol which does not share this characteristic. Also note the smell, which is very distinctive (like ‘warm-milk as I’ve seen it written somewhere). The Shaggy Parasol on the other hand has no real strong smell at all.

(Emphasis mine)

Found somewhere else where they refer to it but they attributed it to a shaggy parasol instead. Another ID site said mature parasols smell a little like maple syrup.

[solus]

As far as I can judge, smell is all in the nose of the beholder, as it were! I am particularly bad at smells when it comes to fungi - either they smell "mushroomy" or not, and that's about it for me. I just can't match any of the descriptions given in field guides with any fungus in the field so as far as I am concerned, smell isn't a lot of use when it comes to aiding identification. Even the few Stinkhorns I have found... don't! OK, one did, a bit, but not to the extent the books would have you believe: I had to see it first then be very close to get the perfume....

[jonbem]

From personal experience, last years gathered and dried M.Rhacodes were not particularly strong when fresh, but on drying and storing, did give a good aroma and taste.