Wild agarics
Agaricus spp.
mushroom
⚠️ Toxic look-alike
Never eat this mushroom unless you are certain it is not its toxic look-alike.
When young, white agarics look like the deadly white amanitas (white forms of the death cap, destroying angel, fool's mushroom): these have a sac-like volva at the base of the stem, gills that stay white, and no aniseed smell. An agaric has pink then chocolate-brown gills, and no volva. The yellow stainer, which is toxic, turns yellow when cut at the base of the stem and smells of chemicals. Always clear the base of the stem. Have every harvest checked by a pharmacist or a mycologist.
If in the slightest doubt, leave it. If you feel unwell after eating it, even several hours later, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or 911.
The wild cousins of the button mushroom: horse mushroom with its aniseed scent, pavement mushroom, wood mushroom, scaly wood mushroom, giant meadow mushroom; stuffed, pan-fried or in an omelette.
- Origin
- Meadows, woods and roadsides of the Northern Hemisphere
- Season (United States)
- June to October
- Preparation
- Always cooked, and not in large amounts: agarics contain agaritine, a suspect substance. If you pick it yourself, have the mushroom checked by a pharmacist or a mycological society before eating it.
- Molecules
- Mushroom beta-glucansIn small amounts, not counted Ergothioneine
- Did you know?
- The pavement mushroom grows in the packed earth of paths, and sometimes pushes through the tarmac of a driveway.