''Macrolepiota excoriata'' is a

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

in the family Agaricaceae.

Description

The height is . The color of the mushroom is white to cream. The cap is convex to shield shaped, is arched over with a raised center, in diameter, has a brownish center, and has

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

yellow to pale brown scales. The gills are white to cream. The stipe is smooth, cylindrical, has a bulbous base, and has a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

. The

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s are smooth,

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, and

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

. The spore print is white, cream, or yellowish. The ring is whitish to white. The flesh is white,

fibrous Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

, and does not change color. The mushroom is saprophytic. It is listed as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

. The threat to this species is over-growing of ungrazed and unmowed meadows. The species is similar to ''

Macrolepiota procera ''Macrolepiota procera'', the parasol mushroom, is a basidiomycete fungus with a large, prominent fruiting body resembling a parasol. It is a fairly common species on well-drained soils. It is found solitary or in groups and fairy rings in pas ...

'', although the latter is bigger.

Edibility

The flesh is white, tender, and has a pleasant taste, best when it is consumed while it is young. The flesh tastes like

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...

. The odor of the species is weak. The mushroom is similar to numerous toxic species so harvesting them is problematic. It has been advised by the website Memento des champignons (Memento of Fungus) to not collect specimens by roadsides. The collection period for the mushroom is from mid-summer to late autumn.

Habitat

The mushroom can be found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and can be found on the ground, in fields, in lawns, or on roadsides. The species is common in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, even though most books say that it is rare in Guernsey.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2567074 Edible fungi Fungi described in 1774 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Agaricaceae Taxa named by Jacob Christian Schäffer