Toxic
Green-spored parasol
Chlorophyllum molybdites
The character that does the work
The spore print. Green means this, and a young specimen with white gills looks exactly like the edible parasols.
The specimen sheet, in examination order
01Cap
7 to 30 cm, white to cream with coarse brownish scales, flat and broad when mature.
02Underside
Free gills, white at first, developing a GREENISH cast with age, though young specimens do not show it.
03Stem, and the base
Tall, smooth, with a thick movable double-edged ring. No sac.
04Flesh, cut
White, sometimes reddening slowly when cut.
05Spore print
Green
Green, and effectively diagnostic. Nothing else you are likely to meet gives a green print.
How to take one06Where it grows
Open grass. Lawns, parks, playing fields and verges, often in rings or arcs after warm rain.
When to look
Typically Jun to Oct in the northern hemisphere. Fruiting swings by weeks with rainfall and by a month or more with latitude, so this is when to look rather than when it will be there.
Warm temperate and subtropical regions; the southern and eastern United States especially.
What is worth knowing about it
The most commonly eaten poisonous mushroom in North America, largely because it is big, handsome and grows in the front lawn. Causes severe vomiting and bloody diarrhoea for hours, and hospitalises children in particular. Take the print, on white paper, every time.
Confused with
- Parasol
- Shaggy parasol
This page tells you what to check. It does not tell you the mushroom in your hand is that species, and it cannot. If you are not certain, do not eat it. If you have already eaten something and feel unwell, contact a poison centre and keep an uncooked specimen.
Others in this group