Habitat
This mushroom grows on soil, primarily in woodland environments and often among grass or in shaded areas beneath hedges. It shows a preference for calcareous ground but is occasionally found on dunes or bare soil along roadsides under overhanging trees. It typically appears in groups or troops.
Photos
Appearance
- Cap
- 5 to 10 cm in diameter; starting hemispherical and maturing to convex-flattened, often with a broad central bump; surface is densely covered in small, flattened grey-brown scales.
- Stem
- 5 to 9 cm long; slender and mostly equal in width or slightly tapering upward with a bulbous base; surface is silky smooth but becomes sparsely scaly toward the bottom; features a large, fragile, spreading ring that hangs downward.
- Gills
- Free from the stem and crowded together; transitioning in color from whitish-pink to pink, and eventually to blackish-brown.
- Flesh
- Initially white, but quickly stains a bright chrome yellow or yellow-brown, particularly at the base of the stem when cut or bruised.
- Spore print
- Brown.
- Odor
- Strong and unpleasant; smelling of phenol, ink, or metal filings, which becomes more pronounced as burning plastic when heated.
Sporecast is better in the app
Plan ahead with 10-day forecasts, see what people are finding nearby, get photo IDs, and track your finds.
Edibility
Eating this mushroom causes the same toxic reactions as the Yellow Stainer. It is characterized by an unpleasant ink or phenol aroma that smells like burning plastic when cooked, and its flesh stains bright chrome yellow in the stem base. It may be confused with other brown-scaled Agaricus species.
Misidentification can be fatal. Never eat a mushroom unless you're 100% sure. This information may be inaccurate. Always consult multiple sources.
Nutrient Source
SaprotrophicIt obtains nutrients by decomposing dead organic matter found in the soil or on decaying wood.
Common Names
- Danish
- Perlehøne-champignon
- Dutch
- Parelhoenchampignon
- English
- Inky Mushroom
- Finnish
- helmiherkkusieni
- French
- Agaric pintade
- German
- Perlhuhn-Egerling
- Norwegian Bokmål
- perlehønesjampinjong
- Norwegian Nynorsk
- perlehønesjampinjong
- Swedish
- pärlchampinjon, pärlhönschampinjon
- Welsh
- Madarch Llwyd-Ddu
Synonyms
- Agaricus lepiotoides
- Agaricus meleagris
- Agaricus meleagris
- Agaricus praeclaresquamosus
- Agaricus preclavesquamosus
- Psalliota meleagris