Parasol Mushroom
Macrolepiota procera · Agaricaceae
A tall, elegant mushroom with a snakeskin stem and a cap that opens like a parasol.
Edible. Only pick large specimens with the snakeskin stem and movable ring. Avoid all small white-capped Lepiotas.
Read the full foraging safety guidance.
Season
July to November
Where it grows
- Grassland
- Woodland edges
- Verges
- Parkland
Identification
- Cap
- 10-30cm, drumstick-shaped when young, opening flat with coarse dark brown scales and a dark central boss.
- Gills / pores
- Free, white, crowded, soft.
- Stem
- Very tall and slender, with a brown zig-zag snakeskin pattern and a thick double ring that slides up and down.
- Flesh
- White, unchanging.
- Spore print
- White.
- Smell & taste
- Pleasantly nutty.
Lookalikes
Shaggy Parasol bruises reddish and upsets some people. Small Lepiota species (under 10cm) include deadly ones and should never be picked.
In the kitchen
Discard the fibrous stem. Coat caps in egg and breadcrumbs and fry whole.
Also edible
Penny Bun
Boletus edulis
The most sought-after wild mushroom in Britain: nutty, firm and richly scented, with a pale bun-like cap and a fat netted stem.
Chanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius
Egg-yolk yellow, trumpet-shaped and smelling faintly of apricots. One of the safest and finest edibles once learned.
Field Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
The classic mushroom of unimproved pasture: white cap, pink gills darkening to brown, and a clean mushroomy smell.