Agaricus Mushrooms?

[William]

I've recently been looking  for wild mushrooms and found 3(I had to retreat because of mozzies).The ones on the left I think are prince mushrooms (agaricus Augustus) but I'm not quite sure,I found them next to eachother under a tree (I think it was a pine).Does anyone know for sure?

[Dave W]

I *think* these are a species of Agaricus. 

Here are a few recommendations to keep in mind. 

When harvesting a mushroom for the purpose of identification, try to collect as much of the intact mushroom as possible. Seeing the stalks, the bases of the stalks, if there are rings on the stalks, and other details potentially contributes to a more confident ID.

Photos taken outdoors, in natural light but not direct sunlight, tend to best show color and other details. 

Spore print color can be very helpful.

And one more question about the mushrooms seen here. Do the gills reach the stalk, or are they "free" of the stalk (ie. a small smooth area between the ends of the gills and the stalk)? 

In this case, even if we manage to determine the mushrooms are a species of Agaricus, identification to species is often very difficult in this genus. Some types of Agaricus are edible, and some are toxic. Agaricus augustus is a fairly distinctive species. The caps are large, and feature lots of brown scales scattered across the entire surface, which is whitish beneath the scales. Agaricus augustus smells like almonds. There are reports that this species --or perhaps a very similar species-- occurs in Australia. 

[DufferinShroomer]

Im not agreeing with agaricus on this one. No certain reason really just an overall look. The cap doesnt look thick enough or meaty enough especially around the edges. The stem break doesnt look quite right for agaricus either. Agaricus often breaks cleanly at the cap. The photo looks to show a stem that might be a bit hollow or stringy or something not agaricus like. The photos arent adequate for a positive id but agaricus just doesnt look right to me.

[Dave W]

Yes, there's uncertainty here about identification to genus. I'd still lean toward Agaricus, based mainly on the young gills being whitish with a pink tinge, and the mature gills being brown. But there are other possibilities.

If this does represent genus Agaricus, I doubt the mushrooms are A. augustus. The caps appear to lack brown scales. But, like I wrote originally, need clearer photos showing more features. 

[William]

I don't what else it could be. It also has no rings, no volva and a light brownish volva. It was also growing 1 metre away from a destroying angel(unless there another mushroom which is blanch white and has a volva).

Just now, William said:

I don't what else it could be. It also has no rings, no volva and a light brownish spore print. It was also growing 1 metre away from a destroying angel(unless there another mushroom which is blanch white and has a volva).

 

[Dave W]

 "What else could it be?" There's a boatload on Psathyrella species (dark spores, no volva, often with universal veil remains on the cap), many species of Agrocybe (ring or no ring on the stalk, partial veil usually present at least at first, brown spores), numerous species of Agaricus, each having a partial veil which may or may not form a ring on the stalk, no volva, brown spore print (usually a rich shade). 

Gill attachment is the first thing to learn to observe... free, notched, attached (adnate), decurrent, seceding.

Spore print color is important... white, off-white, pink, yellow, light brown, cigar brown, dark brown, purple-brown, reddish-brown, rusty-brown, grayish-brown, dark grayish brown, nearly black, black... and a few other variations. To best judge the color, take the print on both white and black medium (or aluminum foil is often sufficient). You need a nice thick print to really assess color. Agaricus augustus which I think these are NOT-- has a dark chocolate-brown print. 

Odor can be important.

These features merely scratch the surface when it comes to mushroom ID. Often one makes all of these types of observations and still comes up short of a species ID. (*Usually* this much info gets one to the correct genus.) Chemical reactions and microscopic features come next. Even THIS much data may fall short of providing species ID. Last in the ID progression is DNA analysis. The Kingdom of Fungi features a mind-blowing diversity of mushroom genera/species.

 

[William]

I don't think it would be any Psathyrella species because the cap (probably can't see it on the picture) was quite meaty and around 10cm in diameter. Anyways thanks for your help, this one is left a mystery.

[Dave W]

I agree that 10 cm is very large for most Psathyrella species. (P. delineata gets to be this large, but the ones seen here are not this species.) I think these are probably Agaricus, just not A. augustus.