Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Agaricales OrderFruiting body containing fibers (usually in the stalk)
Agaricus GenusGills free
Spore print chocolate brown
Annulus almost always present, usually membranous
The gills are usually pink or silvery-grey at first, but are colored chocolate brown at maturity from the developing spores
The cap and stalk are usually some sort of white or greyish brown, but may have fibrils or scales that are darker (like the portobello)
Growing on the ground, wood chips, or other organic debris
Bitorques Section
Diagnosis
- No color-changing reactions.
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Often fruiting in poor, dry, pebbly soil.
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Flesh often very hard (like a carrot).
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Annulus is caligate and single-layered
Narrow down your identification:
Agaricus bitorquisCap up to 6" across; glabrous; margin inrolled when young, often extending beyond the gills in maturity
Ring often pulling away from the stalk at its top edge and its bottom edge, often flaring
Usually barely breaking the surface of the ground
