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
Hortenses Section
Diagnosis
- Not staining red or yellow (even with KOH)
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Scent mushroomy
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Often browning where bruised or with age
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Annulus persistent and membranous, but only one layer
Comments
Yes, don't be confused: this section is named for its type species, the "button mushroom" of the supermarkets. But this was done when the type species was known as A. hortensis, long, long ago..
Narrow down your identification:
Agaricus bisporusCap up to 6" across; covered with tufts of dark brown fibrils
