Scaly Agaricus

?Agaricus subrutilescens

Description:

Found in clusters these were each about 90mm diameter; high domed caps cream with fibrous brown scales; white rim at margin; stipe thick, straight some pink tint near top and with a ring half way; gills dense, notched with an attractive rose pink tint. Slightly fruity odour. Shaggy towards the stem base. These seemed freshly opened.

Habitat:

In heavy, wet, black woodchip mulch under eucalyptus and acacia (cultivated garden bed) at the entrance to a national park. A very dark location which took some scrambling to get in to. (Woodchip mulch of unknown origin)

Notes:

The pink colour was strong inside opened gills and not quite the same shade as on young A bisporus for example, and darker on the older caps. Looks a lot like Agaricus arvensis which mostly grows in the open in grassy areas and the gills should go from gray to dark brown when aged. I need to find an Australian one that loves hardwoods, leaf mulch and dark places. ..although the nearest match by far is a northerner - Agaricus subrutilescens !!??http://www.mushroomexpert.com/agaricus_subrutilescens.html
UPDATE: Agaricus subrutilescens positively identified via DNA in Selby, Dandenong Ranges October 2017

Species ID Suggestions

6 Comments

Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

Sorted the ID :-)

Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

Thanks GM. I have snapped so many large Agarics in the last few days in all sorts of situations. Heaps of homework to do sorting it out. I have some good Oz candidate names for this as well. But I'm also seeing a lot of introduced ones in parklands so it's a great opportunity to compare. I'm impressed with how they stick to the conditions they evolved for. The foreigners love our manicured gardens and parks while they endemics stay with the old-growth eucalyptus and acacias. Nature is amazing! I'll check those names later today. Thanks also for the clues re odour and stain.

gully.moy 10 years ago

You're correct with Agaricus for sure. Perhaps A. silvaticus or haemorrhoidarius, but I'm not sure of their presence in Australasia. Agaricus species can be very difficult to identify without a microscope but smell and the colour the flesh stains when cut can be important features to record.