What is it? With pics

Ok, I know they are mushrooms. And I know they are not psyloscibin which are the only ones I can identify thanks to a misspent youth.

So, what are they? Can they be eaten? Are they worth harvesting? The reason I ask is they have been showing up in my front yard for a couple weeks now in clusters of 2, 3 or 4. The caps are pretty large. If it helps they seem to be under the spread of a 25 foot pine tree near my roses. Thanks for helping
bob

Yo Bob

Wasn't Janet Jackson sporting one of these at last years superbowl ?

John

Hi, Bob

You seem to have american parasols, scientifically known as Lepiota americana. The genus Lepiota is distinguished by free gills (that is, they stop before they reach the stem), a ring, white spores, no basal features, and scales that are part of the cap - - that is, if you try to peel the scales away from the cap, flesh from the cap gets torn up with them. The similar-looking genus Amanita has a cup or scales at the base of the stalk, and cap scales that peel away cleanly. Those are very poisonous, accounting for 90% of all the mushroom fatalities in the US. Many of the small Lepiotas are deadly, too; but most of the big ones are tasty edibles! (That was ordered to make you cautious)

L. americana is distinguished from the others by bruising maroon (as in your photo) and having a stalk that is fatter in the middle than at either end. It's quite delicious sauteed in butter, but yours seem to have "gone by". Give me a call when they come up again, and we'll make an appointment to have me check them out and confirm their identity.

L. americana is listed as "common" in most books, but I had never seen them until a few came up in Hyde Park about six years ago. I got very excited and took almost a dozen photographs of them. Now they're everywhere in quantity, and probably the most common good edible in the city proper, since they'll grow anywhere that there's wood chip mulch. The stalk shape and color change are quite distinctive. Our local version, when fresh, bruises yellow, and changes (over about ten minutes) to purple and then the "orthodox" maroon. Someday, someone will get around to naming it as a new species. Until then, it just makes it easier to identify...

JSM wrote:Yo Bob

Wasn't Janet Jackson sporting one of these at last years superbowl ?

John

Haha!, I had to take a second look at the pictures to get it. I think with a little cropping I could end up with a $500,000 fine myself.


MycoMan
Thanks very much for clueing me in. This batch of mushrooms did look a bit wilted, and I am glad to hear that according to what I have depicted they shouldnt kill anyone. But like most folks I would never eat a wild shroom unless I was with someone who could positivley identify it or would try it first

Can I expect to see more this season? IS there anything I can do to grow more of them?
thanks very much for the education

bob

MycoMan wrote:You seem to have american parasols, scientifically known as Lepiota americana. The genus Lepiota is distinguished...

That's awesome, MycoMan. It's hard for me to get over just how awesome it is that someone can post a few pictures to this site and get such a detailed answer. (Seriously.) Now I gotta get me a cheap digital camera and grab some fungal photos. Thanks for the post.

--Dan the FungusMan (well, not really... it just sounded pretty good)

MycoMan - Leon,

I am stunned to find you finally posting on LTHforum. It's about time.

Regards,