horse mushroom vs yellow stainer

[strangebrew]

Anyone got any ID tips for distinguishing between these two?

[naja naja]

The yellow staining

Sry

[strangebrew]

Hehe, that's the thing they can both stain and my nose isn't good enough to pick the phenol unless it's really strong and an older stainer often won't stain much anyway.

[watertrade]

they can be a bit tricky to tell apart, a few extra things to look at.

the yellow stainer has more of a flat top,

the yellow staining of the stainer is chrome yellow where the horse can stain lemon yellow.

the stainer smells more peppery and phenolic the horse mushroom has a aniseed smell.

and the ring left by the veil on the stainer is a single thin ring - where as on a horse mushroom, it has a double ring and is thick.

last but not least, if you get this far.... yellow stainers don't taste very good

good luck

[mutant]

Nice topic, several people I know have sometimes trouble to distinguish the odour with certainty in Agaricus sp. Thus they bring it to me as I have quite an cute sense of smell. I threw out a couple of bad guys from friends baskets twice this year. But even me might sometimes get confused in the begining... I eventually become sure by scratching the flesh and re-smelling and repeat until I get either the familiar aniseed/almond odour or the also distinctive ink/phenole odour of the bad guys...

Tips on checking the smell:

It's always better to try and distinguish the odor right after cutting. If you're getting soil odor too, it's propably because you are smelling the soil on the mushrooms and/or it's base. Clean it, then smell again. If you can't get a strong enough odour, scrash/damage a little flesh. Stems is a nice spot to do this, as it's not the best part to eat anyway. I have noticed that stem's lower part smells more distinct in the bad agaric species... If you brought them home and having second thoughts, you can put a little water on your finger tip and wet the mushroom. Odour should become more intense. If you are still having doubts, scratch away lots of stem flesh and stick you nose in. If it's a bad agaricus, it will remind some paint/phenole/inkish odour... and will be propably stain yellow as well...

Other things to notice:

A.moelleri, propably other bad ones too, stain yellow at the ring too. Xanthoderma family yellows, often heavily especially in the base of the stem, both in the surface and the stem flesh. Browns are usually more dark on xanthodermas, but there are xanthodermas that are creamy/white with not scales/brown spots. Take a bit time and wait for the stem base yellowing to occur.

Also, as previously mentioned, it is said that cooked xanthodermoid agarics have a very bad smell and even one can spoil a dish.

Agaricus silvicola is also edible and very good, especially when young and stains yellow, mostly peripherial to the cap margin. The stem base does NOT stain yellow. But this wood agaricus is not often picked, and rightfully so, as to the experienced eye it could be mixed with some deadly amanita.

[themushroombloke]

hi there, Just thought I'd add a visual or two check this link http://www.mushroomhobby.com/Gallery/Agaricus/

here's a sample of what's on the page(this is a photo of three different agaricus species that look similar found on the same lawn).

or you can go to this link and have a look

cheers! check out my edible mushroom club forum http://australiaediblemushroomclub.webs.com

[strangebrew]

I think what I've been thinking of as a horse mushroom probably isn't according to my books which say a horse mushroom should be pure white with a double ring.

The local one can be a bit brown and scaly and only has a single ring and can get quite large before the veil breaks but tastes really mild and delicious.

I just go by the bugs now, they're never wrong. If they've attacked it it'll be nice to eat, if they've left it alone it'll be a yellow stainer.

[NSF]

I just go by the bugs now, they're never wrong. If they've attacked it it'll be nice to eat, if they've left it alone it'll be a yellow stainer.

 

I don't know about that method, I think this might have more to do with timing more than anything. I've seen Amanita Muscaria attacked by bugs and although after par boiling it's possible to consume it I wouldn't. I suspect the bugs aren't invading with small stoves and boiling up bits before they consume it.