(23 votes, average: 4.09 out of 5)
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Macro Mushroom
Edible 
Autumn 
Spring 
Summer 
Occasional, but being a large mushroom can often be seen from a distance. Can easily be confused with the Horse Mushroom but both are great tasting mushrooms so it’s not a problem.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Macro Mushroom, Madarch Mawr y Maes (CY), Pieczarka Wielkozarodnikowa (PL), Nagyspórás Csiperke (HU) |
| Scientific Name | Agaricus crocodilinus |
| Synonyms | Agaricus macrosporus, Agaricus urinascens |
| Season Start | May |
| Season End | Nov |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 8-14 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 10-16 but can be found up to 25cm |
Cap
10 to 25 cm when mature. Convex opening out flat becoming scaled and splitting at the edges when mature. Can remains of the veil hanging on the edges. Off-white sometimes with a pale yellow or brown flush.
Gills
Crowded and free of the stem. Starting pale pink and turning to brown then almost black.
Stem
8-14 cm long, 2-3.5 cm diameter. White/cream and covered in floccules below the skirt. The stem tapers towards both the cap and base.
Skirt
Has a flimsy, superior skirt with floccules on the underside.
Flesh
White and firm, flushing red/pink in the stem when cut.
Habitat
Pastures, lawns and anywhere grassy. Growing in rings or sometimes individually.
Possible Confusion
The toxic Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus), but this mushrooms flesh stains chrome yellow when bruised or cut and smells of phenol or Indian ink.
The Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) looks similar but has a smooth stem, unlike the floccule covered stem, below the skirt, of the Macro Mushroom.
Spore Print
Brown. Ellipsoid.
Taste / Smell
Mushroomy with a hint of almond or aniseed. Should be cooked before consumption. Smells of almonds to some, aniseed to others.
Frequency
Occasional.
Other Facts
Even when young these are always full of maggots.
10 comments for Macro Mushroom
Really like the taste of this one
Just eating a huge one now, and tastes fantastic, it was totally free of maggots, amazingly. Great texture and flavour. Seem to be a lot about this year, usually a rare find.
I think I found 2 of these clumped together, they weighed over 500 grams each and the bulbous stem was at least 15 centimeters long.smelled very good, no sign of maggots.
Just found a clump of them. Will have them for supper tonight. No maggots and in beautiful condition apart from the ones someone ground into the grass. Found 15th December 2019.
Can I ask an opinion ?
I have small squat mushrooms white with pink/brown gills skirt really sits on them and short thick stem ….
Clean white when cut with a knife and brownish when left several hours on end And no smell .
Found in Dartmoor in meadow near sheep.
Sorry for the late reply, they sound like Agarics but I wouldn’t be able to identify them to species as smell is an important id for this family. If they smell unpleasant and like ink or phenol then they are the toxic Yellow Stainer, if they smell of aniseed, almonds or pleasantly of mushroom they are one of the edible members of the family. The unpleasant smell is enhanced if the mushrooms are cooked.
Just found a 40 ft troop on a northern Essex airfield, up to nearly 50cms.. look amazing with blushing stems and taste even better, back tomorrow to get some for drying.
Found some specimens in hospital grounds to the North of London, I picked the best youngest one and ended up with about a quarter of it that wasn’t maggotty but the taste is really excellent and strong, especially fried in a little oil and butter mix. The stems blushing red threw me until I chanced upon descriptions of A. Macro. I didn’t detect any urine smell, just very mushroomy (maybe that’s the same thing to some noses!)
Staying in Collon notice these big mushrooms. Checked it out. Wonderful and tasty
These seem to be the commonest agaricus in my neck of the woods (upland, mooredge pasture on acid soils in the South Pennines). A good, tasty one.