Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)

Phylum: Basidiomycota. Class: Agaricomycetes. Order: Agaricales. Family: Agaricaceae

The Button Mushrooms that you find when you are foraging are wild versions of the cultivated Button Mushrooms that you find at your farmer’s market or supermarket. Supermarket mushrooms are cultivated varieties of Agaricus bisporus, it is a mushroom that has had a long association with our kitchens.

Button Mushrooms are found on grass and lawns, especially when the area is well manured. Firm, immature specimens are the best to eat.

Identifying Button Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) – a summary

• The cap starts hemispherical and flattens with age.
• The cap has firm white flesh that bruises light pink.
• Gills are crowded and free from the stem.
• Gills start off pink in immature specimens and become a dark brown as they age.
• Stem is solid and bruises a reddish brown. It has a thick, single ring.
• Odour is pleasantly ‘mushroomy’.
• Spore print is dark brown.

There are several similar wild mushrooms around Gawler. You can find out about them on our Agaricus species page.