BASIDIOMYCETES: Agaricales, Agaricaceae

Yellow-staining Agaricus, Agaricus xanthoderma

Basidiomycetes, order: Agaricales, family: Agaricaceae

Height to 5"

Cap is up to 7" wide, spherical, becoming convex and then flattened with age. Surface is smooth to scaly, white to dull gray-brown, being slightly darker in the center. Stalk is colored as the cap, somewhat bulbous at the base, with a substantial, pendant collar. Gills are free, starting out white and then turning dull pink and finally dark brown. Spore print is dark brown. Flesh turns bright yellow when bruised or cut. The Yellow-staining Agaricus grows in gardens, fields, and urban areas in the Pacific Northwest during the fall and in California during the winter. It is inedible and poisonous. Also known as the Yellow-foot Agaricus.