Horse mushroom or Vittadini's lepidella

The cap is 6-20 cm across; in young mushrooms it's firmly hemispherical to egg-shaped, often with the margin rolled under, later becoming convex to flat. The colour is pure white to cream, with subtle yellowish tints in old mushrooms; it stains yellow to ochre when touched. The surface is smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather, sometimes with fine fibrous scales in the centre.

The cap is 7–15 cm across, sometimes up to 18. Young caps are globular or hemispherical, then convex and finally almost flat. The colour is white, cream or ivory, turning ochre with age. The skin is dry and peels easily.

The whole cap is covered in remnants of the universal veil: dense warts, thickest in the centre, and scales that overlap like tiles towards the edge. On young caps the warts are pointed and pyramid-shaped; on older ones they're flatter and cream-yellow or greyish ochre. The edge overhangs the gills and carries hanging scraps of veil; it isn't grooved.

The gills are free and crowded, greyish-white with a pinkish tinge when young, becoming dark brown to chocolate-blackish with age. The spore print is dark brown.

The gills are free, not reaching the stem, crowded and broad, with short gills in between. They start white and become cream, sometimes with a greyish or greenish tint, but they never turn pink or brown like a field mushroom's.

The spore print is white to cream. Under the microscope the spores are amyloid, turning blue-black in iodine.

The stem is 6-12 cm tall and 1.5-3 cm thick, stout, fleshy and cylindrical, slightly thickened at the base, and white to cream. Near the top is a large membranous double ring with a characteristic "toothed" lower edge (like a cogwheel), a key feature of the species.

The stem is 8–16 cm tall, sometimes 20, and 1.5–3 cm thick, white, cylindrical, slightly narrower at the top, firm and solid. It's smooth above the ring, and below it, right from the base, it's covered in bands of pointed, upturned scales. The scales go brownish with age and handling.

The ring sits high, just under the cap. It's broad, membranous, double and white, with no grooves: smooth on top and fluffy underneath. It may yellow slightly when touched.

The base roots into the soil. There's no sack-like volva of the kind a death cap has: the veil leaves only scales like those on the stem, and they're visible only on young mushrooms.

The flesh is firm, meaty and white; when cut, it slowly yellows in the cap and upper stem. It does not redden (unlike A. silvaticus). The smell is distinctly anise-almond, a characteristic feature of the species.

The flesh is white, thick and firm. It hardly changes when cut, apart from yellowing slightly at the stem base. The taste is mild and sweetish.

Distinctly anise-almond and fruity, and this is the most telling feature. Rub the flesh between your fingers to bring it out. It's one of the most pleasant smells you'll come across while foraging.

The smell is faint and pleasant; Italian mycologists liken it to clean laundry. It almost disappears with age, and old specimens can smell unpleasant, with a garlicky note from the gills.