How to tell Agaricus squamuliferus from Destroying angel

Cap 5-12 cm across, hemispherical to egg-shaped in young mushrooms, becoming convex to flat with age. Color entirely white, creamy white, slightly yellowish in the center in old specimens. Surface smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather. No scales, no warts, no veil on the mature cap (unlike the fly agaric or Caesar's mushroom).

Cap 4-9 cm across, hemispherical to egg-shaped when young, becoming convex-flat with age. Color whitish to grayish-cream, with fine brownish or gray-brown radially arranged scales, a distinctive feature of the species. There are more scales in the center and fewer toward the cap edge. The surface is dry, not slimy.

Gilled hymenophore — gills white, free (not attached to the stem), moderately crowded. Spore print white. As in the rest of Amanita section Phalloideae, to which this species belongs, the gills are always white and free, even in mature specimens — unlike those of Agaricus.

Gilled hymenophore: gills free (not attached to the stem), crowded. When young they are pink (a characteristic feature of the genus Agaricus, unlike the white gills of amanitas), and with age they become chocolate-brown to dark brown. Spore print dark brown.

Stem 8-15 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical, long, slender, with a sac-like volva at the base (a remnant of the universal veil that looks like an eggshell). Color entirely white. In the upper part — a white membranous ring; firm in young specimens, may disappear in old ones. The stem surface often has thin white flaky scales and fibers.

Stem 5-10 cm tall, 0.8-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, slightly thickened at the base. Color white to cream. A white membranous ring in the upper part, distinct when young; in older mushrooms it may slip down or dry out. Above the ring the stem is smooth, below it has fine lengthwise fibers.

Flesh firm, entirely white. It does not change color when cut (unlike, for example, Agaricus mushrooms, which turn pink and darken). The smell gradually becomes unpleasant, with a hint of stale potato or chlorine — hence the epithet "stinking" in its Ukrainian name. In young mushrooms the smell is still faint, so don't rely on it as the only sign.

Flesh firm, white; when cut it slowly turns pinkish to brownish, especially in the lower stem. This is the classic protective feature of the genus Agaricus against Amanita. In amanitas the flesh does not change color. Pleasant mushroomy smell with an almond note.

Faint and unpleasant, with a hint of old potato, chlorine or fish — especially in old specimens and when the flesh is damaged. Not diagnostic for safety: the smell develops only after some time, and a young mushroom with no distinct smell can still end up in the basket and cause fatal poisoning.

Pleasant and mushroomy, with a subtle almond-anise note, typical of many Agaricus species. It does not smell of ink, medicine or carbolic (if it does, it is the yellow stainer: do not eat it).