How to tell Tawny grisette 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 conical-convex when young, later becoming convex with a low umbo. Color reddish-brown, orange-brown, honey-brown, darker at the center, paler at the margin. Surface smooth, slightly slimy in wet weather. The cap margin has characteristic radial grooves, a diagnostic feature of section Vaginatae.

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: the gills are free, crowded, pure white (not attached to the stem). Spore print white, as in all amanitas.

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 8-15 cm tall, 0.5-1.2 cm thick, thin, slender. Color whitish, with fine lengthwise brownish fibers or a fine mesh. No ring: the key difference from its deadly relatives. At the base: a sac-like, eggshell volva (whitish or with brownish tints), just like the destroying angel's.

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 thin, soft, white to pale cream. When cut, it does not change color. Smell faint and neutral.

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.

Faint, neutral, mushroomy, with no distinctive notes.