How to tell Frayed parasol from Stinking dapperling

The cap is 6–10 cm (sometimes up to 15), hemispherical when young, then flattening to plano-convex with a small bump in the centre. It's creamy white with an ochre or yellowish-brown centre, and covered with small, flaky scales that look like peeling varnish. The edge often has a thin "fringe" of veil remnants.

The cap is 1.5–5 cm across, occasionally up to 6. Young caps are bell-shaped or bluntly conical, then convex, later flattening, often with a low central bump. The surface is dry, not sticky.

The background is white or cream. The tawny, orange-brown or reddish-brown skin breaks up into small scales as the cap expands. They lie in concentric rings and thin out towards the edge. The centre stays a solid, smooth dark patch, and this 'eye' on a pale cap is usually the first thing you notice. The margin is sometimes finely lined.

The gills are free, creamy white and crowded, turning slightly yellowish in mature mushrooms. The spore print is white or pale cream.

The gills are free, meaning they don't reach the stem, crowded, with short gills in between. They are white or cream and darken only slightly with age.

The spore print is white to creamy. Pink or chocolate gills mean it isn't a dapperling but, for example, an Agaricus mushroom. Even so, a white print doesn't make a small parasol edible.

The stem is 8–15 cm tall and 0.8–1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, with a bulbous base. It's smooth and white with a creamy yellowish tint. Near the top there's a white membranous ring, which often falls away in old mushrooms. The lower stem sometimes has a faint scaly pattern.

The stem is 2–7 cm tall and only 2–5 mm thick, even or slightly thicker towards the base, smooth, silky, hollow and fragile. It's whitish or cream, pinkish or brownish towards the base, with white mycelial fluff at the very bottom.

The ring on the upper stem is white, thin, membranous and very fragile. Older specimens often have none at all, so a missing ring doesn't rule out a dapperling. There is no volva or sac at the base.

The flesh is white, firm in the cap and fibrous in the stem, and does NOT change colour when cut. Its texture is uneven: softer in the cap, tougher in the stem.

The flesh is thin and white and doesn't change colour when broken. Field guides describe the taste as mild or unremarkable.

The smell is pleasant and faintly nutty, reminiscent of hazelnut or grain. The taste is mild and sweetish.

The smell is strong and unpleasant: sharp, like rubber, coal gas or chemicals, which is how it earned the name 'stinking'. Some people pick up something fruity or sweetish in it. The smell helps identify the species, but it doesn't make the mushroom any safer.