Horse mushroom or Agaricus comtulus

Cap 6-20 cm across; in young mushrooms firmly hemispherical to egg-shaped, the margin often rolled under. Later it becomes convex to flat. Color pure white to cream, with subtle yellowish tints in old mushrooms; spots yellow to ocher when touched. Surface smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather. Sometimes with fine fibrous scales in the center.

The cap of Agaricus comtulus is small — 2 to 5 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical or convex; with age it opens out flat. The surface is dry, smooth or finely fibrous, white, cream or with a faint grayish-yellowish tint, often darker in the center. It may turn faintly yellow when touched. Its small size and pale coloring give the mushroom a modest, delicate look.

Gilled hymenophore — gills free, crowded. When young — grayish-white, with a pinkish tinge, becoming with age dark brown, chocolate-blackish. Spore print dark brown.

The spore-bearing surface is made of gills. The gills are free, not attached to the stem, and crowded. Their color changes with age: in young mushrooms they are pale pink or grayish-pink, then darken to brown and blackish-brown. The spore print is dark brown. Pinkish young gills set Agaricus apart from the white-gilled poisonous amanitas.

Stem 6-12 cm tall, 1.5-3 cm thick, thick, fleshy, cylindrical, slightly thickened at the base. Color white to cream. On the upper part — a large membranous double ring with a characteristic "toothed" lower edge (like a cogwheel) — a diagnostic feature of the species.

The stem is thin, slender, white, 2 to 5 centimeters tall, often with a slightly thickened base. Near the top there is a thin whitish ring — a remnant of the veil — which can be fragile in small mushrooms. There is no volva at the base — an important difference from poisonous amanitas.

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

The flesh is white and thin, and turns faintly yellow or stays unchanged when cut. The taste is mild and pleasant, with a light anise-almond note. Because the flesh is thin and the mushroom small, its culinary value is modest, so it rounds out a basket rather than forming the basis of a dish.

Distinctly anise-almond, fruity — the most characteristic diagnostic sign. It comes out when you rub the flesh between your fingers. This smell is one of the most pleasant mushroom experiences in field foraging.

The smell is pleasant and faint, with an anise or almond note. If the mushroom smells of ink or carbolic and the flesh turns bright yellow when cut, it may be the poisonous yellow stainer or one of its small relatives, and you must not take it.