Horse mushroom or The prince

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 the prince is large, from 10 to 20, occasionally up to 25 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical, almost globe-shaped, and with age it opens out to convex and flat. The surface is covered with numerous small, flattened scales in brown, reddish-brown or ocher-brown, arranged in concentric rows on a paler cream background. The surface may turn yellow when touched. A scaly brown cap on a pale background is a recognizable feature of the species.

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 underside has gills. The gills are free, not attached to the stem, very crowded and narrow. Their color changes with age: in young mushrooms they are pale gray or pale pink, then turn pink and gradually darken to chocolate brown and almost black. The spore print is dark brown. Gills that turn pink and then dark are the key feature that separates Agaricus from the deadly poisonous white-gilled 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 massive and cylindrical, up to 15–20 centimeters tall, white, with a noticeably thickened base. Its defining feature is a large, hanging ring near the top; below the ring the stem is covered with small whitish scales that turn yellow with age and when touched. 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 or pale cream, firm, and slowly turns yellow or slightly brownish when cut. The taste is mild and pleasant, nutty and mushroomy. Its most distinctive trait is a lasting sweet aroma of bitter almond or marzipan that holds up through frying and drying.

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 strong and pleasant, of almond and marzipan, one of the best diagnostic features of the species. If, however, the mushroom has an unpleasant inky or carbolic smell, and the base of the stem turns bright yellow when cut, it is the poisonous yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus), and you must not pick it.