How to tell Parasol mushroom from Destroying angel

Cap large, 10-25 cm across. Egg-shaped at first, then opening out flat like an umbrella, with a small blunt bump in the center. The background color is light gray to grayish brown, and the surface is covered with large brown or grayish-brown scales in concentric rings; the center is darker and smoother. The skin peels easily away from the flesh.

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).

Gills. The gills are crowded, thin and free (they don't touch the stem) — an important feature of the genus. White at first, turning cream to yellowish with age. Spore print white.

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.

Stem tall, up to 30 cm high, 1-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, with a bulb up to 2.5 cm at the base (no volva — this is crucial!). Gray-brown with a distinctive “snakeskin” zigzag pattern of darker scaly patches — a diagnostic feature. Near the top there is a fleshy movable ring (you can slide it up and down), whitish above, with a brown edge below.

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.

The flesh in the cap is white, soft, juicy in young ones, softer and a bit limp in old ones. When cut, it stays white and does not change color — an important difference from similar species. The flesh in the stem is tough and fibrous — not edible.

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.

A pleasant nutty smell with a subtle mushroomy note. The taste is mild and delicately nutty — especially when fried.

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.