Leucoagaricus barssii

Only if you can confidently identify the genus Leucoagaricus and tell it apart from the poisonous small Lepiota species. If you have even the slightest doubt, do NOT take it. Among Lepiota-like mushrooms there are deadly species. A large size and a broad membranous ring are only supporting features; they don't guarantee safety. This is not a mushroom for beginners.

Size is only a supporting feature: Leucoagaricus barssii is usually stockier, with a thicker stem, while the deadly Lepiota species are more often small, with a thin stem. But the sizes overlap, especially in young mushrooms, so you can't rely on them. This is not a mushroom for beginners. The flesh of the poisonous ones sometimes turns pinkish or has reddish tones; in Leucoagaricus it stays white.

Meadows, pastures, open parks, forest edges, and less often neglected village vegetable gardens. Throughout the forest-steppe and steppe belts, less often in Polissia. It loves soils rich in organic matter. It doesn't occur in typical forests.

From midsummer to late fall: July — November. Peak in September–October. It loves a moderately damp, warm fall. In very dry or cold years it's rare.

Leucoagaricus leucothites (white dapperling) is a more common species; in young mushrooms its gills turn pink. In L. barssii the gills stay white. L. naucinus also has white gills, but a smoother cap. Leucoagaricus barssii is larger than both species.

Rarely. It's mainly an open-ground species — meadows, pastures, the edges of field roads. It doesn't occur in typical shady forests. It's more common in parks with sparse trees and in gardens with lawns.

A young cap with the gills still closed is best. Peel the tough skin off the stem. Bread the cap in flour and fry it in butter (like a schnitzel) or stew it with vegetables. Avoid cooking it with alcohol (in some people it can cause a side reaction — be careful, as with the whole genus).

No specific reaction with alcohol, like the one caused by the common ink cap, has been described for Leucoagaricus. Still, mushrooms are heavy on the stomach, so the cautious approach is not to combine them with alcohol.