Macrolepiota puellaris

No. Macrolepiota puellaris is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. You can photograph and study it, but picking and eating it are prohibited. If you find one, leave it where it is.

Yes, technically it is an edible species with a pleasant mild taste. But because of its protected status we do not recommend trying it — for cooking, it is better to choose its more accessible relatives in the genus Macrolepiota.

Along the edges of coniferous and mixed forests, in dry meadows, and in parks on well-fertilized soils. It often grows as single fruiting bodies or in small groups.

Isolated finds are recorded in various regions of Ukraine, but the species is rare everywhere. Exact locations are not made public — standard practice for Red Data Book species.

August–September. The season is short and fruiting is episodic — the mushroom may not appear every year, even in familiar spots.

Very rarely. The main peak is late August to the first half of September, when there is moisture after the summer rains.

With slenderer species of the genus Macrolepiota — for example, the slender parasol (Macrolepiota mastoidea). The key features of Macrolepiota puellaris are the pinkish tint the gills take on with age and the radish smell. Ordinary meadow mushrooms also have a similar silhouette, but they have pink or chocolate-brown gills and live in meadows, with no bulb at the base.

In general, the small parasols of the Lepiota family include several small, deadly poisonous species (Lepiota brunneoincarnata and others). In size and appearance, Macrolepiota puellaris looks more like them than like the large edible parasols. That is one more reason not to put it in your basket — even without its protected status, the risk of a mistake is real.