Wood mushroomAgaricus sylvicola

The cap of the wood mushroom reaches 5 to 12, occasionally up to 15 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical or bell-shaped, and with age it opens out to convex and almost flat. The surface is smooth, silky-fibrous, dry, pure white, cream or with a faint ocher tinge; it slowly turns yellow when touched or with age, especially at the margin. Yellowing on touch is an important diagnostic feature.

The underside has gills. The gills are free, not attached to the stem, and very crowded. Their color changes with age: in young mushrooms they are pale pink or grayish pink, later darkening to chocolate brown and almost black. The spore print is dark brown. It's the pink, not white, color of the young gills that reliably separates Agaricus from the deadly poisonous amanitas, whose gills are always white.

The stem is cylindrical, 5 to 12 centimeters tall, white, with a noticeably thickened, sometimes almost bulbous base. Its defining feature is a large, hanging, double-layered ring near the top, left behind when the veil tears. The stem may also turn yellow when touched. Agaricus has no volva, the sac-like structure at the base typical of poisonous amanitas; this is the key difference.

The flesh is white, fairly thin, and slowly turns yellow when cut, especially at the base of the stem. The taste is mild and pleasant, with no bitterness. Its main hallmark is a distinct sweetish aroma of anise or bitter almond, which sets this species apart from its unpleasant-smelling yellow-staining lookalike.

The smell is pleasant, sweetish, of anise and almond, one of the defining features of the species. If, however, the mushroom smells of ink, carbolic or a pharmacy, and the base of the stem turns bright yellow when cut, you are looking at the poisonous yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus), and you must not pick it.