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Macrolepiota procera

Parasol mushrooms

Parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera): recognising it by its snakeskin stem and movable ring, avoiding deadly small lepiotas and the panther cap, its meadows and edges, its autumn season.

Map of parasol mushrooms today Ranking

Two parasol mushrooms in tall grass, a young one with a closed cap and an adult one spread like a parasol on a long banded stem
Parasol mushrooms (Macrolepiota procera) in grass: a young closed cap and a spread adult, with banded stem and ring. ?Photo Chrumps, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

In brief

In Sporalo, the parasol mushrooms season opens around 29 June, peak season runs from 17 September to 14 November and it ends around 16 December (lowlands, central France). Dates move earlier or later depending on altitude, latitude and above all the weather: growth follows rain and mild weather.

Main look-alikes: Lepiota brunneoincarnata (deadly), Josserand's lepiota (deadly), Panther cap (young) (toxic) and Shaggy parasol (inedible). If in doubt, show your harvest to a pharmacist or a mycological society; if you have symptoms, call 15 or 112.

This page cannot be used to identify a mushroom. If in doubt, show your harvest to a pharmacist or a mycological society; if you have symptoms, call 112 (999 in the UK) or a poison centre. Learn more
Deadly confusion possible. Lepiota brunneoincarnata (Lepiota brunneoincarnata), Josserand's lepiota (Lepiota josserandii): see “Look-alikes” below before picking anything.

Recognising the parasol mushroom

The parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera), also called the tall lepiota, is a large grassland mushroom, easy to spot from afar when mature:

  • large cap, first egg-shaped then spreading “like a parasol”, with a small brown bump at the centre, covered in brown scales on a cream background;
  • very tall, slender stem, swollen at the base, marked with brown zigzag banding like snakeskin, which comes away from the cap like a stem from a ball joint;
  • double, movable ring: it can be slid along the stem;
  • white, crowded gills that do not touch the stem (they stop short of it); white spore print;
  • white flesh, mild nutty smell.

Only large, fully developed specimens are picked, never small or young ones.

Look-alikes

Lépiotes brun-incarnat au chapeau écailleux brun rosé, dont une retournée montrant des lames blanches, sur un sol de parc
Deadly Lepiota brunneoincarnata Lepiota brunneoincarnata

Small lepiota with a cap a few centimetres across, pinkish-brown scales on a pale background, smooth stem with a fleeting ring or a mere trace. Lawns, parks and gardens. Contains amatoxins: deadly, with delayed signs. Only large specimens with a banded stem and movable ring are parasol mushrooms.

?Photo Strobilomyces, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Groupe de petites lépiotes au chapeau rosé écailleux dans l'herbe et la litière
Deadly Josserand's lepiota Lepiota josserandii

Small pinkish to pinkish-brown lepiota, small scaly cap, thin stem without banding. Lawns and light undergrowth, often in autumn. Amatoxins: deadly. Rule: never pick a small lepiota.

?Photo Strobilomyces, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Amanites panthères au chapeau brun couvert de verrues blanches, parmi des feuilles mortes
Toxic Panther cap (young) Amanita pantherina

When young, its brown cap is speckled with white warts and can resemble that of a budding parasol mushroom. But the stem is white and smooth, with a rolled volva at the base, and gills under a fixed ring. In forests. Neurological poisoning (confusion, drowsiness).

?Photo Tomasz Sobczak, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Deux lépiotes déguenillées au grand chapeau à grosses écailles brunes sur la litière
Inedible Shaggy parasol Chlorophyllum rhacodes

Wide cap with large brown scales, smooth stem (no banding) with a bulb-like swollen base, flesh that reddens when cut. Mainly under trees, in woods and parks. Poorly tolerated by some people; not to be confused with the parasol mushroom with its banded stem.

?Photo Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Simple rule: only eat large specimens with a brown-banded stem and a movable ring. Any mushroom of the same kind with a small cap, a smooth stem or a fixed ring is not a parasol mushroom: some small lepiotas are deadly. At the slightest doubt, do not pick, and have your harvest checked by a pharmacist or a mycological society.

Small lepiotas (Lepiota brunneoincarnata, L. josserandii…) contain amatoxins, the toxins of the death cap. The first digestive signs appear late and can make you think of a simple stomach bug while the liver is already affected: if you feel unwell after a meal of mushrooms, call 112 immediately (999 in the UK; 15 in France) or a poison centre.

Habitat: where to look

The parasol mushroom has no host tree: it decomposes organic matter in the soil (a saprotrophic mushroom) and does not need trees to grow. It is found mainly where there is grass and light.

Which habitat

  • Meadows and pastures, grassy fields, clearings, open undergrowth and light broadleaf woods, track verges, banks, edges, parks and hedgerows.
  • Dense, dark forests, ploughed crops and built-up areas do not suit it.

Terrain and soil

  • No precise altitude or aspect is established by the sources consulted: it follows open habitats, from lowland to hills.
  • According to the summary cited below, rather on siliceous (non-calcareous) ground. Sporalo does not take pH into account for it.

Microsites: where to look

  • Alone, in troops or in circles (“fairy rings”): spot the large parasol caps from afar in short grass, then look around.
  • Woodland borders, clearings and grassy banks.
  • A meadow or edge that has produced may produce again: make a note of the spot.

Caution: deadly small lepiotas can grow on the same lawns and edges. The place is not enough: only pick large, complete parasol mushrooms (see “Look-alikes”).

Season and triggers

A few specimens appear from summer onwards, but the main season runs from late summer to early autumn, after rain and when nights start to cool: public observations in France are concentrated in September and October. It fears frost. Its thin cap dries out quickly: pick it young and eat it without delay.

Sources

The months and periods mentioned are rules of thumb and a summary of citizen-science observations in metropolitan France (GBIF), not quantified results from a study: the site's calculation is based on the weather (see the method). No published study was retained to support figures on the parasol mushroom: this page therefore gives none.

  1. Vellinga E.C., de Kok R.P.J., Bruns T.D. (2003). Phylogeny and taxonomy of Macrolepiota (Agaricaceae). Mycologia 95(3):442-456. doi:10.1080/15572536.2004.11833089: the parasol mushroom (M. procera) and the shaggy parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes) belong to two distinct groups, separated by the structure of the cap and stem and by the spores.
  2. Varvenne D. et al. (2015). Amatoxin-containing mushroom (Lepiota brunneoincarnata) familial poisoning. Pediatric Emergency Care 31(4):277-278. doi:10.1097/PEC.0000000000000399: family poisoning in Marseille by a small amatoxin-containing lepiota, with liver damage; the initial gastroenteritis can delay treatment.
  3. Long P. et al. (2020). Determination of amatoxins in Lepiota brunneoincarnata and Lepiota venenata by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Mycobiology 48(3):204-209. doi:10.1080/12298093.2020.1765718: L. brunneoincarnata contains α- and β-amanitin.
  4. Vendramin A., Brvar M. (2014). Amanita muscaria and Amanita pantherina poisoning: two syndromes. Toxicon 90:269-272. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2014.08.067: panther cap poisoning mainly causes drowsiness, even coma.
  5. Maillot A. et al. (2024). Chlorophyllum molybdites poisoning on Reunion Island. Toxicon 237:107554. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107554: this large green-gilled lepiota causes an irritant gastrointestinal syndrome.
  6. Andrew C. et al. (2018). Explaining European fungal fruiting phenology with climate variability. Ecology 99(6):1306-1315. doi:10.1002/ecy.2237: temperature is the main driver of autumn fruiting.
  7. Wikipédia (French), « Coulemelle » (secondary summary, consulted in November 2026). fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera: saprophyte with no need for mycorrhizae; open undergrowth, light broadleaf woods, pastures, clearings, fields and meadows; troops, fairy rings or solitary; rather on siliceous ground.

In pictures

Parasol mushroom with a spread cap on a tall stem, growing in meadow grass
Parasol mushroom in a meadow, its typical habitat.?Photo Pierre André Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Parasol mushroom with a cap covered in brown scales on a carpet of lesser periwinkle
The scaly brown cap on a cream background, with its central bump.?Photo George Chernilevsky, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Frequently asked questions

When do parasol mushrooms grow in France?

In Sporalo, the parasol mushrooms season opens around 29 June, peak season runs from 17 September to 14 November and it ends around 16 December (lowlands, central France). Dates move earlier or later depending on altitude, latitude and above all the weather: growth follows rain and mild weather.

What can parasol mushrooms be confused with?

Main look-alikes: Lepiota brunneoincarnata (deadly), Josserand's lepiota (deadly), Panther cap (young) (toxic) and Shaggy parasol (inedible). If in doubt, show your harvest to a pharmacist or a mycological society; if you have symptoms, call 15 or 112.

Can Sporalo identify a parasol mushroom?

No. Sporalo measures growing conditions (weather, forest, soil); it does not identify mushrooms. Never eat a mushroom without certain identification. If in doubt, show your harvest to a pharmacist or a mycological society; if you have symptoms, call 15 or 112.