Agaricus campestris
| Agaricus campestris | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Agaricaceae |
| Genus: | Agaricus |
| Species: | A. campestris |
| Binomial name | |
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Agaricus campestris L. (1753) |
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| Agaricus campestris | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
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gills on hymenium |
 
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cap is convex or flat |
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hymenium is free |
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stipe has a ring |
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spore print is brown |
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ecology is saprotrophic |
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edibility: choice |
cap is convex
Agaricus campestris is a widely eaten gilled mushroom closely related to the cultivated button mushroom Agaricus bisporus. It is commonly known as the field mushroom or, in North America, meadow mushroom.
This species was originally noted and named in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Agaricus campestris. It was placed in the genus Psalliota by Lucien Quelet in 1872. Some variants have been isolated over the years, a few of which now have species status, for example, Agaricus bernardii Quel. (1878), Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Imbach (1946), Agaricus bitorquis (Quel.) Sacc. (1887), Agaricus cappellianus Hlavacek (1987), and Agaricus silvicola (Vittad.) Peck (1872). Some were so similar they did not warrant even varietal status, while others have retained it. Agaricus campestris var. equestris (F.H.Moller) Pilat (1951) is still valid. A. campestris var. isabellinus (F.H.Moller) Pilat (1951), and A. campestris var. radicatus, are possibly still valid too.
The Latin specific epithet campestris means "of the fields". Common names given to the fungus include "meadow mushroom", "pink bottom", and "field mushroom".
The cap is white, may have fine scales, and is 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to 3.9 in) in diameter; it is first hemispherical in shape before flattening out with maturity. The gills are initially pink, then red-brown and finally a dark brown, as is the spore print. The 3 to 10 centimetres (1.2 to 3.9 in) tall stipe is predominantly white and bears a single thin ring. The taste is mild. The white flesh bruises a dingy reddish brown, as opposed to yellow in the inedible (and somewhat toxic) Agaricus xanthodermus and similar species. The thick-walled, elliptical spores measure 5.5–8.0 µm by 4–5 µm. Cheilocystidia are absent.
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