InedibleBolbitiaceae
Panaeolina foenisecii
Lawn mowers mushroom
The most common small brown mushroom in mown lawns and the usual false positive for liberty caps.
- Cap
- Convex to bell-shaped, 1-3 cm, date brown drying to pale tan in bands.
- Gills
- Adnate, mottled brown with a paler edge.
- Stem
- 30-80 mm, thin, pale brown, brittle.
- Flesh
- Brown. Never blues.
- Spore print
- Dark brown, not purple-black
- Habitat
- Mown lawns, playing fields and grassy verges.
- Distribution
- Worldwide in temperate regions.
- Season
- Late spring to autumn.
- Bruising
- None.
- Odour
- Not distinctive.
Key features
- ▪Cap dries in uneven bands
- ▪Mottled brown gills
- ▪Dark brown, not purple-black, spore print
- ▪No bluing
Field tests
- Spore print colour is the decisive test
- No blue anywhere on the stem
Edibility
Not considered edible; trace toxins reported.
Warning
Constantly mistaken for Psilocybe semilanceata; it lacks the pointed nipple and the pellicle.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.