Brown Rollrim

Home / Mushroom Guide /

Brown Rollrim

Poisonous

Autumn

Summer

View Full Size Image

The Brown Roll Rim, Paxillus involutus.

This common and deadly poisonous mushroom is thankfully easy to identify.

Mushroom Type
Common Names	Brown Rollrim (EN), Common Rollrim, Poison Pax (US), Cantel Mewndro Brown (CY), Krowiak Podwinięty (PL), Begöngyöltszélű Cölöpgomba (HU)
Scientific Name	Paxillus involutus
Season Start	Aug
Season End	Nov
Average Mushroom height (CM)	8
Average Cap width (CM)	20

Watch our videos on YouTube

Please note that each and every mushroom you come across may vary in appearance to these photos.

Cap

Flattened with a slight depression towards the middle with the edges always rolling under to the gills. Rusty brown with a slimy cap when wet.

Gills

Gills very pale yellow/brown bruising darker. Crowded and running down the stem.

Stem

Pale brown, smooth and darkening on bruising.

Flesh

Pale brown yellow darkening on cutting.

Habitat

Broad leaved woodland, particularly birch and on heathland and grassland including lawns.

Possible Confusion

A distinctive mushroom with some variability. After recent DNA studies mycologists have now divided this mushroom in a group of species, but beside looking quite similar for foraging purposes all Rollrim species (Paxillus sp.) should be treated as poisonous.
The Velvet Rollrim (Tapinella atrotomentosa) is similar but grows on wood and it’s also not considered safe for consumption.

At a first glance it could sometimes resemble one of the Milkcaps (Lactarius sp.) but unlike those it doesn’t exude any milk from the gills.

Spore Print

Burnt brown. Ellipsoid.

Taste / Smell

Do not taste any part of this mushroom.

Frequency

Very common.

Other Facts

This mushroom contains a toxin that can be neutralised by lengthy boiling and discarding the water several times but this does not remove other toxins that can build up in the body over time and eventually lead to a rather nasty death. It is eaten in certain parts of Eastern Europe but still leads to deaths every year there. Definitely a mushroom to avoid.

Despite having gills this mushroom is closer related to Boletes (mushrooms with pores) than other gilled mushrooms.

Back to mushroom guide

18 responses to “Brown Rollrim”

Michelle

October 10, 2018

Brown Roll Rim

While cutting the grass I discovered lots of these under the birch tree. I’ve removed all I spotted. We have two dogs and one of them has been very interested in this area. I know it’s deadly to humans but can’t see anything on dogs. Worried he may have eaten some before I spotted them!
Many thanks

Kenneth Miller

August 28, 2020

If these are accidentally ingested what should you do ?

1. Eric Biggane
  
  September 1, 2020
  
  If anybody ingests what they think are poisonous mushrooms then medical help should be sought immediately, the symptoms of some poisonous mushrooms do not become apparent for several days, allowing the poison to really get to work doing sometimes irreparable damage.
  
2. Jasper
  
  September 4, 2020
  
  Would cross contamination be an issue with these mushrooms?
  I used the same knife I cut a brown roll rim in half with to prepare some COTW.
  The COTW was washed and cooked thoroughly afterwards.
  Just to ease my thoughts more than anything or weather I should seek some medical advice.
  Thank you
  
  1. Eric Biggane
    
    September 5, 2020
    
    You will not be poisoned by using the same knife, you need to ingest some of the mushroom. That said, try to keep your knife clean if cutting poisonous and edible mushrooms.
    
    1. Jane
      
      October 23, 2021
      
      Hello! I’m also a bit worried about cross contamination. I gathered 3 small brown roll rims in a bag (not knowing they were deadly poisonous) and then piled a load of ceps on top and they were in the same bag for a little while. Should I worry?
      
      1. Eric Biggane
        
        November 2, 2021
        
        It is best not to mix poisonous and edible mushrooms but they shouldn’t contaminate each other.
John Colley

September 6, 2020

I too have found a clutch of these growing under my Fir Trees. how do I dispose of them and prevent further growth?

1. Eric Biggane
  
  September 7, 2020
  
  It is difficult to kill off mushrooms without damaging nearby plants and the environment. If you have children you are worried about, education is better than removing the mushrooms, if you are still worried, pull the mushrooms up and dispose of them.
  
Emma

September 12, 2020

We have a cluster of these in our garden, how do we safely dispose please?

1. Eric Biggane
  
  September 21, 2020
  
  I’m not sure how to get rid of them permanently, fungicides can damage the ecosystem of your garden. Place them in a bag and put them in your landfill bin to dispose of them.
  
Paul

September 17, 2020

Do these crack on the cap? I have a nutty fungi, very like this, however it doesn’t bruise, and spores are sienna, it is not sour, but tastes of hazelnuts. I am struggling as I think I have a rhodocybe, but it seems its gills are a little too decurrent, and its spore is the wrong colour!!@ confused. Any help?

1. Jesse Lo Bianco
  
  October 19, 2020
  
  Please do not taste any part of a foraged mushroom that you have not positively identified (or where even look-alikes won’t be highly toxic)
  Unfortunately I can’t help you with identifying your mushroom, but implore you to stay safe on your foraging adventures!
  
Marina Frasca-Spada

October 8, 2021

There’s no particular reason to remove fungi from gardens — no more than to remove, say, fox gloves. Our gardens are full of plants that it would be v unwise (and possibly fatal) to eat, but if you don’t eat them they are completely harmless. And I would not worry about dogs eating them, either. In my experience, as far as fungi are concerned dogs know what they are doing!

M Butler

November 24, 2022

I have a dozen or more fine specimens of the Brown Roll-rim growing within 10 metres of an elderly (60+ years) birch tree.
These appeared in Sep-Nov 2022 in a Cambridgeshire garden, after the Autumn rains had neutralised the effects of the Summer drought.
My interest in these is: does their arrival indicate that the roots of the birch tree are compromised in some way, and could this mark the start of the tree’s end of life ?

Le-Anne Soutter

October 6, 2024

I have these on my horses land how do i kill
off not to have them return? Thank you

1. Eric Biggane
  
  October 6, 2024
  
  Unfortunately it is almost impossible to kill fungi completely as the main part of the organism lives underground. To kill it you would have to kill almost all of the fungi and plants in the area. Fungicides only work on the fruiting bodies not the fungus itself. Brown Roll Rims get most of their ‘food’ from rotting organic waste so if you are in a position to, you can rake the area regularly to take away the rotting organic matter which is food for the fungus and they will find it more difficult to fruit in the area. Horses generally know what they can eat, the main problem is when toxic plants are dried within the hay bales or other feeds.
  
DAVID J JAMES

October 8, 2024

Everything in nature has it’s role. The rollrims also have a role, the clue is in the name, how you pronounce it anyway, not how you spell it.

If you have a poisonous nushroom in the garden, leave it in peace. It has every right to be there. It could be helping some of your trees.

The key is to tell kids not to forage for mushrooms, herbs and berries until they know what they are doing, and teach them to identify the easy ones fiorst, one at a time, just a few every season.

Dogs are not generally interested in eating mushrooms if mine are anything to go by.