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Horse Mushroom

(95 votes, average: 3.69 out of 5)

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Horse Mushroom

Edible

Autumn

Spring

Summer

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The Horse Mushroom, Agaricus arvensis.

A great mushroom with a rich, strong taste and as it can grow so large and in rings, usually provides quite a feast.

Mushroom Type
Common Names	Horse Mushroom (EN), Abrahams, Caws Ceffyl (CY), Pieczarka Biaława (PL), Erdőszéli Csiperke (HU)
Scientific Name	Agaricus arvensis
Season Start	May
Season End	Oct
Average Mushroom height (CM)	10-16
Average Cap width (CM)	10-16

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

Cap

10-16 cm. White, sometimes discoloured grey/brown, can be scaly or smooth. Starting spherical and opening out flat. Can bruise slightly yellow.

Gills

Crowded and free of the stem. When very young the gills are almost white but quickly turn from pale pink/grey to brown in more mature specimens. On unopened caps, the ring while still joined to the cap, looks like a ‘cog wheel’.

Stem

10-16 cm long, 2-3 cm diameter. Smooth and white with a double edged ring, can be finely flocculose toward the base.

Skirt

Superior. Can start fairly large but usually becomes damaged or shrinks to a ring. Has a double edge.

Flesh

White, firm and bruising slightly yellow. The flesh has an aniseed smell.

Habitat

Pasture, meadows, lawns, road verges and parks, often growing in rings.

Possible Confusion

The Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus) but this mushroom stains chrome yellow when bruised or cut and smells of Indian ink, hospitals or iodine and is not edible.
The Macro Mushroom (Agaricus crocodilinus) looks very similar but has a stouter stem covered in floccules below the skirt and more of a bitter almond aroma although some people smell aniseed only. This wouldn’t be a dangerous mistake, the Macro Mushroom is a great edible Agaric.
Can look similar to some of the Amanitas when young and light gilled but the Horse Mushroom does not have the bulbous base or volval sack that Amanitas have.

Spore Print

Dark purple/brown. Ellipsoid. You should scrape your spores into a small pile to get an accurate spore colour.

Taste / Smell

Excellent, this is one of our favourites. The smell of aniseed is a good way to identify this mushroom. Should be cooked before consumption.

Frequency

Occasional and widespread in most parts of the UK, but can be locally common.

Other Facts

In March 2025 the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) added 1000 fungal species to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN (Global) Conservation Status of Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) is: LC – Least Concern, with stable population. For more information, see on the following link.

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16 responses to “Horse Mushroom”

Catherine Davies

August 1, 2019

Just found the Horse Mushroom it in my very isolated garden in the Isle of Harris, delicious! No idea how it suddenly appeared there.

Clare

August 14, 2019

I remember field mushrooms and would like to grow them in a wild area I have. Please help. Thank you so much. Roger

1. Eric Biggane
  
  September 4, 2019
  
  It is very difficult but not impossible to propagate mushrooms. I usually put mushrooms I’m not going to eat that are left over or in poor condition gills down in an environment they like. I’ve been successful about 1 in 500 times with that method! Eric.
  
  1. B.Colby
    
    January 14, 2025
    
    I found them in southern quebec .Great taste ,beautiful sport print. A nice addition to my list!
    
stephen Jones

August 18, 2019

How do I propagate horse mushrooms.

1. Eric Biggane
  
  September 4, 2019
  
  Hi Stephen, it is very difficult but not impossible to propagate mushrooms. I usually put mushrooms I’m not going to eat that are left over or in poor condition gills down in an environment they like. I’ve been successful about 1 in 500 times with that method! Eric.
  
Margret Barnes

August 20, 2019

Thanks for a very helpful demo helping me identify the mushrooms growing on the edge of the woods near my home in Somerset, August 2019. Pretty sure they are young unopened horsemushrooms

Grace Ann Jones

October 11, 2019

Got excited when we thought we had a big crop of horse mushrooms growing in a border in our garden, on closer inspection we now think they are yellow Staines, as when brushed they go yellow and have an unpleasant smell. Very disappointed as this is the second large crop. Having picked and eaten horse mushrooms as a child in our local fields, thought I was on to a winner, sadly disappointed.

1. Eric Biggane
  
  December 18, 2019
  
  Hi Grace, don’t be disheartened, Horse Mushrooms are common I’m sure you’ll find some next season.
  
timothy clegg

August 30, 2020

Hello, I recently came across a good crop of what I took to be either horse or large field mushrooms growing in the open in a field often used for sheep. There were some shaggy parasols nearby, a bit decayed. I picked some of the ‘field/horse’ mushrooms. They did not seem to stain yellow but toward the tip of the cap turned slightly yellow/gold on the skin. I continued to walk and soon came across a large number of yellow stainers growing in clumps and circles underneath trees; these stained yellow immediately on bruising. I am now uncertain whether the field/horse mushrooms I picked may also be yellow stainers which for some reason do not stain yellow, possibly because of their open ground habitat. DO YELLOW STAINERS ALWAYS STAIN YELLOW? CAN FIELD/HORSE MUSHROOMS GROW IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO YELLOW STAINERS? WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS IF YOU MISTAKENLY EAT YELLOW STAINERS ?
Thanks, response much appreciated.

1. Eric Biggane
  
  September 1, 2020
  
  Yellow Stainers do not always stain yellow but will retain a ink or phenol like smell which is enhanced by cooking. They cause alarming symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and sweats but do not affect everybody and a full recovery is usually achieved in a couple of days. Horse Mushrooms can bruise slightly yellow and will grow in the same area as Yellow Stainers, smell is the key identification between these two mushrooms with the Horse Mushroom smelling of aniseed.
  
M Buter

October 18, 2020

These are very common in parks in Berlin. The smell, besides anise, also reminds me of marzipan. I tried a little, and it tasted great. Still, I threw away the lot after reading about its tendency to absorb excessive amounts of cadmium and mercury. From random samples taken in the rural region of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, they measured roughly 60 mg of cadmium per kg (dried) of agaricus arvensis (here’s a link to the research, note that horse mushroom is “Anischampignon” in German: http://www.lvps.de/MBl%2017%20Schwermetalle%201993-99%20ST.pdf). According to WHO recommendation the consumption of up to 0,5 mg cadmium per week is okay, which translates to just about 10 grams (dried) of horse mushroom. They also contain high agaritine levels (although most that you can cook out).

I concluded for myself that, at least in the city, the chance that these are unhealthy isn’t worth the risk. Even in rural areas, it may be advisable not to eat too many of them at one time.

Sam T

October 12, 2022

Found a couple of these in the local park. Left 50% but went back a week later to find the remainder had been mown by the council!

Had an exceptionally lovely aniseed smell and very rich mushroomy taste on toast. Hoping they’ll spring up next year and I can get to them before the council mows!

riffit khan

November 12, 2022

I found a number of the arventis a couple of days ago. The smell of aniseed was distinct. However when I took it home and started to slice it I could no longer smell the aniseed. Is this to be expected? This has been the second time I have had this happen. I threw the first lot away as I wasn’t sure about them. I’m loathed to throw these and I’m hoping you could throw some light on this matter of the smell.
Thank you

1. Eric Biggane
  
  December 16, 2022
  
  The thing to be worried about with Agarics is if they smell of ink, phenol or just chemical like, especially when cooked. They will also yellow in the pan if they are are Yellow Stainers.
  
Alex

October 4, 2023

hi, I’ve seen on your videos that smelling mushrooms is important, for example do they smell of aniseed, mushroomy or inky and horrible. my question is if you smelt a poisonous mushroom, could you sniff up spores, and then potentially digest or ingest them, resulting in poisoning, similar to if you had ate them?

sorry probably a really silly question but one that’s been on my mind

thanks