Fungus · GBIF taxon 2526698
Brown Mottlegill
Panaeolina foeniseciiAlso known as Lawnmower's Mushroom, Mower's Mushroom, Haymaker, Brown Hay Mushroom
Haymaker's panaeolus sprouts abundantly in suburban lawns, parks, and pastures shortly after summer rain. Its bell-shaped caps exhibit a striking hygrophanous quality, changing dramatically from dark chocolate brown when wet to a light tan or buff color as they dry out from the center outward. Spores produced on mottled brown gills disperse quickly in breezes before the fragile fruiting bodies wither under direct sunlight.
Lawn MushroomHygrophanousSaprotrophic
Licensed referenceAlan Rockefeller / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Saprotrophic
Predators
- Slugs
- Snails
- Fungus Gnats
ThreatsLawn chemicals and intensive turf management
HabitatsLawns, pastures, grassy fields, manicured parks
Life spanFruiting bodies last 1–3 days
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- OrderAgaricales
- FamilyBolbitiaceae
- GenusPanaeolina
- SpeciesPanaeolina foenisecii
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskHigh
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is high
- Many edible mushrooms have toxic look-alikes; never eat wild fungi based on app identification alone.
- Why it is dangerous
- Contains minor toxins that can trigger gastrointestinal distress, and closely resembles hazardous little brown mushrooms.
- How to recognize a risky encounter
- Recognize the brown hygrophanous cap that dries buff center-out and mottled gills on slender stems.
- What to do
- Do not collect for food, and keep curious pets and young children away from lawn mushrooms.
Responsible observation
- Spore Print: Take a spore print on white paper to observe dark walnut brown to dark purple-brown spores.
- Lawn Observation: Scan grassy yards in the morning following damp weather before heat dries the caps.
Look-Alike (c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alan Rockefeller · cc-by
Lawn Neighbor (c) mycowalt, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by mycowalt · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
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