A large, white to gray, sticky-capped mushroom with free gills that turn pink, a pinkish-brown spore print and a sack-like white volva at the stem base. It grows in lawns, gardens, compost, woodchips and other disturbed ground. It was long placed in Volvariella, until DNA work in 2011 moved it to Volvopluteus. Young white-gilled specimens are easily confused with deadly Amanitas.
Edible but watery and poor; does not keep. DANGER: young specimens with white gills closely resemble deadly amatoxin-containing Amanitas (death cap, destroying angels), which also have a sack-like volva. A missing ring does NOT rule out Amanita. Only the spore print separates them reliably: pinkish brown here, white in Amanita. Spore print every specimen. In the US, people have been poisoned by death caps they mistook for Volvariella. If in doubt, do not eat.
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Habitat
Saprobic, on the ground in lawns, gardens, ditches, beaches, grassy fields, compost and woodchip piles, and greenhouses; sometimes in forests east of the Rocky Mountains. Not usually on wood. Alone or in groups, year-round depending on climate; fruiting can be irregular.
Distribution
Widely distributed in North America; molecularly confirmed from Europe and North America. Reported from all continents except Antarctica, but records outside Europe and North America are unconfirmed. Some eastern North American records may be the smaller-spored V. michiganensis.
Characteristics
Cap: 5-10 (-15) cm, convex to nearly flat or broadly bell-shaped; sticky when fresh; bald; white to gray, yellowing to brownish with age. Gills: free, close, white becoming brownish pink. Stem: 6-13 cm x 1-2 cm, tapering upward, white; no ring. Volva: white, cup- or sack-like. Flesh: white. Odor: indistinct or slightly foul. Spore print: brownish pink. Spores: 13-19 x 7-10 um, ellipsoid, thick-walled (MushroomExpert).
