Large. Stately. Scaly. The shaggy parasol is a mushroom that demands attention. The cap is brownish. It is covered in upturned scales. It measures ten to twenty centimetres across. The gills are white. They turn pinkish with age. The stem is tall and ringed. It has a bulbous base. The whole thing looks like a parasol. Hence the name. The structure is imposing. The appearance is distinct. It grows in gardens, compost heaps and disturbed ground. Often in rings. Common in urban areas throughout New Zealand. An introduced species. It probably arrived in imported soil or compost. It has made itself at home in modified landscapes. The introduction was accidental. The establishment was total. The spread is widespread. Edible, but must be cooked thoroughly. Some people experience digestive upset even when cooked. The toxin is heat-labile. This means cooking destroys it. But sensitivity varies. Try a small amount first. The preparation is critical. The risk is individual. The reward is culinary. The caution is advised. The Māori name is not recorded. Another introduced fungus arrives without invitation. It stays without apology. The lack of name reflects the origin. The presence reflects the adaptation. The tradition holds no record. The modern recognition is mixed. It should be distinguished from the poisonous look-alike Chlorophyllum molybdites. This has greenish gills. It causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea. The green spore print is the giveaway. Take a spore print. White means shaggy parasol. Green means hospital. The distinction is vital. The consequence of error is severe. The identification is scientific. Not threatened. Not rare. Just there, in the garden, being large and scaly. That is the shaggy parasol. Big, edible and easily confused with something that will ruin a week. A mushroom for the careful forager. The one who takes spore prints. The one who checks the field guide twice. The effort is required. The safety is paramount. The scales are brown. The gills are white. The stem is ringed. The base is bulbous. The taste is mild. The texture is firm. The confusion is common. The risk is real. The fungus does not care for opinion. It cares for substrate. It finds it in the compost. It spreads in the garden. It fruits in the rain. It waits for the cook. And that seems to be enough.