Assessment Notes

Justification

Agaricus arvesis is a globally widespread edible saprobic fungus and there is no evidence of decline. It can be locally abundant where suitable habitat exists. Therefore, it is assessed as Least Concern (LC).

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Geographic range

This species has a global distribution. It is frequent in most European countries, and parts of Asia and North America. It has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. The area of occupancy (AOO) of this species is much larger than 2,000 km², and its extent of occurrence (EOO) is much larger than 20,000 km².

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Population and Trends

The population size is likely to be very large since this is such a widespread species. There is no indication of any decline.

Population Trend: stable

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Habitat and Ecology

Agaricus arvensis is a decomposer fungus, which is a commonly collected wild edible species that occurs in pastures, seminatural grassland, open forests and road sides. The Horse Mushroom is a large and distinctive fungus in its genus, and may form fairy rings many metres in diameter in permanent pastures.

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Threats

There are no major threats to this species. It is commonly and widely found in pastures, grassy areas and also forests.

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Conservation Actions

No conservation measures are needed for this species since it is widespread and there are no major threats to it.

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Use and Trade

Agaricus arvensis is a commonly collected wild edible species regarded as one of the most delicious edible fungi, although the fruitbodies of this and other yellow-staining Agaricus species often have a build-up of heavy metals, such as copper and cadmium (Gry et al. 2012).

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Source and Citation

Dahlberg, A. 2019. Agaricus arvensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T122090207A222966101. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T122090207A222966101.en .Accessed on 2 February 2025

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• Country occurrence