Volvariella Volvacea

Volvariella volvacea (also known as paddy straw mushroom or straw mushroom; syn. Volvaria volvacea, Agaricus volvaceus, Amanita virgata, Vaginata virgata) is a species of edible mushroom cultivated throughout East and Southeast Asia and used extensively in Asian cuisines. In Chinese, they are called cǎogū (草菇, "straw mushroom"), in the Philippines they are called kabuteng saging (mushroom from banana), in Thai they are called hed fang (เห็ดฟาง), and in Vietnamese they are called nấm rơm.

They are often available fresh in Asia, but are more frequently found in canned or dried forms outside their nations of cultivation.

Straw mushrooms are grown on rice straw beds and picked immature, during the button or egg phase and before the veil ruptures. They are adaptable and take four to five days to mature, and are most successfully grown in subtropical climates with high annual rainfall. No record has been found of their cultivation before the 19th century.

They resemble poisonous death caps, but can be distinguished by their pink spore print; the spore print is white for death caps. Despite this fact, many people, especially immigrants from Southeast Asia, where the mushroom is commonplace, have been poisoned making this mistake.