What mushroom could this be?

This mushroom was found growing on a propety in Kuilsriver by Mr Bruce Bayer who has savoured some of it and although he found it not particularly tasty, he did not get sick, so assumes that it is edible. Would it be possible for you to publish the pictures in Veld & Flora and ask whether somebody can indentify this mushroom. If anyone has an answer, please let Mr Bayer know at mbbayer@yebo.co.za.
Andre Claassens

Marieka Gryzenhout, Ph.D., Dept. of Plant Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, replies:

If the gills remained white and it had a bad smell, it could be Amanite foetidissima or the stinker. Amanita species are usually not good to eat and usually poisonous, I am glad nothing happened. If the gills turned green and it had dark scales especially on the top of the cap, it could be Cholophyllum molybdites or the false parasol, which is poisonous.

Johannes Coetzee, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, replies:

It is always difficult to work from pictures alone and with so little background information. The relatively large basidiocarps and the annulus (ring) which does not seem to be attached to the stipe (stem) and seems to be able to slide up and down the stem make me want to place this in the genus Macrolepiota. I do not have much literature with me here in the office, but if I were to guess: because of the shaggy cap my bet would be Macrolepiota rhacodes (the shaggy parasol), and the very prominent bulbous base probably places it in M. rhacodes var. hortensis. The relatively short stem worries me,however. But these are all just educated guesses. I never want to give a final verdict without looking also at finer detail such as spore morphology etc.