What is the scientific name of a mushroom?

The scientific name for the button mushroom, the most common mushroom in the United States, is Agaricus bisporus. It is a member of the Protista (fungi) kingdom and the family Agaricaceae.

The button mushroom is the most cultivated mushroom species, since it is grown in more than 70 countries. The wild species the cultivated version came from is a small mushroom native to North America and Europe.

This common mushroom can be confused with a young form of destroying angel, a mushroom that is lethally poisonous. However, destroying angel has pure white gills on the cup and the button mushroom has brown or pinkish gills.

Button mushrooms started gaining popularity in the United States in 1926.