Volvariella speciosa  has been collected numerous times from piles of sugarcane
refuse called bagasse.  The presence of this species in the Hawaiian Islands first came
to our attention from rumors about Filipino families eating a large white mushroom
collected from bagasse.  After several years of inquiries, we finely tracked down a
specimen.  It is prepared in Filipino cooking in much the same way as the Paddy Straw
mushroom, Volvariella volvacea .  One word of caution:  If you overlook the dark
pinkish brown spores of V. speciosa , the species looks very much like Amanita
marmorata  (complete with greyish pileus disc and white volva), Hawai`i's deadly
mushroom!  In primordium, the two taxa are nearly indistinguishable.