Amanita & Friends

Link back to Gilled Mushrooms page.

This set of photos shows the growth of an Amanita. It begins with the button stage, where the universal veil coats the entire developing mushroom. In the first photo, you can see the patches already beginning to differentiate. Next, the cap beneath the veil begins to expand and become exposed. The universal veil begins to break into “veil remnants”. The stalk elongates as the cap expands. The partial veil is a film of tissue covering and protecting the gills during this time, which is also common in many other species of mushrooms. The partial veil can disintegrate and fall away, sometimes leaving behind a “ring zone” with minute traces of the veil. In other cases, it remains as a “ring” on the stalk (pictured second). Not all Amanitas have a ring. Once the stalk has grown and the cap has expanded, the universal veil can also remain at the base of the stalk. In some species, it remains as fragments of tissue and in others, it remains as a cup-like sac called a volva. In the photo and species below (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii) the universal veil does not form a sac but remains as scaly tissue at the top of a bulbous base. See ____ for an example of a volval sac. When identifying Amanita mushrooms, dig up the base rather than “picking” to avoid losing this clue.

Most Amanita mushrooms have gills not attached to the stem, which is referred to as being “freely attached.” Some species are narrowly attached, where the gills are barely connected to the stem. The first photo below is an example of free attachment, where you can see the gills abruptly stop and form a uniform, crisp circle around the center of the cap. The second photo shows gills that could be considered free or narrowly attached, where there is not as much space between the end of the gills and the stem as in the first example, but they are certainly not attached perpendicularly.

Red–orange–yellow Amanitas

**American Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii)**

Notes: has some kind of symbiosis with a red-pored bolete called the Peppery Bolete (Chalciporus piperatus) – not very many observations in NE but it has been observed; Amanita muscaria var. formosa but is an Old World name

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; often fruits in large numbers or alone on the ground; associated with coniferous species, especially White Pine but can also be found in forests with deciduous species like oak, birch or aspen; summer and fall

Cap: hemispherical at first, becoming convex and then flat; surface covered in many white or pale yellow, cottony patches arranged somewhat regularly; margin with short striations; orange-yellow, darker in the center but can fade to very pale yellow or even white; viscid, tacky when dry

Gills: narrowly attached or free; crowded to close – short gills infrequent and irregularly distributed; cream colored with hairy material on the edges

Stem: narrowest at the top of middle; white to yellowish cream; surface longitudinally lined or fibrous

Ring: thin and membraneous, thicker at the edges; powdery on top and cottony underneath – ragged overall
Base: enlarged bulb with rings of scaly tissue around the rim; bright white

Flesh: pale yellow or white and not bruising; [smell]

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Yellow Patches (Amanita flavoconia) has a yellow stem and a smaller, uniformly yellow cap; Amanita gemmata has a sac volva.

**Yellow Patches (Amanita flavoconia var. flavoconia)**

Notes:

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under deciduous or coniferous trees, especially under Hemlocks and Oaks; summer and fall – one of the earliest Amanitas to emerge

Cap: on the smaller size for an Amanita; egg-shaped to convex to flat; small, thin, yellow or orange patches – scattered and falling off – smooth underneath; margin is not usually lined but can form faint lines at maturity; orange to yellow-orange, being more yellow when in direct sunlight; viscid

Gills: free to narrowly attached; close; short gills frequent; white to pale yellow or yellow

Stem: tapers to apex; smooth; entirely yellow except for the base; dry

Ring: skirt-like somewhat high on the stem; yellow
Base: slightly enlarged base; volva disintegrates or stays in the ground when picked; yellow patches from the universal scale are left around the base or on the stem

Flesh: white, soft, cottony; [smell]

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Amanita elongata has a white stem.

Amanita frostiana

Notes:

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under deciduous or coniferous trees, especially under oaks, pines, and hemlock; summer

Cap: convex to flat; surface has yellow-white cottony patches; lined and pimpled margin; yellow-orange with a darker center

Gills: free or narrowly attached; close; gills are finely scalloped or notches; cream-colored; short gills frequent

Stem: light yellow; longitudinally striate and fibrous; viscid when wet

Ring: thin and membraneous; yellow; on the middle or lower section of the stem
Base: the bulb is white with a yellow collar of tissue around the top of the bulb; rounded and with a flat bottom

Flesh: [texture & color]; [smell]

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Amanita elongata has a long, more white-than-yellow stem and a small yellow cap; Yellow Patches (Amanita flavoconia) has remnants of the universal veil but not a collar or defined rim, the cap is all yellow with no darker area, and a yellow stem; American Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii) has scaly tissue but not a collared rim at the base, a lighter white stem, and white patches.

Brown and Gray Amanitas

is very similar but has red-brown coloring; Amanita vaginata var. alba is an all-white, ringless Amanita with a saccate volva.

**Eastern Blusher (Amanita amerirubescens group)**

Notes: huge color variation; Amanita rubescens is the European species

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground; mixed forests especially under oaks; summer and fall

Cap: conical to convex to flat; felty yellow/tan/reddish brown patches crowded on the surface soon spreading and fading to duller tones; margin not lined or slightly at maturity; tan, yellow-brown, red-brown or burgundy – bruising red; tacky

Gills: free or narrowly attached; crowded; short gills frequent; off-white

Stem: equal; white, staining pink, or reddish below ring; raised fibrils and longitudinal striations or splits below the ring

Ring: fragile and persistent ring near the apex; white on top and yellow underneath
Base: enlarged/bulbous base does not have a volva or remnants of it

Flesh: white, discoloring pinkish red especially around invertebrate damage; smell not distinctive

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Amanita rubescens var. Alba has a whitish cap (pictured)

**Yellow American Blusher (Amanita flavorubens)**

Notes: “Blusher of the East”

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under deciduous or coniferous trees, especially under oaks; spring to fall

Cap: convex to plano-convex; surface; margin not lined, or lightly at maturity; yellow-brown cap with small, wooly, yellow patches; smooth and tacky; bruises reddish

Gills: free or narrowly attached; crowded; short gills frequent; off-white

Stem: tapering to apex; white to pale yellow; surface powdery above the ring and fibrillose below it

Ring: persistent, skirt-like, and flaring, collapsing onto stalk; white or pale yellow
Base: bulbous with pink-red staining; remnants of the volva/cup may be present on the base or in the soil around

Flesh: white-yellow, staining reddish pink, especially at the base; sweet smell or not distinctive

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Amanita amerirubescens (Amanita rubescens in older books) also bruises reddish but does not have a yellow cap and its patches fade to a pale tan.

Brown American Star-footed Amanita (Amanita brunnescens)

Mostly White Amanitas

**Poison Champagne Amanita (Amanita crenulata)**

Notes: can be found alongside the Eastern Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii)

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground in pure stands of Norway Spruce, Red Pine, and White Pine but also mixed woods with oaks; fall

Cap: hemispherical or bell-shaped to convex; surface covered in warts not easily lost in rain, colored beige, pale tan or greyish; striated margin; variable color but ranges from champagne or a yellowy-tan, sometimes darker in the center; dull viscosity

Gills: close to sub-crowded; rounded by the margin, standing out below the rim; white, off-white, cream, pale pink, and drying pale orange-tan

Stem: short, equal, maybe tapering towards apex; white to off-white, could be pale yellow; stains brownish with handling; surface powdery above the ring and fibrillose below

Ring: delicate and skirt-like, pieces remain on the cap margin underneath
Base: swollen, variable in shape; volval material is left as a powdery material on the top of the bulb

Flesh: [texture & color]; [smell]

Spore print: white

Look-a-likes:

**White Panther (Amanita multisquamosa)**

Notes:

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; grows on the ground under oaks; summer and fall

Cap: convex to plane and slightly depressed in the center; surface; margin highly lined, almost 50% of the radius; light tan with a bit darker of a center; flattened, pale yellow-brown warts; tacky

Gills: free; close to crowded; short gills present; white

Stem: 3-5in long; white; smooth above the ring and shaggy below; dry

Ring: funnel-shaped
Base: bulbous, pinched-off base – meaning it tapers slightly to a point; folded over collar-like rim

Flesh: white, hollowing stem

Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com): KOH negative to slightly pinkish on the cap surface

Spore print: white

Look-alikes: Amanita velatipes does not have a striate margin;

Eastern North American Destroying Angel (Amanita bisporigera group)

Notes: It has been referred to by the European names Amanita virosa and Amanita verna in the past. There are several “Destroying Angel” species found on the east coast. This one is on the smaller side and there are a few species that are much thicker and larger.

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground in deciduous woods, especially under oaks; summer and fall

Cap: oval, convex, or flat; surface is bare, possibly with a few fragments; margin not lined; white or ivory; dry or tacky, shiny when dry

Gills: free; close or crowded; short gills frequent; white

Stem: 2-6in long; tapering at apex; same coloring as cap; shaggy or smooth surface; dry

Ring: skirt-like and near the apex of the stem
Base: bulbous with a sac-like volva underground

Flesh: white; fragrant smell in older specimens, might be foul-smelling

Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com): KOH bright yellow on cap

Spore print: white

Look-a-likes: Sturgeon’s Destroying Angel (Amanita sturgeonii) is much larger and is pale-tan in the center of the cap and the gills turn brownish with age; the Garlic-scented Destroying Angel (Amanita suballiacea) is very large and robust, smells like onions or garlic, and has a lobed volva that clings to the stalk.