Appalachian Mushrooms. Walter E. Sturgeon
have a partial veil that may form a ring on the stem. Others lack a partial veil and do not have a ring. These are generally long-legged mushrooms that usually have stems longer than the width of the caps. As considered in the key, small refers to caps 3 in. wide or less. Medium caps are 3–5 in. in diameter. Large caps are over 5 in. wide. Keep in mind that these are general guidelines and that there will be some variation.
There are many poisonous species in this genus. Three species have caused many serious and sometimes fatal poisonings. The white Destroying Angel complex, or Amanita bisporigera, is the common one in Appalachia. Less common is Amanita sturgeonii, which is known to have caused one fatal poisoning. The greenish Death Cap, or Amanita phalloides, is rare in the region, but its range has been expanding and may someday become common. Poisoning from these species usually follows a six- to twenty-four-hour delay between ingestion and the onset of symptoms. Liver failure or at least liver damage is caused by the toxins in these mushrooms. Other serious poisonings have been caused by several Amanita species with different toxins, including Amanita velatipes (p. 15) and Amanita muscaria (p. 14).
The species illustrated here show examples of both membranous and friable universal veils. The gray species illustrated here (p. 2) with universal veil warts is undescribed and is related to Amanita velatipes (p. 15) and Amanita pantherina (not illustrated). The orange mushroom with yellow universal veil fragments is Amanita flavoconia (p. 2). Examples of species with a membranous, sack-like volva are the orange Amanita banningiana (not illustrated) and the whitish Amanita sturgeonii (p. 2).
Amanita pantherina complex
Amanita sturgeonii
Amanita banningiana
Amanita flavoconia
Key to Amanita
No ring on the stem
1. Cap bright red to orangish red with whitish warts: Amanita parcivolvata (p. 7)
2. Cap gray with a powdery dusting: Amanita farinosa (p. 6)
3. Cap gray to brownish; bald: Amanita vaginata (p. 5)
4. Cap orange, brownish orange to yellowish brown: Amanita amerifulva (p. 4)
With a skirt-like ring on the stem and a sack-like volva; lacking cap warts
1. Cap white; common: Amanita bisporigera (p. 9)
2. Cap white with brownish or olivaceous tints in age; uncommon: Amanita sturgeonii (p. 2)
3. Cap red to orange: Amanita jacksonii (p. 8)
With a skirt-like ring on the stem and warts or patches on the cap
1. Cap small to medium, yellowish orange; striate; stem with a collared bulb: Amanita frostiana (p. 13)
2. Cap small to medium; yellowish orange; not striate; stem lacking a collar: Amanita flavoconia (p. 2)
3. Cap medium to large; yellowish orange; stem base usually with 2–3 rings of tissue: Amanita muscaria (p. 14)
4. Cap medium to large; cream to tan or whitish; stem base with a collar: Amanita velatipes (p. 15)
5. Cap medium to large; brown or white; stem with a prominent bulb that often has a vertical cleft; crushed flesh smells similar to raw potatoes: Amanita brunnescens (p. 16)
6. Cap medium to large; brownish to whitish; stem bulb inconspicuous; crushed flesh smells sweet or fruity: Amanita submaculata (p. 17)
7. Cap medium to large; with sordid reddish brown stains; odor not distinctive: Amanita rubescens (p. 18)
8. Cap small to medium; white with numerous warts; stem bulb prominent: Amanita abrupta (p. 19)
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita amerifulva Tulloss nom. prov.
MISAPPLIED NAMES: Amanita fulva Fr., Amanitopsis fulva (Fr.) W. G. Sm.
COMMON NAME: Tawny Grisette
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; deep orangish brown at first, becoming yellowish brown, paler to whitish near the prominently striate margin, remaining brownish over the broadly umbonate disc; convex to broadly convex, becoming nearly flat; surface bald; viscid when wet
FLESH: White, sometimes tinted orange near the cap cuticle, unchanging when bruised; thin; soft; odor and taste not distinctive
GILLS: Whitish; free or barely reaching the stem; close; edges even; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 5 in. long; whitish to pale brownish; equal or enlarged downward; base with a whitish to tawny-brown sack-like volval surface bald to slightly hairy; no ring
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal on soil, humus, moss, or on very rotten wood in a variety of habitats from bogs to upland forests; associated trees include hemlock, pines, and beech; summer and fall; common
EDIBILITY: Although edible, consuming any Amanita is discouraged until one has much experience identifying mushrooms. Its flavor is mild and rather uninteresting
COMMENTS: Technically our Tawny Grisette does not have an official name. It has been provisionally named Amanita amerifulva by North American Amanita expert, Rodham Tulloss. For years it and other look-alike species have been called Amanita fulva, which is a name belonging to a similar European species. As with so many mushrooms, there are closely related yet different species that have been lumped together in the past. Until officially described and published, the current name for the species shown here is temporary until a description and new name is proposed and accepted.