Appalachian Mushrooms. Walter E. Sturgeon
href="#fb3_img_img_d40b7e97-c109-5d68-b9e6-6111e8b893b1.png" alt=""/>
Amanita amerifulva
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita vaginata (Bull.) Lam.
SYNONYM: Amanitopsis vaginata (Bull.) Roze
COMMON NAME: Grisette
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
Cap: Up to 4 in. wide; gray to grayish brown; convex to flat; umbonate; surface viscid when wet, bald; margin prominently striate
FLESH: White; thin, soft; not discoloring when damaged; odor and taste not distinctive
GILLS: White; free; close, becoming more distant in age; narrow; edges even; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 7 in. long; white; tapering upward from a white sack-like volva; solid; surface dry, smooth, or with flattened hairs; no ring
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks and other broadleaf trees and conifers; summer and fall; common in humus, moss, and lawns in parks and wood edges
EDIBILITY: Edible but not recommended owing to possible confusion with poisonous species
COMMENTS: This is actually an apparently large group of many species previously lumped under this name. Much work is needed to sort out this complex. The likelihood is that the species illustrated may someday have a new name with many similar look-alikes. The mushrooms haven’t changed, just our knowledge of them.
Amanita vaginata
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita farinosa Schwein.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: Powdery Amanita
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 3 in. wide; dark gray to whitish gray, at times brownish over the disc; convex to flat; surface dry; center covered with brownish-gray powder becoming thinner at the usually striate margin, which is whitish at times
FLESH: White; thin; soft; unchanging when exposed; odor not distinctive; taste unknown
GILLS: White; barely reaching the stem or free; close; edges flocculose; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 3 in. long; white to gray; equal down to a small basal bulb that is decorated with gray powder; solid; surface bald, smooth to powdery, or flocculose; no ring present
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal; found in association with oaks, hickories, and beech, occasionally under conifers; solitary to scattered in soil, humus, and moss in broadleaf forests, parks, and wood edges; summer and early fall; common
EDIBILITY: Unknown
COMMENTS: This is a small, common Amanita that could be mistaken for a Russula; the gills of Russula species are broadly attached to the stem, whereas the Powdery Amanita has gills barely reaching the stem or free from it.
Amanita farinosa
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita parcivolvata (Peck) E.-J. Gilbert
SYNONYM: Amanitopsis parcivolvata Peck
COMMON NAMES: False Caesar’s Mushroom, False Fly Agaric
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; bright red to orangish red or orange, paler toward the margin; convex to broadly convex, then flat in age with a central depression; surface smooth, striate, and bald under a scattering of white to yellow warts or powdery patches; viscid when fresh
FLESH: White to pale yellow, unchanging when cut; firm; odor not distinctive; taste unknown
GILLS: White to yellow; frequently fringed on the edge and dusted with yellow powder; free or barely reaching the stem; close or crowded; broad; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 4-1/2 in. long; pale yellow, equal or tapering slightly upward from a small basal bulb; surface dry and powdery; no ring is present
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal, associated with oaks and pines; solitary, scattered to gregarious in broadleaf and mixed woods; summer and early fall; fairly common
EDIBILITY: Poisonous
COMMENTS: The lack of a ring and the yellow powdery stem will distinguish this species from Amanita muscaria (p. 14) and Amanita flavoconia (p. 12). It is probably more common in the oak woods of Appalachia than anywhere else.
Amanita parcivolvata
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita jacksonii Pomerl.
SYNONYM: Amanita umbonata Pomerl.
COMMON NAME: American Caesar’s Mushroom
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 6 in. wide; brilliant red, becoming orange to yellowish at the margin; oval becoming convex and finally nearly flat; broadly umbonate in age; surface bald, viscid, and striate
FLESH: Whitish to pale yellow, unchanging when bruised; odor and taste not distinctive
GILLS: Yellow to orangish yellow; free or barely attached to the stem; edges even; covered at first with a yellowish-orange, membranous partial veil
STEM: Up to 6 in. long; yellow with orange to reddish fibers, often in zones; equal or tapering upward; slender; dry, with an apical, skirt-like, yellowish-orange ring; base with a large, white, sack-like volva
VOLVA: White; encases the entire mushroom at first like a chicken egg, then ruptures, leaving a free-limbed sack-like structure at the bottom of the stem; often almost completely buried in the soil; can be appressed against the stipe; contrasts with the yellowish-orange stem
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks, hemlock, and pines; scattered to gregarious; summer and early fall; occasional
EDIBILITY: Edible but not recommended; there are several similar species
COMMENTS: This stunning species is very similar to the European Amanita caesarea, which is a choice edible. Amanita jacksonii differs in having a broad umbo. Although edible, it is not rated as highly as its European cousin. It could be argued that this is the most beautiful mushroom in the Appalachians. Amanita banningiana (not illustrated) is similar but is much less robust and its cap is orange to yellowish.
Amanita jacksonii