Cap
 |
5 - 12 cm diameter; shiny brown or
grey-brown with a very finely striated margin. The cap is initially
domed but tends to flatten as the fruitbody matures. Pure white remains
of the universal veil are dotted, usually fairly evenly, over the cap
surface. |
Gills |
White, free, crowded and fairly broad. |
Stipe
 |
6 - 12 cm tall, pure white and
with a hanging ring, which is thin and floppy in mature specimens. (The
stipe pictured here is from an immature fruitbody.)
|
 |
The slightly swollen stem base
retains the white remains of the volva, usually as one or more rings or
as a helix above a narrow gutter. |
Spore print |
White. |
Odour/taste |
Not distinctive, but when bruised the flesh
smells slightly of radish. |
Habitat |
Mycorhizal mainly with hardwood trees;
fairly often found under beech. |
Season |
August to November. |
Occurrence |
Infrequent. |
Similar species |
- Amanita spissa (False Panther Cap) is far more common in
the British Isles than Amanita pantherina. Amanita spissa has grey
veil fragments on its cap; on most specimens the stem is stout, and
the stem base does not have a distinct volval gutter.
- The caps of some samples of Amanita rubescens are brown,
but their stems and the cap flesh always turn red when damaged.
|
