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Amanita rubescens

 
Unlike many Amanita species the Blusher, Amanita rubescens, is edible if well cooked; but, since it causes anaemia if eaten raw, most people steer clear of using it as a food source.

Identification guide

Cap

5 - 20 cm diameter; often brownish-pink but very variable; retaining irregularly distributed, off-white or grey fragments of the universal veil; initially domed, but flattening at maturity and occasionally becoming slightly funnel-shaped. When damaged, the gills and cap flesh turn deep pink or dull red. 

In very wet weather the veil fragments may get washed from the cap, but the reddening of damaged areas is always an aid to identification.

Gills

White, free, crowded.

In mature specimens the gills are often marked with pink or rusty red spots. When handled, the gills very quickly blush pink or dull red.

Stipe

Stem height 7 - 15 cm; diameter 1 - 2 cm; white above the stem ring but reddish-brown, often with deep pink flecks, below the stem ring; the stem flesh bruises pink

The stem becomes hollow with age and bears a hanging stem ring that is quite thin and fragile, usually grooved, and often ragged.

The volva is visible on immature specimens but as the fungus matures the volval remains disappear from the stem leaving a swollen base without any distinct basal rings.

Spore print

White.

Odour/taste

Not distinctive.

Habitat

Mycorhizal with hardwood and softwood trees; particularly abundant in pine forests.

Season

June to October

Occurrence

Very common.

Similar species

  1. Amanita caesarea (Caesar's Mushroom) is rarely if ever found except in southern Europe; its cap is brilliant orange with a striated margin, and the stipe is yellow.
  2. The caps of some samples of Amanita muscaria are orange-brown, but the veil fragments remain white.
  3. Amanita pantherina has a brown cap with white veil fragments; its flesh does not blush pink when damaged.
First Nature Multimedia Guide to Fungi
There is a lot more about this species and hundreds of other beautiful and fascinating mushrooms and toadstools on our CD-ROM for PCs with Internet Explorer. Details...

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