Amanita section Vaginatae - click to expand

The so-called "grisettes". These species have no partial veil (although the powdery grey A. 'farinosa' looks like it doesn't have a partial veil but belongs elsewhere). A. velosa is in this section but sometimes appears to have a partial veil. The volva is a sac. Brown or grey striate caps.

Some of the species that occur in the PNW in this group are not generally well understood. Sometimes the sac volva is white, sometimes it is grey (maybe only on the inside) and sometimes it has rust coloured stains. I have not yet been able to determine how any of these features indicate species yet, as they do not appear to be consistent. Even whether or not the cap is grey or brown does not always help indicate what species you have, as many species are found with both colours.

We do not have the poorly understood Amanita vaginata in the PNW. But everytime a species is found that does not exactly match A. constricta or the A. pachycolea group (and does not match the description of one of the more distinctive, rare, species below) it is usually mislabeled A. vaginata for lack of a better name.

Click on the name of the species, when possible, to bring up the page for that species on Rod Tulloss' excellent world-wide Amanitaceae site, www.Amanitaceae.org

Rare but distinctive species - click to expand These species are all rare, but distinctive enough to be recognizable in most cases, or at least not confused with the multitude of "constricta-pachycolea" lookalikes. Amanita 'velosa' This bright brown capped species often looks like it has a hint of a partial veil. It is very common in California with oak and can also be found in southern Oregon with oak, but it is rare in the PNW. The Oregon sequence is 3bp and 1 indel different from California sequences I have so far. I am assuming there is only one species, but that needs to be verified. Amanita 'velosa' © Daniel Winkler   Amanita populiphila This rare Kansas species with a tan cap and a stem that may widen is found in Idaho under Populus. Amanita populiphila © Michael Beug   Amanita alaskensis n.p. This rare species, found in Alaska, Washington and BC has a dark grey cap and stem, with warts that remain on the cap, unlike most other species in this section. Amanita alaskensis n.p. © Buck McAdoo   Amanita protecta This rare very pale grey, stocky species may also leave warts on the cap. The volval material stains a rusty colour, and the volva is an indistinct area of patches instead of a sac. Described from California under willow, it has also been reported with willow and oak and cottonwood in southern Oregon. We need PNW sequences to verify its presence, as similar local species exist below. Amanita protecta © Noah Siegel   Amanita sp-OR03 A similar rare pale, stocky species with an indistinct volva with rusty stains was found once in Oregon. Amanita sp-OR03 © Richard Tehan   Amanita obconicobasis n.p.   Another rare pale, stocky species, but this one can usually be told by an upside cone of tissue under the base inside the volva, and that part of the volval sac can be carried up by the cap leaving tissue hanging off the margin of the cap as if there was a partial veil. Its DNA has been found in CA and WA under oak. Amanita obconicobasis n.p. © Michael Beug

Poorly understood vaginata-like species - click to expand Easily confused with members of the first vaginata-group, and not much is known about them yet (including how rare they are or are not). They are included preliminarily for completeness. Amanita "sp-NAMA2018-1" One collection had a cap with a metallic colour and sheen, and both collections had white stems. It was of modest proportions. Known from Oregon. Amanita "NAMA2018-1" © Danny Miller   Amanita sp. "NAMA2018-2" This one had an especially brown cap, and an orange stem. The sequence was dirty in places so we'll want more sequences to be sure that it actually represents a distinct species and of its place in the tree. Found once in Oregon. Amanita "NAMA2018-2" © Stephen Russell   Amanita "NAMA2008-ID01" Found once in Idaho. Amanita "NAMA2008-ID01" © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History   Amanita subnigra n.p. This usually dark brown capped species is known from eastern North America and twice from Idaho. Only 2bp different than A. lindgreniana n.p. (next) but to be considered a separate species. Amanita subnigra n.p. © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History   Amanita lindgreniana n.p. This large species also has a dark cap, at least in the disc, and a white, non-constricted volva that may turn rusty. It is known from Washington, Oregon, California and Montana. Amanita lindgreniana n.p. © Sava Krstic   Amanita sp-NW05 is easily confused with A. constricta and A. pachycolea. It is a grey-brown species with large white volval patch sometimes left on the cap, the volva sometimes with rusty stains. We don't have any DNA yet, but microscopic differences have been noted that could indicate it is a separate species. We'll need DNA to help show us if it really is a distinct species or not.

Amanita section Phalloideae - click to expand

This group contains mostly deadly poisonous species. Nothing you can do to these mushrooms will remove the poison (a cyclopeptide called amatoxin) and prevent them from killing you if you eat them. They are recognized by the sac volva (as if the mushroom is sitting in a sac), usually bulbous stem, usually a non-striate cap and partial veil. (But both the volva and the partial veil can fall off).

 

Amanita phalloides

The "death cap" has a yellow to yellow-green cap, although albino versions of this and many other Amanitas have been found. You are more likely to encounter this introduced European species in urban areas, like someone's yard or a city park with exotic trees (oak, chestnut, hazelnut) or perhaps under our native Garry oak. It's becoming more common in our cities as the years go by, but fortunately still rare in the wilderness of the PNW (although it has escaped to the wilderness of California, where their native trees are closer to its preferred European trees that it is used to).

This one species is responsible for about 80% of the serious poisonings and deaths from mushrooms in North America. It should be the first mushroom everybody here learns.

Amanita phalloides © Danny Miller

 

Amanita aff ocreata

This species is pure white, giving it the name the "Destroying Angel". It is an east coast species, and our west coast DNA is different so our species likely needs a new name. There seems to be more than one new species on the west coast, as a California sequence was different than a couple of Oregon sequences. More study is needed, but it is a rare species here usually in the lowlands with hardwoods.

Amanita aff ocreata © Kit Scates Barnhart

Amanita section Caesareae - click to expand

The so-called "coccoras". These Amanitas are considered edible, but can very much resemble deadly poisonous species. Recognized by a sac volva and a partial veil (just like the deadly poisonous A. phalloides) but typically with a more striate cap, non-bulbous stem and thicker sac material that tends to leave one giant eggy patch on the cap. They can get quite large. These are fairly rare in the PNW, unlike the deadly poisonous A. phalloides which is becoming more and more common in urban areas.

This section is named after the famous Caesar's Amanita, the bright orange Amanita that was allegedly one of Caesar's favourite foods, so he decreed that only he was allowed to eat it and anybody else caught doing so was put to death. Locally, they mostly prefer oak but occasionally conifers.

 

Amanita calyptroderma

This quite large fall species has a bright yellow-orange cap. It is a California species that grows with oak but possibly many other trees. It is found rarely in Oregon, Washington and BC under Douglas fir. There have been attempts to call it Amanita lanei or Amanita calyptrata, but those names were never legally published for one reason or another so the correct name for it is Amanita calyptroderma.

Amanita calyptroderma © Steve Trudell

 

Amanita vernicoccora

This quite large spring species has a dull yellow cap. It is also a California oak species rarely found in Oregon and Washington with oak and perhaps Douglas fir.

Amanita vernicoccora © Michael Beug

 

Amanita calyptratoides

This rare species is also described from California under oak, but has been found a couple of times in southern Washington under oak too. It has a more plain brown cap than the other species, is not quite as large, and has a stem that sort of appears water soaked, even when it isn't, and a ring that tends to "dissolve" and so older specimens may appear to be a grisette and belong in section Vaginatae.

Amanita calyptratoides © Cindy Trubovitz

Amanita section Validae - click to expand

Continuing the reputation of bizarre properties in Amanita, this section contains species with hemolytic properties when raw - in other words, they make red blood cells explode, at least in a Petri dish. Recognized by an abrupt bulb at the stem base and usually a coloured partial veil. Parts of these species usually turn red when handled (blush).

 

Amanita augusta

Common. Somewhat resembling a "Panther" Amanita in section Amanita (brown cap with warts) but the warts and the ring on the stem are bright yellow, the stem base is either bulbous or with scales like A. muscaria instead of a collar, and the base of the stem may stain a bit reddish in places. This mushroom has often been incorrectly called Amanita franchetii and Amanita aspera, similar mushrooms from Europe, but our common species was described from California.

Amanita augusta © Steve Trudell

 

Amanita porphyria

Common. Grey or brown cap, grey partial veil, chevron pattern on the stem and subtle blushing on an abrupt stem bulb. Our species is the same as the species described from Europe.

Amanita porphyria © Steve Trudell

 

Amanita novinupta

A small, mostly white, strongly blushing species found under oak and conifers. Described from Oregon and relatively rare. Found in spring. Its name means "blushing bride".

probable Amanita novinupta © Noah Siegel

Amanita cruentilemurum n.p.

Practically identical to A. novinupta, but usually found in the fall with more elongated spores. Also found with oak and conifers. Its name means "bloody ghost". It has been found in California and New Mexico, and turned up once on southern Vancouver Island, so it's very rare up here so far.

Amanita cruentilemurum © Bob Chapman

 

Amanita rubescens

Another rare strong blusher, but this time usually with a brownish cap when young instead of pure white. Its warts are usually a little more pronounced, whereas A. novinupta's warts may appear as soft, cottony patches. Reported under various confiers and hardwoods. Our local DNA is 1-2 bp from European sequences, which probably means it is the same species, but a unique species was described from India (Amanita orsonii) with only 3bp differences so I can't say for certain.

Amanita 'spissa'

This brownish-grey capped species does not readily blush. There will be red stains around insect tunnels, but the stem won't strongly stain from handling nor will the flesh stain strongly after cutting like A. rubescens will. It can be told apart from Amanita augusta, another species that does not stain strongly, by the greyish white veils without any yellow. It is more closely related to A. augusta than it is to A. rubescens. It was found once with exotic trees in Vancouver BC (reported under conifers in Europe) and is assumed to be rare here. As to its identity, other collections with the same DNA have been identified as A. spissa, but in the absense of a type sequence that is not a guarantee. The older Amanita excelsa is said to be a synonym, but collections identified as A. excelsa have different DNA, so perhaps there really are two species, and the one found here was actually Amanita spissa. If not, it is a closely related species.

Amanita 'spissa' © Paul Kroeger

Amanita sections Lepidella and Saproamanita - click to expand

Sometimes not easily recognized as Amanitas, they may represent old lineages before strong, obvious volvas evolved. The universal veil has not developed to leave the same type of material on the cap or bottom of stem. It may simply be a mass of cottony tissues that makes the mushrooms look fluffy, until it washes off. Saproamanita can be recognized by being found far away from trees (in grasses, marshes or desert areas), as they are the only Amanita that are not mycorrhizal, another possible artifact of them being an old lineage. They are mostly white mushrooms, and at least Lepidella can contain deadly poisonous species (Don't confuse with Matsutake! That could be a deadly mistake).

The toxins found in Lepidella are not the same as in the Death Cap, these toxins may "only" destroy your kidneys, not both your liver and your kidneys. Some have created a new genus for Saproamanita, but the necessity of them having their own genus is controversial, so I will refer to them as a section of Amanita. It may be hard to tell Lepidella apart from Saproamanita by looking at the mushroom, they are best separated by habitat - forest versus prairie grassland.

Lepidella - click to expand Amanita smithiana This white mushroom with cottony universal veil material that easily washes off has a tall, spindle shaped stem that gets wider then narrower. No obvious volva. Potentially deadly poisonous. Described from Washington and common at least in BC, Washington and Oregon. Amanita smithiana © Kit Scates Barnhart   Amanita silvicola A shorter and squatter species. May not have the same toxins as A. smithiana. Described from Oregon and common at least in BC, Washington and Oregon. Amanita silvicola © Kit Scates Barnhart   A. magniverrucata This tall, stately species has some seriously giant warts all over the cap and stem that seem attached are not easily removable until the mushroom is old. Described from California with pine (and oak), but rare up here, found once near Portland. Amanita magniverrucata © Ron Pastorino

Saproamanita - click to expand Amanita pruittii Found in very wet marshes away from trees. It usually has a spindle stem like A. smithiana but is not usually as tall. It was described near Eugene Oregon and also found a number of times in California, but generally rare in the PNW. Amanita pruittii © Christian Schwarz   Amanita armillariiformis This rare spring species is found in dry, grassy areas in eastern Oregon and Idaho, as well as Alberta and Colorado. It has a tall, Armillaria-like shape and some salmon pinkish tones. Not usually warty. Amanita armillariiformis © R E Tulloss   Amanita prairiicola This similar rare high desert species is more likely to have cap warts, and doesn't have pinkish tones. It was described from Kansas and is better known from the central US, but has been found in eastern Oregon. Amanita prairiicola © R E Tulloss

Amanita section Amanita - click to expand

None of the above characteristics. Universal veil may leave warts on the cap. Volva is often concentric circles or a collar. Rarely, a furry grey mushroom with no visible veils. Most mushrooms in this group are poisonous as well as hallucinogenic, in a way entirely different from "magic mushrooms" (Psilocybe). The most common symptoms after ingestion are vomiting and other gastrointestinal distress, delusions of grandeur, temporary coma-like state and amnesia. The toxins are water soluble.

 

Amanita muscaria
Amanita chrysoblema

Amanita muscaria © iNaturalist user naomimoriyama1, Amanita chrysoblema © Steve Trudell

Amanita chrysoblema orange, yellow and white forms, © Steve Trudell, Janet Lindgren and Steve Trudell

These are the famous Alice In Wonderland/Mario Brothers mushrooms with colourful caps (red, orange, yellow or white) with pale, removable warts on the caps from the universal veil, or "egg" that the mushroom appears to hatch out of.

The true Amanita muscaria is uncommon in the PNW, usually found under introduced trees with almost pure white warts.

Amanita chrysoblema, our abundant, spring and fall ubiquitous species found under native conifer and hardwood trees usually has yellowish warts (except the white form which usually has no colour in the warts either). What to call it was somewhat of a puzzle. It is too genetically distant from A. muscaria to be considered a variety, although we have some variety names for it. Traditionally, the different colour forms (red, orange, yellow and white) would each get their own variety or subspecies, but now we know there is no genetic difference between the colours, so that is not valid. (It would be valid to give each of them their own form, though. That simply means they look different and does not try to imply any genetic relationships).

First, we have to decide how many species are in the group. There are 4 clades of North American muscaria-like sequences that differ from each other by only 1 or 2 bp in ITS. That is usually not enough to be considered separate species, although that does happen if there are clear ecological, morphological or microscopic differences as well. If they are to be kept separate, here is how they work out:

1. A. muscaria var guessowii from 1933 from eastern Canada (and also the eastern US) is probably in the first clade (described as yellow-orange)

2. A. muscaria subsp flavivolvata from 1958 from California (and also found in the SW and Mexico, but not in the PNW) (described as red)

3. Found in eastern North America, no name attached to it yet, that I can find

4. A. muscaria var alba from 1897 and A. chrysoblema from 1918 from eastern North America (also found in the PNW) (described as white)

Eastern North America probably has examples of three of the four clades, but the only clade found in the PNW so far is clade 4. That does have a valid name, Amanita chrysoblema. Two names were given to white forms, one of them at the variety level (var alba) and one at the species level (A. chrysoblema) so even though the variety name is older, since this needs to be a distinct species from A. muscaria, the newer species name A. chrysoblema is a valid name for our species. Remember, the colour turns out to not matter, so that is a valid name for all of our colour forms.

A. chrysoblema is also the oldest name in all 4 clades, so if they are considered the same, that name should apply to all of them. If they are to be considered different species, then things get more complicated. None of the existing names are distinct species names, they are all varieties and subspecies, so they will all need new names of their own or need to be designated varieties or subspecies of A. chrysoblema instead of A. muscaria. Luckily, here in the PNW, we don't need to worry about that.

We do have a tradition of calling our red forms here in the PNW by the name A. muscaria var flavivolvata and our yellow forms by the name A. muscaria var formosa. If all four clades are to be considered the same species, A. muscaria var flavivolvata is one technically correct name for all of our colour forms, just not the best name (the best name is A. chrysoblema because that name does not incorrectly imply that our species is a variety of A. muscaria. A. muscaria var formosa is a name for European yellow capped forms, but as I stated, likely represents the exact same species as A. muscaria, and is not a correct name for our common local species.

 

Amanita aprica

This common, similar spring species is usually apricot yellow, with something between concentric circles and a collar at the base of the stem, and has a characteristic look like you ironed the warts into the cap. It was described from Washington.

Amanita aprica © Steve Trudell

 

Amanita pantherina/gemmata group

These similar mushrooms can also be found in spring and fall, have yellow or brown caps (a slightly different shade of yellow than A. muscaria and A. chrysoblema sometimes have) and a collar volva instead of concentric rings. We do not have either of these European mushrooms in the PNW, but here's what I have been able to determine about what species we do have:

 

Amanita pantherinoides

Amanita pantherindoides © iNaturalist users loather and cyndean

In Mycologia Volume 4 from 1912, Murrill listed all the known Amanitas on the west coast. Not a lot was known back then, so there are of course many species missing, but I imagine it is likely that the species he does include are common species here. Here are the species he described from Seattle that could represent A. pantherina/gemmata type species:

A. praegemmata - cap only to 6cm, persistent warts, honey-avellaneous (grey- to pinkish- brown) to dark honey on the margin, white partial veil, stem 1.5cm thick, volva attached rim.

A. pantherinoides - cap thick, small numerous warts, honey to dirty cream with brown center, white partial veil, stem 2cm thick, volva entire or undulate free rim

A. umbrinidisca - cap fleshy drying thin, large irregular patches, honey to straw w/umber disc, white partial veil, stem 1-2cm thick, volva sub-entire free rim

In 1977, Jenkins studied the types microscopically and synonymized A. pantherinoides and A. praegemmata, saying they were likely the same thing, our local panther species, with A. pantherinoides being the older name (it was published one paragraph earlier than A. praegemmata). He did not even consider A. umbrinidisca, because he thought it represented a very different kind of Amanita, but subsequently, others have figured it probably is similar to, if not the same species as the others. When we sequenced a couple dozen or so Seattle area A. pantherina like species, they were all the same species (we only have one common species).

What does this mean? If we assume that Murrill did not find something exceedingly rare that has not been found since (and at the same time somehow avoid finding the very common species), and if we assume that Jenkins was right and at least two of his species are the same, I believe Amanita pantherinoides is the correct name for our common local panther species. But I cannot rule out the fact that one of Murrill's species might be our local gemmata-like species. That is a very common species, so why doesn't it appear in his list?

But for now the mycological community has decided to assume that all three are the same and they refer to our panther-like species.

Amanita ameripanthera is another name that is being put forward for our common local species, based on the fact that it is often dark brown instead of the "honey-avellaneous" and "honey to dirty cream" that was in the Murrill's descriptions. But there was a wide variety of cap colours in our sequences, from yellow to brown, and they all sequenced the same, so this appears to be another case of cap colour not being critically important. This would mean that A. ameripanthera does not represent a unique species and the name would not be needed.

Traditionally, it was thought that brown capped species were the panther species, and yellow capped species were the gemmata species (covered next), but that's not the way it works out for the two common species in the Seattle are. Amanita pantherinoides is yellow to brown, stocky, with persistent warts on the cap. Our gemmata species, Amanita pseudobreckonii n.p., below, is usually yellow, slender, and has warts that easily wash off.

 

Amanita pseudobreckonii n.p.

Amanita pseudobreckonii n.p. © Buck McAdoo

This abundant species is always yellowish, usually slender and the warts wash off pretty easily. California mycologists have this tentative name for one of their local gemmata-like species. They have more than one common local species, but since our local species is a genetic sister species to A. breckonii, that particular name may also represent our species. I am looking for California sequences to verify this.

Alternatively, it is possible that one of Murrill's three species is not the same as the others, but represents our common gemmata-like species. If so, that name from 1912 would be the proper name for our species, not A. pseudobreckonii n.p. We will need type sequences of his original 1912 collections, if we can get them, to settle the matter.

 

Other, Southern "panther" and "gemmata" species

In Oregon and California, we have additional uncommon species not yet found in British Columbia or Washington.

Amanita "gemmata-NAMA2018" © Corinne Srsen, Amanita "stocky gemmata" © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History

Amanita "gemmata-NAMA2018" is another yellow, slender species with warts that easily wash off in the gemmata-panther group found in Oregon and California. I don't yet know how to tell it apart from Amanita pseudobreckonii, as you can tell from the fact that I described it in exactly the same way.

Amanita "stocky gemmata" is stocky like Amanita pantherinoides, but is more consistenly bright yellow. It appears to be more closely related to Amanita muscaria than it is to the panther-gemmata group, but it has a collar volva like the latter. It too is found in Oregon and California.

California likely has additional panther-gemmata species in their rich oak forests and other habitats that aren't present in the PNW.

 

Amanita alpinicola

This rare species (at least outside of the interior) is stocky, pale yellow and grows in spring under 5-needle pines. It has a collar volva and also has fused warts that looked like they were ironed into the cap. It's often found partially buried. It was described from Montana and the DNA has been found in Idaho, as well as in WA north of Spokane at 5500' in July. There are reports that it may be in BC and OR as well, presumably inland and at elevation.

Amanita alpinicola © Janet Lindgren

 

Amanita 'farinosa' sensu Thiers

This rare, grey, powdery Amanita looks more like it belongs in section Lepidella than it does section Amanita, but consensus is strong that it belongs here. It is grey and powdery everywhere, with not much further evidence of either a volva or a veil besides the powdery universal veil (the lack of a ring also making it easily confused with section Vaginatae). The real Amanita farinosa from Europe and/or Eastern North America is slender and the cap is striate. Our west coast species, which needs a new name, is stockier and therefore does not have many striations in the cap (striations usually come from thin flesh allowing the outline of the gills to be visible near the rim of the cap).

Amanita 'farinosa' sensu Theirs © Kit Scates Barnhart

 

Amanita aurantisquamosa

This tan coloured species has hints of orange in the scales, irregular patches of veil on the cap and a volva that is somewhat sac-like at first but soon breaking up. It is rare, only known from Southern Idaho and we do not have any sequences of it yet.

Amanita aurantisquamosa © Ellen Trueblood

Limacella - click to expand

Hard to recognize, as the universal veil is a layer of slime, but they can be recognized with practice by the free gills (although not always as obviously free as in other families) and slimy nature, especially on the caps. The species fall into three groups, which some consider separate genera, but I will treat them as subgenera. All are rare.

Subgenus Limacella - click to expand no ring on the stem, the stem is fairly dry - orange and reddish-orange species Limacella 'WA02' This rare, strongly farinaceous species, probably with a dryish stem appears to have a paler, bright orange cap, at least the one time it was found (in Washington). It appears to be fairly closely related to L. glioderma, but is a distinct species. Limacella WA02 © Sava Krstic   Limacella 'OR01' This rare mushroom has a  reddish-orange cap and a strong farinaceous odor and taste. This has been incorrectly called Limacella glioderma (Limacella delicata) in the past but is genetically distinct. The caps should be strongly viscid, but not the stems. It has been sequenced twice from Oregon. One similar California collection has very similar ITS DNA but apparently is distinct in LSU and other genes, and is tentatively referred to by a different moniker, 'CA01'. It seems to be genetically close to L. delicata var vinosorubescens. Limacella OR01 © Noah Siegel, NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History   Limacella MP3955635 This rare, reddish capped Limacella was found once in Washington and there is no data on its odor or amount of glutin, although presumably the stem would be fairly dry. I don't know yet how to distinguish it from L. sp. OR01. Limacella MP3955635 © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History

Subgenus Zhuliangomyces - click to expand no ring on the stem, the stem is fairly viscid - either orange or pure white Zhuliangomyces CO01/WA01 This rare, farinaceous mushroom had an orangish cap and definitely had a very glutinous stem. Found once in each of Colorado and Washington. Although it has been mistaken for Limacella glischra because of the very glutinous stem (even though that species is not farinaceous), it is not closely related to any named species that I know of. Limacella CO01/WA01 © Andrew Parker   Zhuliangomyces aff illinita 'CMP0152' This fairly rare white Limacella has about 10 differences in ITS from Limacella illinita, so probably deserves a new name. It is found in Mexico, Arizona and Washington. Limacella aff illinita © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History

Subgenus Limacelloides - click to expand partial veil leaves a well developed ring, the stem is fairly dry - one very rare whitish pink species Limacella roseicremea This rosy white Limacella, described from Washington, has a very clear, persistent ring on the stem. The partial veils of all the other species are very fleeting and never leave a ring. We need a local collection of this very rare mushroom to sequence. Limacella solidipes (from NY) and Limacella macmurphyi (from CAL) are similarly described without the rosy tint, but we have no sequences to know what they are, if they are different from each other and L. roseicremea, or if they occur here as was once reported. If I had to guess, only L. roseicremea is present here. Limacella roseicremea © Nancy Burnett