Amanita section Vaginatae - click to expand

The so-called "grisettes". These species have no partial veil. A. velosa is in this section but sometimes appears to have a partial veil. The volva is a sac. Brown or grey striate caps. Inamyloid spores.

Species mentioned: Amanita constricta, pachycolea, sp-NW04, sp-NW11, sp-OR01, sp-OR02, castellae, velosa, populiphila, alaskensis, friabilis, protecta, sp-OR03, obconiobasis, subnigra, lindgreniana, pahasapaensis, vaginata, vaginata var alba, sp-NW05, sp-NW09, sp-constricta04, coryli, minnesorora n.p.

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 seem to 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

Some common vaginata-like species - click to expand These species are some of the most common (if still confusing) vaginata-like species. Species mentioned: Amanita constricta, pachycolea, fulva, sp-NW04, sp-NW11, sp-OR01, sp-OR02, sp-constricta04, castellae, vaginata   Amanita constricta CA - This is a grey or brown capped species where the bottom of the volva is constricted against the stem, but other species may also have this feature, so I do not know how to identify it versus some other undescribed local species mentioned below. It was described from California and its DNA has also been found in WA and BC so far. Amanita 'sp-constricta04' - Found twice in OR and once near Victoria, BC, this is a sister species that cannot yet be differentiated except by DNA. Amanita constricta © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History,     A. 'sp-constricta04' © James Holkko   Amanita pachycolea CA group - This is a group of large species, described with a large unconstricted sac volva, but other undescribed species have these features too, and specimens in this group have been found with constricted volvas as well. It was described from California. We have three genetic species in the west, about 3% different in ITS from each other. Amanita 'pachycolea NW04' - the most common one, found so far in OR, WA and BC. Amanita 'pachycolea WI02' - a second species has been found in northern BC, Idaho + Wisconson. Amanita 'pachycolea MX' - found in Mexico. Lacking a type sequence for A. pachycolea, I am assuming for now that it is sp-NW04, but I'm not sure. Amanita 'pachycolea NW04' © Sharon Squazzo,     A. 'pachycolea WI02' © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History   Amanita castellae n.p. - described as possibly being paler than A. pachycolea (light to medium brown, but sometimes dark brown) with a darker ring around the cap near the inside of the striations. Found in WA, OR, CA, and AZ under Douglas fir. One specimen did not resemble its description at all. Amanita castellae n.p. © Jonathan Frank and © Aaron Cena (unsequenced)   Amanita 'vaginata OR01' - usually orange-brown capped, usually with at least a slight umbo and an at least partially constricted, white volva. They seem to be associated with spruce and/or pine. Amanita 'vaginata OR02' - no known way to tell it apart from OR01 yet. Differs by 1% or less in ITS, but shows up as a distinct clade. Amanita 'vaginata OR01' © Danny Miller (2 images),     A. 'vaginata OR02' © Buck McAdoo and Lauren Ré   Amanita 'fulva WA01' - This species is found in Washington and BC so far. It is brown and rather slender, with a paler rim, a prominent umbo and a normal, white, non constricted sac volva that may have rusty stains. It is a sister species to the European Amanita fulva (which is also found back east, but not here out west) and our distinct species has incorrectly gone by that name. It may or may not have the temporary cryptic name Amanita sp-NW11. The DNA matches, but the description doesn't. We need to sort that out, and if this isn't sp-NW11, we need to figure out what sp-NW11 actually is. Amanita 'fulva WA01' © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History

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. Species mentioned: Amanita velosa, populiphila, alaskensis, friabilis   Amanita velosa CA - 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. Our 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 KS - This Kansas species with a tan cap and a stem that may widen is found in Idaho under Populus. Amanita populiphila © Michael Beug   Amanita friabilis EU - a powdery grey species, somewhat reminiscent of A. farinosa, but with warts remaining on the cap. It is only known from the EU. Amanita alaskensis n.p. - western North American collections with the same ITS as A. friabilis often look different, being A. cecilae-like - brown and not powdery, also with many warts left on the cap (unlike most others in this subgenus). However, some of our local collections somewhat resemble typical A. friabilis, and the features seem to intergrade (in the photos, further left looks more like A. friabilis and further right looks more like A. alaskensis n.p., so it should probably be investigated if we do need a new name for our species. Amanita alaskensis n.p. © Buck McAdoo and Sava Krstic (2 images)

White vaginatae - click to expand These species are either normally white, or have been found in their albino form only so far. For some reason, it is common for species in this subgenus to have an albino form. Interestingly, we have not found a grey/brown and a white form of the same species yet, although they commonly exist. They are currently difficult to tell apart without DNA. Species mentioned: Amanita protecta, sp-OR03, obconiobasis, vaginata var alba, pahasapaensis n.p., sp-NW09, coryli, minnesorora n.p.   Amanita protecta CA - This always 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 'vaginata OR03' - A similar pale, stocky species with an indistinct volva with rusty stains was found once in Oregon. We do not know if it is always white. Amanita obconicobasis n.p. - Another always white (although some veil material seems pigmented in some photos), 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 protecta © Noah Siegel,     Amanita 'vaginata OR03' © Richard Tehan,     Amanita obconicobasis n.p. © Michael Beug   Amanita 'vaginata alba Eugene' - a squat species found once near Eugene with a volval patch on the cap and a small, somewhat constricted sac-like volva that stained. It is not known if this species is always white or not. Amanita cf pahasapaensis n.p. - This is a large always white species, first collected in SD and NM, and also found in WA, although one WA collection may have been grey (this needs to be double checked). It has a thin, non-constricted volva, spores (9.1-)10.5-14.0(-15.2) and no clamps at the base of the basidia. Amanita 'vaginata alba Eugene' © Scott Clarke (2 images),     Amanita pahasapaensis n.p. © Brian Luther (2 images)   Amanita 'vaginata NW09' - a very pale species with a texture of kid leather. It is known only from one Oregon collection, J. E. Lindgren 9705. We don't have its DNA, so we can't prove it's unique from the others on this page, but the kid leather texture suggests we give its own provisional number. Amanita corylii EU - one interior BC sequence is very close to the type of A. corylii, a normally grey species where an albino form is commonly found. In fact, Rod Tulloss' site only lists two examples of what the original white collection, Amanita vaginata var. alba might be, and this is one of them. Another species with slightly closer ITS is Amanita minnesorora n.p., with slight differences, so Rod Tulloss is reserving the right that it may end up being a distinct species, and if so, has a name proposed. It has not been reported in albino form yet, but Shannon Berch found a grey collection in BC that Rod tentatively ID'd as A. minnesorora n.p. and not A. coryli. If these are indeed the same species, then we have found both a grey and an albino form of this species in BC. Amanita 'vaginata NW09' © Janet Lindgren,     A. corylii © Mitch Milgram

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. Species mentioned: Amanita subnigra, lindgreniana, sp-NW05   Amanita 'vaginata PNW12' - 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 'vaginata PNW12' © Danny Miller and iNaturalist user eckawahill   Amanita 'vaginata PNW13' - 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 'vaginata PNW13' © Stephen Russell   Amanita 'vaginata PNW14' - Found once in Idaho. Amanita 'vaginata PNW14' © 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, somewhat constricted volva that may turn rusty. It is known from Washington, Oregon, California and Montana. Amanita lindgreniana n.p. © Sava Krstic   Amanita 'vaginata NW05' - easily confused with A. constricta (and possibly the A. pachycolea group and others). We don't have any DNA yet, but microscopic differences have been noted that could indicate it is a separate species. It is a grey-brown species with large white volval patch sometimes left on the cap, the volva sometimes with rusty stains. It is known from 3 collections, one of the CA paratypes of A. constricta, an Oregon collection J. E. Lindgren 9317 and a Washington collection Buck 193#17. No DNA yet, but here's a photo. Amanita 'sp-NW05' © Janet Lindgren

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). Amyloid spores.

Species mentioned: Amanita phalloides, ocreata

Amanita phalloides EU - 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 sp-ocreata01 group - These species are pure white, giving them the name the "Destroying Angel". Amanita ocreata is a California species, and we seem to have additional species in the west too: the genetic species best matching the type collection has been found once in California, during the 1998 NAMA foray. "sp-ocreata01" has been found in Oregon and California, and "sp-ocreata02" has been found in California. These collections were pure white but are more closely related to Amanita phalloides than they are to Amanita ocreata. More study is needed, but they are usually rare species here, found in the lowlands with hardwoods.

Amanita 'sp-ocreata01' © Joanee Schwartz

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. Inamyloid spores.

Species mentioned: Amanita calyptroderma, lanei, calyptrata, vernicoccora, calyptratoides

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 CA - This quite large fall species has a bright yellow-orange cap. It 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 vernicoccora CA - 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 calyptroderma © Steve Trudell,     A. vernicoccora © Michael Beug

Amanita calyptratoides CA - This 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. A very pale almost pure white albino version of this was found and sequenced near Trout Lake WA. The short sequence matched this very well.

This species (and A. tlaxcandela from Mexico) are in their own subsection. I don't get strong support in my ITS only tree for them being part of section Caesareae, but a 2014 3-gene study showed they are with very high confidence.

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). Amyloid spores.

Species mentioned: Amanita augusta, franchetii, aspera, porphyria, novinupta, cruentilemurum, rubescens, orsonii, spissa, excelsa, citrina, sponsus, silvicola, sp-NW10

Amanita augusta CA - 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.

Amanita augusta © Steve Trudell

Amanita porphyria EU - Grey or brown cap, grey partial veil, chevron pattern on the stem and subtle blushing on an abrupt stem bulb. Local sequences match EU sequences.

Amanita porphyria © Steve Trudell

Amanita silvicola OR - A pure white, short, squat, and cottony species. It was thought to be a Lepidella closely related to A. smithiana (because of its white colour, cottony universal veil and poorly defined ring), but its sequence places it here. This explains why it did not end up having the same toxins as A. smithiana. It does have the marginate bulb of section Validae when young, but that can quickly deteriorate. It does not have the usual coloured partial veil of section Validae, but it's not unusual for white species to lack pigment everywhere (for instance, the white version of Amanita chrysoblema ('muscaria') has pure white warts instead of the yellowish warts that the other colour forms have). It does not blush red either. It is common at least in BC, Washington and Oregon.

Amanita silvicola © Kit Scates Barnhart

Amanita novinupta OR - A small, mostly white, strongly blushing species found under oak and conifers. Found in spring. Its name means "blushing bride".

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.

probable Amanita novinupta © Noah Siegel,     A. cruentilemurum n.p. © Bob Chapman

Amanita cf rubescens EU - Another 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 conifers and hardwoods. Our local DNA is sometimes an exact match but sometimes 1-2 bp from European sequences that could be Amanita rubescens, 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 if we have the real thing or only 1 species. We do need confirmation that the European sequences I'm comparing to, which Rod calls Amanita sp-rubescens02, are in fact A. rubescens. The photographed collection has not been sequenced, but seems to match other collections that have been sequenced.

Amanita cf spissa EU - 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 as ours have been identified in Europe as the European Amanita spissa, but in the absence of a type sequence that is not a guarantee. The older European Amanita excelsa is said to be a synonym, but collections identified as A. excelsa in Europe have different DNA than our collections, so perhaps there really are two species, and the one found here is actually Amanita spissa. If not, it is a closely related species. For now, Rod is calling it Amanita sp-rubescens01.

Amanita cf rubescens © Paul Kroeger,     A. cf spissa © Paul Kroeger

Amanita sponsus n.p. - this California oak mushroom was recently sequenced under WA and OR oak. It is a stocky club shaped mushroom with a very subtle volva, staining slowly brownish but not red, but most distinctively, has coarse brown warts textured into the white cap.

Amanita sponsus n.p. © Bruce Newhouse

Amanita 'citrina NW10' - A very pale yellow capped species with a prominent bulb, resembling Amanita citrina of Europe. Known only from one collection in the Olympic Mountains of WA, but this photo of a similar collection from a spruce-hemlock forest in Haida Gwaii, northern BC seems to resemble it. We will see if that is what this is. If not, then what is it? No DNA yet.

Amanita 'citrina NW10' © 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). Amyloid spores.

Species mentioned: Amanita smithiana, silvicola, magniverrucata, pruittii, armillariiformis, prairiicola

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 Species mentioned: Amanita smithiana, silvicola, magniverrucata   Amanita smithiana WA - This pure 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. Common at least in BC, Washington and Oregon. Amanita silvicola OR - A shorter and squatter non spindle shaped similar species turns out to be in section Validae, not section Lepidella. This explains why it surprisingly did not appear to have the same poisons as A. smithiana. See section Validae for a full report. Amanita smithiana © Kit Scates Barnhart,     A. silvicola (section Validae) © Kit Scates Barnhart   Amanita magniverrucata CA - 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 Species mentioned: Amanita pruittii, armillariiformis, prairiicola   Amanita pruittii OR - 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 OR - 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 KS - 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. 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. Inamyloid spores.

The unique furry grey Amanita 'farinosa PNW04' with no visible veils is in a unique subsection apart from all the others.

Species mentioned: Amanita muscaria, muscaria var. formosa, muscaria var. guessowii, muscaria subsp. flavivolvata, muscaria var. alba, chrysoblema, aprica, pantherina, gemmata, junquillea, pantherinoides, praegemmata, umbrinidisca, ameripanthera, breckonii, pseudobreckonii n.p., alpinicola, farinosa, aurantisquamosa

Amanita 'farinosa PNW04' - This grey, powdery Amanita with little evidence of a volva or partial veil (making it easily confused with section Vaginatae) is in a different subsection than all the other PNW section Amanita species, and you could argue it is unique enough to deserve its own section. The real Amanita farinosa from Europe and/or Eastern North America is slender and the cap is striate. Our west coast species, also called A. farinosa sensu Thiers but in need of 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). Even though we don't have reliable DNA of the "real" A. farinosa to compare with, it is universally accepted that our DNA is going to be different because our species is unique.

Amanita 'farinosa PNW04' © Kit Scates Barnhart

Amanita muscaria EU
Amanita 'muscaria PNW03'
Amanita chrysoblema MI

Amanita muscaria (red cap, white warts, European photo) © iNaturalist user naomimoriyama1,     Amanita 'muscaria PNW03' © Alice Kam

Amanita chrysoblema (red, orange, yellow, and white forms) © Steve Trudell, 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. They have a series of concentric rings as a volva near the base of the stem.

Amanita muscaria EU - the true Amanita muscaria is uncommon in the PNW, usually found under introduced trees with almost pure white warts. It is found commonly across Europe and Asia and Alaska, but uncommonly has been found (so far) as far south as Vancouver BC. Unlike our common local species, discussed next, the real Amanita muscaria is usually red. European literature seems to speak of non-red colours only rarely. I would be interested in sequences of non-red actual Amanita muscaria picked locally.

Amanita 'muscaria PNW03' - only in the PNW do we find some sequences that differ by 4 bp from all the rest of the Amanita muscaria found worldwide. The only photo I have of one is yellow, not the usual red, with cream coloured warts, not the usual white warts. I would be very interested in more photos of sequenced collections to find out if there is a pattern to how they look. It's possible that this could be determined to be the same species, but there is a clear geographic uniqueness to these sequences, being endemic only to the PNW so far. Plus the fact that our only photo is yellow and the real species is almost always red tells me this may deserve its own species status. It is probably associated with native trees, but I have no idea how to tell it apart from the far more abundant A. chrysoblema, described next.

Amanita chrysoblema MI, our abundant, spring and fall ubiquitous species found under native conifer and hardwood trees can be red, orange, yellow or white and usually has creamy yellowish warts (except the white form which usually has no pigment 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 (Geml I#1) - 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 (Geml I#2) - from 1958 from California (and also found in the SW and Mexico, but not in the PNW) (described as red)

3. (Geml I#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 (Geml I#4) - 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 other existing names are distinct species names, they are all varieties and subspecies of A. muscaria, 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 may represent the exact same species as A. muscaria, and is probably not a correct name for our common local species.

Amanita aprica WA - This 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 and we have sequences from BC and CA.

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 (neither A. pantherina nor A. gemmata), but here's what I have been able to determine about what species we do have. It should be noted that a recent European study showed that A. gemmata may actually just refer to A. muscaria, so even in Europe they may start calling their yellow 'gemmata' species A. junquillea.

Amanita pantherinoides WA (=ameripantherina n.p.)

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 most common species in the Seattle area. Amanita pantherinoides is yellow to brown, stocky, with persistent warts on the cap. Our most common "gemmata" species, Amanita aff breckonii, below, is usually yellow, slender, and has warts that easily wash off, although some of our less common "gemmata" species might be confused with yellowish A. 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 avoided 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.

I cannot rule out the fact that one of Murrill's species might be a local gemmata-like species. One is very common, 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.

Amanita 'breckonii PNW01' - Our most common "gemmata-like" species in WA, this species is always yellowish, usually slender and the warts wash off pretty easily, although occasionally it can be stockier like A. pantherinoides. It is a sister species to a California species, Amanita breckonii, differing by about 4 bp and 7 indels (a couple of them being chunks of indels), so perhaps it is a unique species. I have no evidence yet of sequences that match CA A. breckonii exactly being found in the PNW.

Amanita pseudobreckonii n.p. - another yellow, slender species with warts that easily wash off in the gemmata-pantherina group found commonly in Oregon and California. It is very difficult to tell apart from A. 'breckonii PNW01'. It has now been found near Victoria, BC, so you can't assume that all collections north of OR are A. 'breckonii PNW01'.

Amanita 'gemmata CA01' ("stocky") - is sometimes stocky like Amanita pantherinoides but consistenly bright yellow. Unfortunately, it can also be relatively slender and bright yellow and has now been found in Olympia WA, where it will be easily confused with the other species. 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 is found in Oregon and California as well.

It is possible that one of Murrill's three species is not the same as the other two, but represents one of the above 3 gemmata-like species. If so, that name from 1912 would be the proper name for it. We will need type sequences of his original 1912 collections, if we can get them, to settle the matter. California has additional "panther-gemmata" species in their rich oak forests and other habitats that aren't present in the PNW, making identification for them even more difficult than for us.

Amanita 'breckonii PNW01' © Buck McAdoo,     Amanita pseudobreckonii n.p. © Corinne Srsen,     Amanita 'gemmata CA01' ("stocky") © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History

Amanita alpinicola MT - This species 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 aurantisquamosa ID - 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 sections. All are rare. Inamyloid spores.

Genera mentioned: Limacella, Zhuliangomyces, Limacellopsis
Species mentioned: Limacella glioderma, delicata, glischra, illinita, roseicremea, solidipes, macmurphyi