Amanita breckonii

[ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Amanitaceae > Amanita . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This rare Amanita is apparently limited to the Pacific Northwest, where it appears in fall and winter. It has a deceptive partial veil--in fact, if you don't see it in the early stages of development, you might be ready to believe it has no partial veil at all, and belongs with the ringless amanitas. But close inspection reveals that what you thought was a volva is really a ring; something about the way Amanita breckonii develops causes its ring to cling to the bottom of the stem. Additionally, the ring develops a double edge, with one side flaring upwards, and the other side often fusing with the true volval remnants on the basal bulb.

Other identifying features include the buff to yellowish cap with whitish patches, the inamyloid spores, and the small root that extends beneath the basal bulb.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with pines and spruces; fall and winter; Washington, Oregon, and northern California.

Cap: 4-9 cm, convex, becoming broadly convex or flat; sticky at first or when wet; buff to yellowish; with whitish patches; the margin lined at maturity.

Gills: Free from the stem by maturity; white; close or nearly distant.

Stem: 7-10 cm long; up to 2 cm thick; tapering toward the bottom, which is swollen into a basal bulb; with a small "root" extending under the bulb; fairly smooth; whitish; bruising and discoloring faintly brownish; with a double-edged ring that clings to the base (or rarely the middle); with a fragmenting, whitish volva that may appear continuous with the ring and may disintegrate, leaving patches on the surrounding soil.

Flesh: White; not discoloring on exposure.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 9.5-13 x 5.5-8 µ; smooth; elliptical; inamyloid.

REFERENCES: Thiers & Ammirati, 1982. (Thiers & Ammirati, 1982; Thiers, 1982; Jenkins, 1986; Tulloss, 2003.)

Further Online Information:

Amanita breckonii at Tulloss's Studies in Amanita

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2005, March). Amanita breckonii. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_breckonii.html