Amanita fulva

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by Michael Kuo

This beautiful mushroom is part of the Amanita vaginata species group, which contains amanitas with sacklike volvas, lined cap margins, and ringless stems. Amanita fulva is widely distributed in North America, and can be distinguished from closely related species by its tawny brown cap and the fact that its volva often discolors tawny brown.

Stictly speaking, Amanita fulva is a European species, first described from Sweden in 1821. While many North American collections match the true Amanita fulva in a general way, it may or may not actually exist on our continent. See Rodham Tulloss's key to "stirps fulva" world-wide and his keys to Pacific Northwest and northeastern amanitas for a sense of the number of potential species passing as "Amanita fulva."

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods or conifers; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America.

Cap: 4-10 cm; oval, becoming convex or nearly flat with a central bump; sticky at first or when wet; tawny brown; sometimes with a few scattered white to tawny patches; margin prominently lined or grooved.

Gills: Free from the stem or slightly attached to it; white; close.

Stem: 7-16 cm long; .5-1.5 cm thick; slightly tapering to apex; smooth; without a ring; the base enclosed in a sack-like, white volva that fits loosely around the stem and often discolors tawny brown.

Flesh: White throughout; soft.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 8-10 µ; smooth; nearly round; inamyloid.

REFERENCES: (Schaeffer, 1774) Fries, 1815. (Saccardo, 1887; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Jenkins, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Barron, 1999; Tulloss, 2003; McNeil, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 10010419, 05280706.

Further Online Information:

Amanita fulva at Tulloss's Studies in Amanita
Amanita fulva photos at Roger's Mushrooms
Amanita fulva at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2002, September). Amanita fulva. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_fulva.html