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Amanita pachycolea [ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Amanitaceae > Amanita . . . ] by Michael Kuo This species is King among the North American members of the Amanita vaginata species group. Like the others it lacks a ring, and features a sacklike volva and a strongly lined cap--but it stands up to 25 cm high and sports a cap that can get as wide as 15 cm or more. Take a look at the "button" in the second photo to the right, which seems boring enough--until you get your mind around the comparative size of the penny! Other distinctive features of Amanita pachycolea include its dark brown cap, which usually fades at the margin and often appears to have gradually darkening zones of color towards the center; the brownish stem; the gill edges, which have brownish edges at maturity; and microscopic features. It is found primarily in northern California, but is also documented from the Pacific coasts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with conifers; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; fall and winter; coastal Northern California and northward along the Pacific Coast. Cap: 7-18 cm, convex, becoming broadly convex or flat; sometimes with a central bump; sticky when fresh; dark brown overall when young, becoming paler toward the margin and often featuring concentric zones of color; usually naked but occasionally featuring a whitish patch; the margin prominently lined with striations that extend about a third of the way inward. Gills: Free from the stem by maturity; whitish but sometimes darkening with age to pale brownish or orangish; close; at maturity usually featuring brownish edges. Stem: 10-25 cm long; up to 3 cm thick; equal or tapering to apex; without a basal bulb; finely hairy or fairly smooth; whitish but discoloring grayish or brownish with age; without a ring; with a prominent, white, sack-like volva that may discolor rusty or brownish with age. Flesh: White; not discoloring on exposure. Odor: Not distinctive. Spore Print: White. Microscopic Features: Spores 11.5-14 x 10-12 µ; smooth; round or nearly so; inamyloid. REFERENCES: Stuntz in Thiers & Ammirati, 1982. (Thiers & Ammirati, 1982; Thiers, 1982; Lindgren, 1998; Arora, 1986; Jenkins, 1986; Tulloss, 2004; Wood & Stevens, 2004.) Herb. Kuo 01120612. Further Online Information: Amanita pachycolea at Tulloss's Studies in Amanita |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2006, March). Amanita pachycolea. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_pachycolea.html |