Amanita muscaria (L. per Fr.) Hooker
Flora Scotland 2: 19. 1821.

Photo: Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata

Common Name: Fly Agaric

• Pileus

  Cap 6-39 cm broad, rounded at first, then plane in age, surface viscid when moist; margin striate often with adhering partial veil fragments when young; cap red, usually with white warts but in one variety, yellow warts.

• Lamellae

  Gills adnexed to free, white to cream, edges roughened.

• Stipe

  Stipe white, 7-16 cm long, 2-3 cm thick, tapering to a bulbous base; partial veil membranous, breaking to form a superior skirt-like veil. Volva consisting of two to three concentric rings at the stipe base.

• Spores

  Spores 9-13 x 6.5-9.5 µm elliptical, smooth, nonamyloid. Spore print white.

• Habitat

  In the Bay Area, Amanita muscaria occurs under pines, especially Monterey and Bishop pine. Fruitings occur in early winter, and can be spectacular, with large groups or rings brightening the woods. The Fly Agaric shares the pine habitat with the much sought after King Bolete, Boletus edulis. Some mushroom hunters thus use Amanita muscaria as an indicator species.

• Edibility

  Toxic. Contains ibotenic acid and muscimol. The toxins are water soluble. Many persons have eaten this fungus, without ill effect, after parboiling the sliced mushroom and discarding the liquid.

• Comments

  With its bright red, sometimes dinner plate-sized caps, Amanita muscaria is one of the most striking of all mushrooms. The white warts that adorn the cap, white gills, well developed ring and distinctive volva of concentric rings separate the Fly Agaric from all other red mushrooms. There are several color varieties of A. muscaria in the U.S. ranging from red to orange, yellow and white, but only two occur commonly in the Bay Area, Amanita muscaria var. muscaria with a red cap and white warts, and A. muscaria var. flavivolvata, with a red cap and yellowish warts. Photo at top is variety flavivolvata.

• References

  Geml, J., Laursen, G.A., K., O., Nusbaum, C. & Taylor, D.L. (2006). Beringian origins and cryptic speciation events in the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Molecular Ecology 15: 225-239.
  Jenkins, D.T. (1977). A Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Study of the Genus Amanita and Section Amanita for North America. J. Cramer: Vaduz. 126 p.
  Jenkins, D.T. (1986). Amanita of North America. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 197 p.
  Jenkins, D.T. & Petersen, R.H. (1976). A neotype specimen for Amanita muscaria. Mycologia 68: 463-469.
  Smith, A.H. (1949). Mushrooms in their Natural Habitats. Sawyer's Inc: Portland, OR. 626 p.
  Thiers, Harry D. (1982). The Agaricales (Gilled Fungi) of California. 1. Amanitaceae. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 53 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Michael Boom: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Michael Boom: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Nathan Wilson: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita muscaria (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita muscaria var. formosa (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita muscaria var. formosa (I)
  • Agaricales of the Hawaiian Islands: Amanita muscaria var. formosa (D & CP)
  • Edward S. Matisoff: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Nathan Wilson: Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata (D & CP)
  • The Bad and Ugly: Amanita muscaria (D & CP)
  • Associació Micològica Joaquim Codina: Amanita muscaria (D & CP)
  • Na Grzyby!: Amanita muscaria (D & CP)
  • Fungus plates painted under the supervision of Elias Fries: Amanita muscaria (I)
  • Informationszentrale gegen Vergiftungen der Universiteat Bonn: Amanita muscaria (D & CP)
  • Sommario funghi: Amanita muscaria (D & CP)
  • Pilzgalerie.de: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Giorgio Perbellini: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Norwegian fungus of the month: Amanita muscaria (D & CP)
  • Pilze, Pilze, Pilze: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Kinok-ya: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Amanita muscaria (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 282-283 (D & P), plates 58-59
  • Arora (1991): p. 77 (D & CP)
  • Benjamin: Chapter 16 (Toxicity Info), plate 8 (CP)
  • Fischer & Bessette: p. 152 (D & CP)
  • Jordan: p. 198 (D & CP)
  • Jenkins: p. 32-36 (D), fig. 1-3 (CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 539-540 (D), plates 137, 143, 144, 677, 680
  • McKenny et al.: p. 32 (D), p. 36 (CP)
  • Miller: sp.14 (D & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 14 (D & CP)
  • Smith: sp. 121 (D & CP)
  • Smith & Weber: sp. 148 (D & CP)
  • Spoerke & Rumack, eds.: Chapter 12 (Toxicity Info)
  • Thiers (1982): p. 30-31 (D & CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)