Cap medium to large; with sordid reddish brown stains; odor not distinctive: Amanita rubescens (p. 18)
8. Cap small to medium; white with numerous warts; stem bulb prominent: Amanita abrupta (p. 19)
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita amerifulva Tulloss nom. prov.
MISAPPLIED NAMES: Amanita fulva Fr., Amanitopsis fulva (Fr.) W. G. Sm.
COMMON NAME: Tawny Grisette
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; deep orangish brown at first, becoming yellowish brown, paler to whitish near the prominently striate margin, remaining brownish over the broadly umbonate disc; convex to broadly convex, becoming nearly flat; surface bald; viscid when wet
FLESH: White, sometimes tinted orange near the cap cuticle, unchanging when bruised; thin; soft; odor and taste not distinctive
GILLS: Whitish; free or barely reaching the stem; close; edges even; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 5 in. long; whitish to pale brownish; equal or enlarged downward; base with a whitish to tawny-brown sack-like volval surface bald to slightly hairy; no ring
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal on soil, humus, moss, or on very rotten wood in a variety of habitats from bogs to upland forests; associated trees include hemlock, pines, and beech; summer and fall; common
EDIBILITY: Although edible, consuming any Amanita is discouraged until one has much experience identifying mushrooms. Its flavor is mild and rather uninteresting
COMMENTS: Technically our Tawny Grisette does not have an official name. It has been provisionally named Amanita amerifulva by North American Amanita expert, Rodham Tulloss. For years it and other look-alike species have been called Amanita fulva, which is a name belonging to a similar European species. As with so many mushrooms, there are closely related yet different species that have been lumped together in the past. Until officially described and published, the current name for the species shown here is temporary until a description and new name is proposed and accepted.
Amanita amerifulva
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita vaginata (Bull.) Lam.
SYNONYM: Amanitopsis vaginata (Bull.) Roze
COMMON NAME: Grisette
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
Cap: Up to 4 in. wide; gray to grayish brown; convex to flat; umbonate; surface viscid when wet, bald; margin prominently striate
FLESH: White; thin, soft; not discoloring when damaged; odor and taste not distinctive
GILLS: White; free; close, becoming more distant in age; narrow; edges even; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 7 in. long; white; tapering upward from a white sack-like volva; solid; surface dry, smooth, or with flattened hairs; no ring
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks and other broadleaf trees and conifers; summer and fall; common in humus, moss, and lawns in parks and wood edges
EDIBILITY: Edible but not recommended owing to possible confusion with poisonous species
COMMENTS: This is actually an apparently large group of many species previously lumped under this name. Much work is needed to sort out this complex. The likelihood is that the species illustrated may someday have a new name with many similar look-alikes. The mushrooms haven’t changed, just our knowledge of them.
Amanita vaginata
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita farinosa Schwein.
SYNONYM: None
COMMON NAME: Powdery Amanita
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 3 in. wide; dark gray to whitish gray, at times brownish over the disc; convex to flat; surface dry; center covered with brownish-gray powder becoming thinner at the usually striate margin, which is whitish at times
FLESH: White; thin; soft; unchanging when exposed; odor not distinctive; taste unknown
GILLS: White; barely reaching the stem or free; close; edges flocculose; no partial veil
STEM: Up to 3 in. long; white to gray; equal down to a small basal bulb that is decorated with gray powder; solid; surface bald, smooth to powdery, or flocculose; no ring present
SPORE PRINT: White
ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal; found in association with oaks, hickories, and beech, occasionally under conifers; solitary to scattered in soil, humus, and moss in broadleaf forests, parks, and wood edges; summer and early fall; common
EDIBILITY: Unknown
COMMENTS: This is a small, common Amanita that could be mistaken for a Russula; the gills of Russula species are broadly attached to the stem, whereas the Powdery Amanita has gills barely reaching the stem or free from it.
Amanita farinosa
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amanita parcivolvata (Peck) E.-J. Gilbert
SYNONYM: Amanitopsis parcivolvata Peck
COMMON NAMES: False Caesar’s Mushroom, False Fly Agaric
FAMILY: Amanitaceae
CAP: Up to 4 in. wide; bright red to orangish red or orange, paler toward the margin; convex to broadly convex, then flat in age with a central depression; surface smooth, striate, and bald under a scattering of white to yellow warts or powdery patches; viscid when fresh
FLESH: White to pale yellow, unchanging when cut; firm; odor not distinctive; taste unknown
GILLS: White to yellow; frequently fringed on the edge and dusted with yellow powder; free or barely
