Amanita ovoidea

What You Should Know

Amanita ovoidea is a species of fungus of the genus Amanita in the family Amanitaceae. It is a large, white-colored mushroom, often tinged with cream. The cap is smooth, fleshy, silky, hemispherical when young, but soon becoming convex to shield shaped. The cap margin is usually covered with hanging, cottony remains of the partial veil. Native to Europe, it is found on plains as well as mountains in the Mediterranean region.

In some Mediterranean countries where these large mushrooms are fairly common, it is a highly-prized edible mushroom and is often served either whole or sliced with meat dishes, including beef steak.

Other names: Bearded Amanita, European Egg Amidella, Katmanka bělostná (Czech Republic), Muchomůrka vejčitá (Czech Republic).

Amanita ovoidea Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   The cap of Amanita ovoidea is 90 - 350 mm wide, white, moist, hemispheric then convex, with a nonstriate, appendiculate margin. The flesh is white. The volval remnants are floccose.

2. Gills

   The gills are chalk white, narrow, densely serrate, free, ventricose, and with a "subtly" floccose margin.

3. Stem

   The stem is 100 - 150 × 25 - 50 mm, white, completely floccose, and thickening toward the base. In the area where one might expect an annulus in another species, the flocculence is so thick that it has been described as capable of being spread with a knife like soft cheese. The saccate volva is white or reddening.

4. Flesh

   The flesh dense, white, does not change color when cut, pleasant to the taste, without a pronounced smell.

5. Spores

   The spores measure (6.3-) 7.5 - 10.5 (-15.0) × (4.9-) 5.2 - 7.0 (-8.4) µm and are broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid to elongate and amyloid.

6. Spore Print

   White.

7. Habitat

   This mushroom is forming mycorrhizal associations with pine trees, as well as evergreen and deciduous oaks. It is found in coniferous forests, deciduous forests, coastal regions, mountains, roadsides and grassy areas, growing on limy, sandy and alkaline soils.

8. Season

   August to October.

Amanita ovoidea Look-Alikes

1. Amanita proxima

   A poisonous species containing allenic norleucine, is very similar to A. ovoidea. It is separated by the deep ochraceous to russet-orange color of its volva, the persistent pendulous ring on the stipe, and the smooth cap margin, without vellar remains. A. proxima is found in the same habitats as A. ovoidea, and can cause cytolytic hepatitis and acute renal failure.

2. Amanita citrina

   Usually retains velar fragments on the cap with an unpleasant smell.

3. Amanita virosa

   Taller and slimmer with a less chunky volva.

Amanita ovoidea Taxonomy and Etymology

In 1788 French botanist-mycologist Jean Baptiste Francois (Pierre) Bulliard described this species and give the name Agaricus ovoideus.

In 1872 it was transferred to its present genus by Lucien Quélet, who renamed it Amanita ovoidea.

The specific epithet ovoidea is simply a reference to the egg-shaped form of young mushrooms.

Amanita ovoidea Synonyms

1. Amanita alba Pers., 1818

2. Amidella ovoidea (Bull.) E.-J. Gilbert, 1940

3. Agaricus ovoideus Bull.

Sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Σ64 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Photo 2 - Author: Rocco Stasi at Italian Wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Photo 3 - Author: Σ64 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Photo 4 - Author: Pere Orga Esteve (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

Photo 5 - Author: Σ64 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)