Blusher (Amanita rubescens)

Description

Meet the Blusher (Amanita rubescens). This stunning mushroom is a visual treat, with its cap glowing in shades of vinous red, pink, or even reddish-gray, adorned with textured scales that catch the eye. Beneath the cap, the white gills sometimes blush a delicate wine hue as they mature, adding a charming touch. Its sturdy white stem, tinged with a pinkish blush, tapers towards the top and is decorated with fine pink spots. And don’t miss the elegant falling veil ring 💍—a key detail that distinguishes it from more dangerous relatives.

🍽️ Edible or Poisonous? Yes, the Blusher is edible—but only when cooked! 🍳 Raw Blushers contain hemolytic toxins that can break down red blood cells, so never eat them raw. The good news? Cooking completely neutralizes these toxins, making it a tasty and safe addition to your plate.

🌷 A telltale sign of the Blusher is its flesh, which blushes pink when exposed to air or damaged—a clear indicator of its identity! Be cautious, though; its appearance can vary with age and humidity, sometimes leading to confusion with more dangerous Amanitas like the Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina). 🍂🍃

Key features include a bulbous base, a white ring on the stem, white free gills that don't touch the stem, and a brown cap with white scales. However, the most reliable clue is its tendency to bruise pinkish-red when damaged. If you're unsure, always err on the side of caution—never munch on a hunch!

🌲 Where to Find It 🌲 The Blusher thrives in the forests of Eastern North America, where it's known as Amanita amerirubescens. It appears from June to November, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups. To confirm your find, break the cap—if the flesh blushes wine red, you're safe to enjoy this blushing beauty. 🍽️

Blushers are not hallucinogenic 🚫. If you’re looking for a mind-altering experience, this isn’t the mushroom for you!

With a name meaning “reddening,” the Blusher is not just a looker, but a mushroom with elegance, flavor, and a fascinating color shift when handled.

Common names: Blusher, Eurasian Blusher, Perlpilz (German), Parelamaniet (Netherlands), Muchomůrka Růžovka (Czech Republic), Cuc or Cuci or Plopenchi or Borșgombă (Romania).

Mushroom Identification

🍄 Cap: The cap measures 4–20 cm and starts off convex, eventually becoming broadly convex or flat. The surface is dry or slightly sticky and is adorned with numerous bright yellow felty warts that are densely packed at first. Over time, these warts spread and fade to pinkish or grayish tones. When young, the cap's surface appears dull brassy yellow to brown, transitioning to flushed red shades, and eventually turning reddish-brown to tan or brown. The margin is typically not lined.

🌿 Gills: The gills are free from the stem or narrowly attached and are generally white, sometimes discoloring to reddish. They are close or crowded, with numerous short-gills present.

🦵 Stem: The stem ranges from 5 to 18 cm long and 1 to 3 cm thick, appearing more or less equal or sometimes slightly enlarged toward the base, which is indistinct to bulbous. Initially white, the stem becomes stained pinkish to dirty red over time. The surface can be bald or finely hairy, and it features a fragile, persistent ring.

🍖 Flesh: The flesh is white throughout but discolors slowly to pale pinkish-red, especially around any wormholes present.

👃👅 Odor and Taste: The mushroom has a sweetly fungoid odor, while the taste starts off faint and then becomes slightly acrid.

🎨 Spores: The spores are white. The spore print is also white.

🌳 Habitat: It forms mycorrhizal relationships primarily with oaks but can also be found under pines and other conifers. The mushroom grows alone, scattered, or gregariously, and is widely distributed. This mushroom can typically be found from June to November.

🔬 Microscopic Features: The spores measure 6–10.5 x 4–7 µm and are smooth, ellipsoid, and amyloid. The basidia are 4-spored and lack clamps. The pileipellis consists of a cutis or ixocutis of hyphae that are 2–7 µm wide. The lamellar trama is bilateral, and the subhymenium is cellular.

Look-Alikes

1. Amanita excelsa

   Very similar in cap color. The flesh doesn't change color when cut.

2. Amanita caesarea

   The cap is a brilliant orange with a striated margin. The stem is yellow.

3. Amanita muscaria

   Some variations have orange-brown caps while others are silvery. The veil fragments are pure white.

4. Amanita pantherina

   The cap has a brown color. The flesh does not turn pink when cut.

Video

Synonyms and Varieties

• Amanita verrucosa Lam., 1783

• Agaricus adnatus Schumacher (1803), Enumeratio plantarum in partibus Saellandiae septentrionalis et orientalis, 2, p. 260

• Agaricus circinatus (Persoon) Schumacher (1803), Enumeratio plantarum in partibus Saellandiae septentrionalis et orientalis, 2, p. 251

• Agaricus crassipes O.F. Müller (1780), Flora danica, 14, p. 7, tab. 831, fig. 2

• Agaricus magnificus Fr. 1857

• Agaricus margaritiferus Batsch (1783), Elenchus fungorum, p. 57

• Agaricus muscarius var. ß rubens (Scopoli) F.H. Wiggers (1780), Primitiae flora holsaticae, p. 98

• Agaricus myodes Schaeffer (1774), Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam, 4, p. 69, tab. 261

• Agaricus pustulatus Schaeffer (1774), Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam, 4, p. 39, tab. 91

• Agaricus rubens Scopoli (1772), Flora carniolica, Edn 2, 2, p. 416

• Agaricus rubescens (Persoon) J. Otto (1816), Versuch einer auf … Anordnung und Beschreibung der Agaricorum, p. 39

• Agaricus rubescens var. ß circinatus (Persoon) Weinmann (1836), Hymeno et Gastero-mycetes hucusque in imperio Rossico observatos recensuit, p. 7

• Agaricus verrucosus Bulliard (1786), Herbier de la France, 7, tab. 316

• Amanita annulosulphurea (Gillet) Seyot 1930

• Amanita circinata (Persoon) Gray (1821), A natural arrangement of British plants, 1, p. 600

• Amanita incarnata ss. Gillet (1874), Les hyménomycètes, ou description de tous les champignons (fungi) qui croissent en France, p. 45

• Amanita magnifica (Fr.) Gillet 1874

• Amanita marci Dupain (1928), Bulletin de la Société mycologique de France, 44(1), p. 113 (nom. inval.)

• Amanita pseudorubescens Herrfurth (1936), Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde, 14(6), p. 77, tab. 1

• Amanita pustulata (Schaeffer) J. Schröter (1889), in Cohn, Kryptogamen-flora von Schlesien, 3(1), p. 678

• Amanita radicata Voglino, 1894

• Amanita rubens (Scopoli) Quélet (1886), Enchiridion fungorum in Europa media et praesertim in Gallia vigentium, p. 4

• Amanita rubens var. circinata (Persoon) Saccardo (1915), Flora italica cryptogama. Pars 1: Fungi. Hymeniales, 1(14), p. 45

• Amanita rubescens f. annulorosea A.G. Parrot (1960), Amanites du Sud-Ouest de la France, p. 91

• Amanita rubescens f. exannulata A.G. Parrot (1960), Amanites du Sud-Ouest de la France, p. 90

• Amanita rubescens Persoon (1797), Tentamen dispositionis methodicae fungorum, p. 67 (basionyme) Sanctionnement : Fries (1821)

• Amanita rubescens var. alba Coker 1917

• Amanita rubescens var. alutacea Gillet 1874

• Amanita rubescens var. annulosulphurea Gillet 1874

• Amanita rubescens var. circinnata Pers. 1801

• Amanita rubescens var. communis Alb. & Schwein. 1805

• Amanita rubescens var. congolensis Beeli 1935

• Amanita rubescens var. elegantissima Naveau 1923

• Amanita rubescens var. genuina Gillet 1874

• Amanita rubescens var. gracilis Gillot & Lucand (1889), Société d'histoire naturelle d'Autun, Bulletin, 2, p. 147

• Amanita rubescens var. incarnata Gillet 1874

• Amanita rubescens var. magnifica (Fr.) Rea 1922

• Amanita rubescens var. ß circinata Persoon (1801), Synopsis methodica fungorum, p. 255

• Amanita rubescens var. sulphureoannulata Gillet

• Amanita rubescens var. verrucosa (Bulliard) Gillet (1874), Les hyménomycètes, ou description de tous les champignons (fungi) qui croissent en France, p. 45

• Amplariella rubescens (Persoon) E.-J. Gilbert (1940), Iconographia mycologica, 27, supplément 1(1), p. 78

• Hypophyllum vinosum Paulet (1808) [1793], Traité des champignons, 2, p. 357, tab. 161, fig. 1-4

• Limacium rubescens (Pers.) J. Schröt., 1889

• Venenarius rubens (Scopoli) Murrill (1913), Mycologia, 5(2), p. 75

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