Amanita pantherina

What You Should Know

Amanita pantherina is a species of mushroom in the Amanitaceae family. It is a medium to large-sized fungi that typically grows in coniferous or mixed forests, and it is mycorrhizal, meaning it forms a symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees. Widely distributed in Europe, North America, and Asia.

The cap varies from brown to tan or yellowish brown, depending on the maturity of the mushroom. The gills are white and closely spaced, and the stem is white, sometimes with a yellow or reddish tinge. It also has a volva (cup-like structure at the base of the stem) and a ring on the stem.

Amanita pantherina is not known for its psychedelic properties. Although some species of Amanita mushrooms contain psychoactive compounds such as muscimol and ibotenic acid. It is poisonous and can cause serious health problems if consumed, such as nausea, vomiting, and even death in some cases.

A. muscaria and A. pantherina are illegal to buy, sell, or possess in the Netherlands since December 2008. Possession of amounts larger than 0.5 g dried or 5 g fresh lead to a criminal charge.

Other names: Panther Cap, False Blusher, German (Pantherpilz), Netherlands (Panteramaniet), Czech Republic (Muchomůrka Tygrovaná).

Amanita pantherina Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   1.18 to 7.09 inches (3 to 18 cm), convex, becoming broadly convex or flat; sticky when fresh; brown to tan or yellowish brown; bald; adorned with numerous cottony, whitish warts; the margin sometimes somewhat lined at maturity.

2. Gills

   Free from the stem or nearly so; white; crowded; short-gills frequent.

3. Stem

   1.57 to 7.87 inches (4 to 20 cm) long; up to 0.98 inches (2.5 cm) thick; tapering to apex and ending in a swollen basal bulb; somewhat scaly or fairly bald; whitish; with a skirtlike, whitish ring above, and a roll of tissue from the universal veil forming the upper margin of the bulb, occasionally, with concentric rings of volval material.

4. Flesh

   White; not discoloring on exposure, or turning slightly yellowish in the stem.

5. Spore Print

   White.

6. Odor

   Unpleasant or like raw potatoes.

7. Habitat

   Mycorrhizal with conifers trees and pines like bishop and Monterey, but also with Douglas-fir, spruces, and (occasionally) with hardwoods; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; fall and winter; along the West Coast from California to the Pacific Northwest, and reported from the southwestern Rocky Mountains.

8. Microscopic Features

   Spores 8-14 x 6-10 µ; smooth; ellipsoid; inamyloid. Basidia 4-spored; rarely with clamps. Pileipellis an ixocutis of hyphae 2-7 µ wide. Lamellar trama bilateral; subhymenium ramose.

Amanita pantherina Look-Alikes

1. Amanita rubescens

   Caps of some samples of A. rubescens are brown but their stems and the cap flesh always turn pink or red when damaged.

2. Amanita excelsa

   Has gray veil fragments on its cap. The stem on most specimens is stout and the base does not have a distinct volval gutter.

Amanita pantherina Health Benefits

Firstly, Amanita pantherina is a toxic mushroom. However, it has been used in alternative medicine to treat various neurological symptoms. Currently, there are no known scientifically proven benefits for using A. pantherina for health.

Amanita pantherina Cultivation

Amanita cultivation in a lab environment has always been a frustrating prospect due to the symbiotic relationship of this mushroom to its host trees, most of which are Birch trees that occur naturally in the wild. But if one has the right host trees in their area, and resides in the proper temperate zone or elevation, one can try and simply take a few dried or fresh caps that are in sporination (fully flattened or upturning with longitudinal tears along the striations), crush them up thoroughly, and mix the crushed pieces into the top soil. If one doesn’t want to make the initial investment of the caps simply chop up the stems from sporinating specimens, which will naturally have collected some of the falling spores, and mix with the soil.

Clark Heinrich states that he simply buries the stems under the proper host tree for cultivation, but then again he probably lives the perfect environment. The best time to try to start your Amanita Garden would be done in the fall when they are in their fruiting season. This would coincide with the natural rhythms of this mushroom, giving you the best hope for success. If you can’t get them planted in the Fall, there’s always early Spring, which would still allow the spores to receive their proper life cycle. If the season is dry just water your mushroom garden every few days. A host tree in a large container that can be left outdoors year-round may be a candidate for cultivation if one is in the right zone.

Amanita pantherina Taxonomy and Etymology

In 1815 Augustin Pyramis De Candolle (1778 - 1841) described this species and named it Agaricus pantherinus. In 1871 Paul Kummer transferred it to its present genus, naming it Amanita pantherina. The specific epithet pantherina is a reference to the brown-and-white spotted appearance of the cap of this mushroom.

Amanita pantherina Synonyms and Varieties

1. Amanitaria pantherina (DC.) E.-J. Gilbert, 1940

2. Agaricus pantherinus DC.

3. Amanita pantherina var. abietum (Gilbert) - more robust, habitat conifers.

4. Amanita pantherina for. albida (Schulz) - wholly white.

5. Amanita pantherina for. xantha (Contu) - bright yellow cap.

Sources:

Photo 1 - Author: corentind (Attribution 4.0 International)

Photo 2 - Author: alex_wentworth (Attribution 4.0 International)

Photo 3 - Author: theodonom (Attribution 4.0 International)

Photo 4 - Author: bogsuckers (Public Domain)

Photo 5 - Author: oisin_dd (Attribution 4.0 International)