Amanita crocea

Description

Amanita crocea is a species of Amanita widely distributed in Europe. It is characterized by a thick, white volva, and faint zig-zag white-and-orange stem markings. There is no residual veil on the cap. Gills are cream-colored, crowded, free, or sometimes attached. Grows between July and October may appear in hardwood trees, especially with aspen, larch, pine, spruce, or birch. Its smell is sweet and has a slightly nutty sweetness.

Although edible, guidelines recommend against consuming it, as many amanita mushrooms are highly toxic. In raw form, it can be poisonous and requires mandatory boiling. Not suitable for storage, collected mushrooms need to be processed immediately.

Common names: Saffron Ringless Amanita, Orange Grisette.

Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Mycorrhizal with hardwoods (especially oaks and birch); growing alone or scattered; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America as a species group.

2. Cap

   3-13 cm; convex, expanding to planoconvex or flat; pale, dull orange to dark orange; sometimes developing a brownish center; tacky when wet; bald; the margin strongly lined for 1-2 cm at maturity.

3. Gills

   Free from the stem or slightly attached to it; close or crowded; whitish; with frequent short-gills.

4. Stem

   6-15 cm long; 0.5-2 cm thick; tapering slightly to apex; covered with pale orange fibrils that often become arranged into chevrons or scaly patterns; without a ring; without a swollen base; with a sacklike, whitish volva that features an orangish inner surface.

5. Flesh

   White; unchanging when sliced.

6. Spores

   The spores measure (8.0-) 9.4 - 11.8 (-18.8) × (7.5-) 8.5 - 11.0 (-16.0) µm and are globose to subglobose (infrequently broadly ellipsoid) and inamyloid. Clamps are not present at the bases of basidia.

7. Spore Print

   White.

8. Chemical Reactions

   KOH on cap surface yellow, then olive.

9. Season

   July to October.

Look-Alikes

1. Amanita caesarea

   Occurs in northern Europe. Its cap is bright orange with a striped edge, and its stem is yellow with a large pendulous ring.

2. Amanita fulva

   Has a yellow-orange cap, white gills, and a smooth stem, with no distinct odor or taste.

3. Amanita contui

   A very similar yellowing fungus but it is strictly attached to birches, especially to young ones.

History

In 1898 Lucien Quélet described this species and give it the name Amanita vaginata var. crocea.

In 1951 German mycologist Rolf Singer gave its currently accepted scientific name Amanita crocea.

The word Amanita comes from Greek 'amanites' meaning mushroom. The specific epithet refers to the saffron color of this fungus. Saffron is an orange-yellow spice extracted from the flowers of the saffron Crocus sativa. The genus name Crocus comes directly from the Latin crocus - hence crocea.

Synonyms

1. Amanita vaginata var. crocea Quél. 1898 [LEG; MB456911]

2. Amanitopsis crocea (Quél.) E.-J. Gilbert 1928 [LEG; MB251657]

3. Amanita aurantiofulva

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: epopov (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: ninacourlee (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: denis190 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: alan_rockefeller (CC BY-SA 4.0)