Amanita echinocephala

What You Should Know

Amanita echinocephala is a large, whitish, or ivory-colored mushroom with a characteristic spiny, or warty-looking cap. Grows singly or in small groups on chalky soils with beech trees. It is very drought-tolerant.

Pronounced edible by some, but probably best avoided in case of confusion with other poisonous Amanita species. This mushroom is rare and protected. There are also reports about nephrotoxic effects similar to Amanita smithiana.

Other names: Solitary Amanita.

Amanita echinocephala Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   The cap can be up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter, and is white to ivory, or silver-gray in color. It is covered in raised pyramidal warts, that become less well-defined and less frequent towards the margin. These are remnants of the universal veil which covers the mushroom in its earliest stages. The young buttons are darker and sometimes shaped like a two tier loaf, with a ring of raised scales around the base.

2. Stem

   The white to ivory stem is 8–16 cm (3–6.5 in) high and 2–3 cm (1–1 in) wide, with several rings of upturned scales towards the bulbous base. It is fairly deeply rooted, often laterally below the surface. The ring is thin and fragile, often adhering to the stem.

3. Gills

   The gills are cream but sometimes have a slight green tint. They are largely free of the stem and sometimes have a small decurrent tooth.

4. Flesh and Odor

   The flesh is white and is said to have an unpleasant smell.

5. Spores

   Elloipsoidal, smooth, 9.5-11.5 x 6.5-8µm; amyloid.

6. Spore Print

   White.

7. Habitat

   Mycorrhizal in mixed woodland with dryish calcareous soil. Possibly occasionally with conifers. Occurs in Britain, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.

8. Season

   June to October.

Amanita echinocephala Look-Alikes

1. Amanita strobiliformis

   Distinguished by a wart-like white cap with tattered veil fragments hanging from the brim. At maturity, its cap is still domed rather than flat.

2. Amanita vittadinii

   Has conical warts on the cap, and have recurved scales right to the underside of the ring. It is usually found on heavier soils.

3. Amanita citrina

   There is a white pouch residue on a white or light-colored grapefruit cap, but it is not pyramidal. Also, it has a brittle pendant ring.

Amanita echinocephala Taxonomy and Etymology

It was first described as Agaricus echinocephalus in 1835 by the Italian mycologist Carlo Vittadini, before being placed in Amanita by Lucien Quélet and hence receiving its current binomial name. It derives its specific epithet echinocephala from the Greek echino- "hedgehog" and kephale "head".

It has been placed in the Lepidella section of the Amanitaceae by some authors, because of its lack of a well formed volva.

Amanita echinocephala Synonyms

1. Amanita procera Pers., 1818

2. Agaricus echinocephalus Vittad., 1835 (basionym)

3. Amanita solitaria (Bull.) Fr., 1836 sensu auct. pl.

4. Amanita flandinia Plee, 1864

5. Amanita umbella var. echinocephala (Vittad.) Quél., 1886

6. Amanita strobiliformis var. aculeata Quél., 1886

7. Amanita echinocephala var. bicollariata Boud., 1906

8. Amanita aculeata (Quél.) Bigeard & Guillem., 1909

9. Venenarius solitarius (Bull.) Murrill, 1912

10. Lepidella echinocephala (Vittad.) E.-J.Gilbert 1925

11. Amanita vittadinii var. echinocephala (Vittad.) Veselý, 1934

12. Aspidella solitaria (Bull.) E.-J. Gilbert, 1940

13. Aspidella echinocephala (Vittad.) E.-J.Gilbert, 1941

14. Armillaria echinocephala (Vittad.) Locq., 1952

Sources:

Photo 1 - Author: 松岡明芳 (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)

Photo 2 - Author: Coliop-Kolchovo (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

Photo 3 - Author: GLJIVARSKO DRUSTVO NIS from Serbia (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)