| Amanita Mushrooms |
INDIANA MUSHROOMS
| "They are the aristocrats of fungi. Their noble bearing, their beauty, their power for good and evil, and above all their perfect structure, have placed them first in their realm...." One Thousand American Fungi, McIlvaine, et al., 1912. Indeed, this genus contains some very beautiful mushrooms, some delicious ones (Amanita caesarea, Caesar's Mushroom, of Europe), and some deadly ones (Amanita phalloides, the Death Cap, worldwide). Even the deadly ones are said to be good by those who have eaten them, but many died a week later. While some field guides list members of this genus as edible, and some people do eat them, especially in Europe, I follow the one hundred year old advise given by McIlvaine and his friends: "[F]ar better will it be to leave all alone than to make a mistake." Amanita mushrooms develop within a universal veil, an egg-like sack that encloses the mushroom before the cap and stem emerge. Small or large remnants of the universal veil often remain on the cap and described as warts or patches. Most species have a ring (annulus) on the stem, which is the remnant of the partial veil, a delicate tissue that protects the gills during development. Gills are usually free (not attached to the stem). White spore print for all species. Grow from the ground, usually woodland settings; mycorrhizal (symbiotic) with trees. As with all mushrooms collected for identification, Amanita mushrooms should be dug up and not pulled from the ground; the bulbous base often holds identification clues. |
| The Genus Amanita at MushroomExpert.Com |
