Amanita banningiana Tulloss nom. prov.

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by Michael Kuo

This beautiful mushroom, like Amanita jacksonii, is a North American version of the famous European species Amanita caesarea. It is distinguished by its yellow-orange to yellowish bronze cap, which is often brownish in the center and is prominently lined; its yellow gills; and its pale yellow stem, which lacks zones of orangish red fibers and bears a yellowish ring. Like other members of the caesarea species group, it has a white, sacklike volva.

Though it is fairly easily recognized and has been recorded in eastern North America since the beginning of the 20th century, this species has not yet been officially described and published, according to Amanita expert Rodham Tulloss (1995, 1998). Amanita arkansana is very similar, but has white gills. It is larger and more fragile, its stem is paler, and its ring is white (according to Tulloss) or yellow (according to Jenkins, 1986).

Do not eat these or any other Amanitas!

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods, especially oaks, beech, and hickories; or in mixed oak-pine woods; summer; eastern North America, west to Illinois and Wisconsin.

Cap: 4-8 cm; oval, expanding to planoconvex; smooth; dry; yellow, becoming yellow-brown to orange-brown, often darker over the disc; typically without warts or patches; the margin lined.

Gills: Free from the stem or slightly attached to it; yellow; close or crowded; not discoloring; short-gills infrequent.

Stem: 8-12 cm long; up to 1.5 cm wide; tapering slightly to apex; base even, or with a slight bulb; dry; smooth or finely hairy; yellow to cream in color; with a pale yellow, skirtlike ring and a white, sacklike volva.

Flesh: White; hollowing in stem; not staining on exposure.

Odor: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap surface negative.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 8.5-13 x 6-8 µ; broadly elliptical; smooth; inamyloid.

REFERENCES: Tulloss; nom. prov. (Tulloss, 1995; Tulloss, 2003.) Herb. Kuo 07230301, 07080707.

Further Online Information:

Amanita banningiana at Tulloss's Studies in Amanita

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2003, August). Amanita banningiana. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_banningiana.html