Amanita muscaria
(Fly Agaric, Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata)

Habitat

At higher elevations under various conifers. They are most abundant under Spruce. Some are found under Ponderosa and Limber Pine as well as they are mycorrhizal.

Description

Amanita muscaria are red with white warts and white gills with a volva (cup at the base of the stipe). They can be very abundant over 10,000 ft in Colorado from July through September usually where you find King Boletes under Englemann Spruce. It is called the "Fly Agaric" because is was once used as a fly poison. This is probably one of the most well recognized mushrooms when people see it. The Amanita muscaria found under Spruce in our area is is a variation called flavivolvata. This variation is characterized by the yellowish cottony remnants around the edges especially when young. See the color on edges of caps on the younger specimens pictured here. I believe that we have more than one variety of Amanita muscaria in Colorado. Each are associated with a different conifer. The ones under Ponderosa Pine for instance are purely white and do not have yellowish veil remnants. It is not known exactly how many varieties exist here. Clearly there are at least two that I'm aware of and there could be more depending on which mycorrhizal host (tree). It's also possible that some of them have multiple hosts. More study is needed however and some may be more toxic than others so ingesting them is a very risky and experimental practice. Amanita muscaria contain ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscarine.

Location

Colorado

Spore Print

White

Edibility

Poisonous

Color

Red

iNaturalist Observation

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/137947274

Last Updated

Sep 19 2024 10:53 PM

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