(Amanita muscaria var. guessowii)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
|
|
Description |
American Yellow Fly Agaric is a large, conspicuous, yellow variety of one of the most recognizable mushrooms in the world. It occurs in the United States from Maine to Maryland, west to Minnesota and Indiana, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina. It also occurs across southern Canada from Nova Scotia to Alberta. It is not uncommon in Minnesota. It occurs in coniferous, deciduous, or mixed woodlands, woodland edges, and among planted trees. It is found from June to November, solitary, scattered, in groups, or in fairy rings, on the ground under pine, spruce, fir, aspen, or birch trees. It is mycorrhizal, obtaining its nutrients from the rootlets of a tree while facilitating greater absorption of nutrients from the soil by the tree. When it first appears the fruiting body is egg-shaped, completely enclosed in a protective membrane (universal veil). As the mushroom expands the universal veil breaks, forming 2 to 4 concentric rings of scales at the base of the stalk. Another protective membrane (partial veil) extends from the margin of the cap to the stalk and covers the gills. At maturity, the partial veil breaks away leaving a persistent ring or collar of tissue at the middle or near the top of the stalk. The ring is fragile, whitish, often with a yellowish edge, and sometimes the edges appear torn or toothed. The cap on young mushrooms is nearly round at first, becoming convex then ultimately nearly flat at maturity. The mature cap is is 2″ to 12″ in diameter, sometimes larger. The upper surface is hairless, slimy when moist, pale yellow, bright yellow, or orangish-yellow, often with a reddish-orange or yellowish-orange center. Occasionally, the cap is entirely orange. It is densely covered at first with cottony, wart-like fragments of the universal veil. As the mushroom ages, the warts are worn away or washed away by rain. The stalk is 2″ to 8″ tall, sometimes taller, and ⅜″ to 13 ⁄16″ thick, sometimes thicker. It may be tapered from the base or have an expanded, bulb-like base up to 2⅜″ in diameter. It is usually scaly below the ring. The gills are white, broad, and closely spaced. They are narrowly attached or not attached to the stalk. The spore print is white. The flesh is white. It is poisonous. It does not change color when cut. Most guidebooks and authorities state that American Yellow Fly Agaric is poisonous, and it is true that about 90% of mushroom-related fatalities involve Amanitas. Fly agaric contains the hallucinogenic compounds muscimole and ibotenic acid. They may have been involved in prehistoric rituals. It is poisonous in large, possibly even in moderate amounts, but not normally fatal. |
Similar Species |
Frost’s Amanita (Amanita frostiana) is smaller, no more than 4″ in diameter and usually 3″ in diameter or less. The stem does not have concentric rings of scales near the base. |
Habitat and Hosts |
Solitary, scattered, in groups, or in fairy rings. Coniferous, deciduous, or mixed woodlands, woodland edges, and planted trees. On the ground under pine, spruce, fir, aspen, or birch. |
Ecology |
Season |
June to November |
Distribution |
||
Sources |
||
6/2/2024 | ||
Occurrence |
||
Widespread in North America. Common in northeastern United States. |
Taxonomy |
|
Kingdom |
Fungi (fungi) |
Subkingdom |
Dikarya |
Phylum |
Basidiomycota (club fungi) |
Subphylum |
Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms) |
Class |
Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies) |
Subclass |
Agaricomycetidae |
Order |
|
Suborder |
Pluteineae |
Family |
Amanitaceae (Amanita mushrooms and allies) |
Tribe |
Amaniteae |
Genus |
Amanita (Amanita mushrooms) |
Subgenus |
Amanita |
Section |
Amanita |
Subsection |
Amanita |
Species |
|
Some authorities, including RogersMushrooms.com and the usually reliable Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora, list this as Amanita muscaria var. formosa. However, that name refers to a European variety that does not occur in North America. The North American var. guessowii was first described in 1933. |
|
Subordinate Taxa |
|
|
|
Synonyms |
|
|
|
Common Names |
|
American Eastern Yellow Fly Agaric American Yellow Fly Agaric |
Glossary
Mycorrhizal
A symbiotic, usually beneficial relationship between a fungus and the tiny rootlets of a plant, usually a tree.
Partial veil
A protective covering over the gills or pores of a developing mushroom. At maturity it disappears, collapses into a ring around the stalk, or wears away into a cobwebby covering and ring zone.
Universal veil
An egg-like structure that envelopes all or most of a developing gill mushroom. Remnants of the universal veil sometimes visible on a mature mushroom are patchy warts on the cap, a ring on the stalk, and a volva at the base of the stalk.
Visitor Photos |
||
Share your photo of this fungus. |
||
This button not working for you? |
Traveller |
![]() |
all by itself near the Wawa goose statue |
Sherry Kavanaugh |
![]() |
So cool! Four inches tall |
John Clark |
||
![]() |
||
Beautiful |
|
Debra Townsend |
![]() |
Dawn Marie |
||
![]() |
![]() |
Luciearl |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
||
So many amanitas this fall! I've seen many clusters in the woods. |
Paul |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
AGShep |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
In my backyard |
||
![]() |
![]() |
Rene Berger |
![]() |
Beautiful mushrooms by the edge of a playground! |
Rebekka Erdman |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Some are dinner plate size here!! |
||
![]() |
Sheri Karras |
![]() |
Melissa Schlickenmayer |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
PattiOD |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
Rachel B. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
found a bunch of these was hoping they were edible but wasn't sure so didn't eat. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
Jeffrey M. Arsenault |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Just after a rainfall, so I believe that the “warts” were partially washed away. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
Corey Bol |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
Carrie Olson |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
Anne Nienaber |
![]() |
Walter Rudd |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Here are some nice specimens of the Eastern yellow/orange fly agaric mushroom I found growing in the northern part of Washington county, MN near Scandia. There were hundreds of colonies on this private 14 acre plot of land. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
Robert Briggs |
![]() |
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
![]() |
||
Fairy ring |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Young mushroom |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Mature mushroom |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Cap |
||
![]() |
||
Cap with warts mostly washed away by rain |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Stem |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Stem |
Gills |
Slideshows |
Amanita muscaria var. formosa (guessowii) |
About
Uploaded on Apr 1, 2009 Adirondacks, NY, August, 2008. |
Visitor Videos |
||
Share your video of this fungus. |
||
This button not working for you? |
Melissa Schlickenmayer |
American Yellow Fly Agaric 01 |
About
American Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii) |
Other Videos |
Amanita muscaria var.formosa |
About
Uploaded on Oct 21, 2008 Found a bunch of this beautiful mushroom growing under some pine needles |
Mushrooms are Gods (Part II) |
About
Published on Sep 26, 2010 More random information about Amanita Muscaria Formosa, aka SOMA or the Fly Argaric. |
Visitor Sightings |
||
Report a sighting of this fungus. |
||
This button not working for you? |
Traveller |
Location: Wawa, Ontario, Canada all by itself near the Wawa goose statue |
![]() |
Sherry Kavanaugh |
Location: Shiocton, WI So cool! Four inches tall |
![]() |
John Clark |
Location: Moscow Mills, Missouri 63362 Beautiful |
Dawn Marie 9/26/2023 |
Location: Menagha, MN |
Luciearl 9/24/2023 |
Location: Fairview Twp., Cass County |
Paul 8/27/2023 |
Location: St. Cloud, MN (Benton County) |
AGShep 9/2/2022 |
Location: Isanti County In my backyard |
Rene Berger 8/22/2022 |
Location: 2003 W Willard St, Stillwater, MN 55082 Beautiful mushrooms by the edge of a playground! |
Rebekka Erdman 9/30/2021 |
Location: Battle Creek Dog Park, Ramsey County MN Some are dinner plate size here!! |
Sheri Karras 9/30/2021 |
Location: St. Louis County |
Luciearl 9/10/2021 |
Location: Cass County So many amanitas this fall! I've seen many clusters in the woods. |
Luciearl 9/2/2021 |
Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County |
Melissa Schlickenmayer 9/23/2020 |
Location: Sartell, Minnesota |
PattiOD 9/13/2020 |
Location: Central NH, USA |
Rachel B. 8/23/2020 |
Location: Barnum Minnesota 45 minutes south of Duluth found a bunch of these was hoping they were edible but wasn't sure so didn't eat. |
Jeffrey M. Arsenault 7/14/2020 |
Location: Mankato Just after a rainfall, so I believe that the “warts” were partially washed away. |
Larry Helige 10/6/2019 |
Location: Vancouver WA
|
Carrie Olson 9/15/2019 |
Location: Park Rapids |
Anne Nienaber 9/7/2019 |
Location: Stearns County |
Walter Rudd 9/5/2019 |
Location: Washington County, MN near Scandia Here are some nice specimens of the Eastern yellow/orange fly agaric mushroom I found growing in the northern part of Washington county, MN near Scandia. There were hundreds of colonies on this private 14 acre plot of land. |
Luciearl 9/2/2019 |
Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County |
Karen Papiernik 9/2/2019 |
Location: Town of Lockport, New York
|
Robert Briggs 9/24/2016 |
Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park |
Luciearl 8/28/2014 |
Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County |
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
Created: 11/5/2016 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |