Amanita farinosa

Amanita farinosa
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Amanitaceae
Genus:	Amanita
Species:	A. farinosa
Binomial name
Amanita farinosa (Schw.)

Amanita farinosa Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is flat or convex
	Hymenium is free
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is poisonous

Amanita farinosa, commonly known as the floury amanita, ^[2] eastern American floury amanita or the American floury amanita, ^[3] is a North American poisonous mushroom of the genus Amanita , ^[4] a genus of fungi including some of the most deadly mushrooms.

Taxonomy

Two recent molecular studies show that A. farinosa is part of a subgroup within Amanita with its close relatives A. muscaria , A. gemmata and A. roseotincta . ^{[5] [6]}

Description

The cap is 2.5–7 centimetres (1–3 inches) in diameter, domed in young and flat in older specimens, with a striate margin. It is whitish grey and covered with brownish grey volval or mealy material. The gills are white. They may be attached to the stem or free. They are close and crowded and not bruising. The stem, or the stipe, lacks a ring and at its base a smallish bulb or volva. It measures up to 6.5 cm high, 1–3 cm thick. The stem is white to tan in color. ^[7] The spores are white. They are 5.5–8 x 6–8  μm in measurement and inamyloid. The spores are smooth and round to broadly elliptical. The flesh is white in color. It does not stain on exposure. ^[7] In old specimens, the smell can be strong and that of mink.

The poisonous mushroom resembles some other members of its genus. ^[8]

Distribution and habitat

An uncommon mushroom, it is found in eastern North America from summer to autumn underwood hardwood trees. ^[8]

See also

• List of Amanita species

Footnotes

1. NatureServe. "Amanita farinosa". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
2. Siegel, Noah; Schwarz, Christian (September 1, 2024). Mushrooms of Cascadia: A Comprehensive Guide to Fungi of the Pacific Northwest. Humboldt County, CA: Backcountry Press. p. 54. ISBN   9781941624197.
3. "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
4. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 19. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
5. Moncalvo J-M, Drehmel D, & Vilgalys R. (2000). Variation in modes and rates of evolution in nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal DNA in the mushroom genus Amanita (Agaricales, Basidiomycota): phylogenetic implications. Molecular Phylogenetic and Evolution16:48-63.
6. Drehmel D, Moncalvo J-M, & Vilgalys R. (1999). Molecular phylogeny of Amanita based on large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and character evolution. Mycologia91:610-618
7. Kuo, M. (2008, March). Amanita farinosa. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_farinosa.html
8. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 528. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.