Amanita smithiana

Amanita smithiana
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Amanitaceae
Genus:	Amanita
Species:	A. smithiana
Binomial name
Amanita smithiana Bas (1969)

Amanita smithiana Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex or flat
	Hymenium is free
	Stipe has a ring and volva
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is poisonous

Amanita smithiana, also known as Smith's amanita, ^[2] is a species of agaric found on soil in coniferous ( Abies , Tsuga , Pseudotsuga ) and broadleaved ( Alnus , Quercus ) woodland in the Pacific Northwest of North America. It fruits in August and September.

Description

The cap has a diameter of 5–17 centimetres (2–6+1⁄2 inches) and is white and scaled with remnants of the universal veil. The stipe is 6–18 cm (2+1⁄2–7 in) long by 1–3.5 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) thick, white and similarly scaled, with a ring. ^[3] The spores are ellipsoid to elongated, amyloid, and measure 11–12.5 by 7–8  μm. ^[4]

Taxonomy

Amanita smithiana was described by Dutch mycologist Cornelis Bas in 1969. The specific epithet honors mycologist Alexander H. Smith, who collected the type specimens from Washington in 1941. ^[4] It belongs in the subgenus Lepidella.

Toxicity

It is responsible for poisonings in the Pacific Northwest when mistaken for the edible and sought after Tricholoma murrillianum (matsutake). It causes initial gastrointestinal symptoms that manifest 1 to 12 hours after eating the mushrooms, ^[5] followed by acute nephritis after a delay of 2–6 days. Hemodialysis appears to be an effective treatment and most patients recover normal kidney function within several weeks of ingestion. ^[6]

It is thought that A. smithiana toxicity is from chlorocrotylglycine and allenic norleucine. ^[5]

Several similar species have been implicated in similar cases of poisoning: A. sphaerobulbosa , Saproamanita thiersii , A. proxima , (Spain) and A. pseudoporphyria (Japan). ^[3]

See also

• Fungi portal

• List of Amanita species

References

1. Siegel, N. (2021). "Amanita smithiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T198477559A198489594. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T198477559A198489594.en . Retrieved 21 April 2025.
2. "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
3. Tulloss RE. "Amanita smithiana". Amanitaceae.org. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
4. Bas C. (1969). "Morphology and subdivision of Amanita and a monograph of its section Lepidella". Persoonia. 5 (3): 285–579 (see p. 418).
5. Greenberg, Michael I. (2005). Greenberg's Text-atlas of Emergency Medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 854. ISBN   978-0-7817-4586-4.
6. Saviuc P, Danel V. (2006). "New Syndromes in Mushroom Poisoning". Toxicological Reviews. 25 (3): 199–209. doi:10.2165/00139709-200625030-00004. PMID   17192123. S2CID   24320633.