a couple of amanitas

this is my contribution to #FungiFriday by@ewkaw

it's been a while since i last posted here in FungiFriday, but now that spring is here it is time to once again consider the search of sublime sylvan surprises. the season has not yet started here except for some hardy perennial polypores and the few gilled arboreal species that can tolerate the harsh northern winter.

so for now i am just browsing through my archives, remembering some of the mushrooms from last year. one of my favorites is the tawny grisette Amanita fulva. it is rather common and in some years plentiful. though it doesn't grow in clusters so it's not one to fill the basket quickly.

the prominent handsome comb-like ridges around the edge of the cap and the umbo in the center are pretty sure ways of identifying them. the umbo is that raised area in the center thst resembles a pimple. although it's an Amanita there is no ring on the stem. the lack of any ring helps confirm but that alone is not a good indicator. some toxic Amanitas can lose their ring but they won't have the ridges and umbo

when young the cap is bell shaped and the ridges are far less prominent. best to check out the volva for identification. once you get an eye for the details it's fairly easy to identify. until then remember it is an Amanita

it's quite tasty but being an Amanita i cook it well to avoid any of the risks associated with it's infamous toxic cousins.

another Amanita is am fond of photographing but not picking is the citron amanita Amanita citrina sometimes called the false deathcap.

the decorative irregular patches on the cap remind me of fine porcelain. they are remnants of the veil that covered it when young. when the mushroom grew in size the veil broke into the fragments that make interesting patterns with no two being exactly the same.

the cap is pale yellow or even whitish but they often become a darker yellow tan when older

A. citrina is considered to be mildly toxic though one may not notice any problem if consumed in small amounts. the real danger is the similarity in appearance to the death cap Amanita phalloides. at any rate insects and snails are fond of them so more often than not older specimens have a hole or two. but that doesn't make them any less photogenic

this last shot is edited with reduced saturation

i took all these shots with my S22 phone camera