About this fungus
Fly Agaric is a fungus in the Amanitaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
The familiar fly agaric usually has a bright red to orange cap scattered with pale warts, above white gills and a white stem with a hanging ring. Its complete structure is more informative than the storybook cap alone.
What to check
Excavate the whole base rather than snapping the stem. A typical fruit body has a 5 to 25 cm rounded cap that expands through convex to almost flat, crowded white to cream gills that are free or narrowly attached, and a white stem with a broad hanging ring. The swollen base is not enclosed by a neat sack; universal-veil material forms broken rings or cottony bands around it. Pale cap warts are made from the same veil and can be rubbed or washed away. The spore print is white. Check cap, gills, ring and intact base together.
Variation
Rain can remove most or all cap warts, and sun or age can fade red caps towards orange or yellow. Regional members of the wider fly agaric complex can be yellow, pale or brownish rather than classic scarlet. The stem ring may tear or become less obvious, but the bulb and broken volval bands often remain useful. Gills stay white to cream rather than turning yellow as a normal mature stage.
Lookalikes
Blusher, Amanita rubescens, normally has a brownish or pink-brown cap and flesh that turns pink-red where damaged. Panthercap and related panther amanitas have brown caps and a more sharply rimmed basal structure rather than the loose ascending bands typical of fly agaric. Caesar's Mushroom, Amanita caesarea, has yellow gills, stem and ring plus a sack-like white volva, and its orange-red cap is normally smooth. Colour forms and regional species complicate the picture, while unopened Amanita buttons may conceal most diagnostic features.
Habitat and range
Ectomycorrhizal on soil with birch, pine, spruce, oak and a range of other compatible broadleaved trees and conifers. It is widespread across the Northern Hemisphere and has been introduced with host trees in parts of the Southern Hemisphere. Fruiting is most frequent from late summer through autumn, although local seasons vary.
Food safety
Poisonous.
Photographs
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
H. Krisp / CC BY-SA 3.0
Holger Krisp / CC BY 3.0Species to compare
Similar mushrooms to compare against: