''Amanita franchetii'', also known as the Franchet's amanita,
is a species of
fungus
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...
in the family
Amanitaceae
The Amanitaceae is a family of mushroom-forming fungi. ''Amanita'' Pers. is one of the most specious and best-known fungal genera. The family, also commonly called the amanita family, is in order Agaricales, the gilled mushrooms. The family co ...
. It was given its current name by Swiss mycologist
Victor Fayod
Victor Fayod (23 November 1860 – 28 April 1900) was a Swiss mycologist, who created an influential novel classification of the agaric fungi and who described a number of new genera and species.
Biographical overview
Fayod was born on 23 Nove ...
in 1889 in honor of French botanist
Adrien René Franchet
Adrien René Franchet (21 April 1834 in Pezou – 15 February 1900 in Paris) was a French botanist, based at the Paris Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.
He is noted for his extensive work describing the flora of China and Japan, base ...
.
[ ''A. franchetii'' occurs in ]Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
with oaks (''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
'' ssp.), chestnuts (''Castanea
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nut (fruit), nuts they produce.
Th ...
'' ssp.), and pines (''Pinus
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
'' ssp.).[
A similar fungus in western ]North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
was also referred to as ''A. franchetii'', but was long suspected of being a separate, undescribed species,[ and in 2013 was formally described under the name '' Amanita augusta''.
''Amanita aspera'' and ''Amanita franchetii'' are synonyms.][
There also exists a variety known as ''Amanita franchetii'' var. ''lactella'' that is entirely white except for the bright yellow universal veil remnants.][ It is found in the western ]Mediterranean region
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
, associated with several species of oak (''Quercus suber
''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores ...
'' and '' Q. robur'') and hornbeam (''Carpinus betulus
''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, ...
''),[ and is also reported from ]Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
.[
]
Description
The cap is 5–12 cm wide, and is yellow-brown to brown in color. The flesh is white or pale yellow, and has a mild odor. The closely spaced gills
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
are the same color as the flesh. The stipe is thick and larger at the base, also white to yellowish; loose areas of yellow veil form on the base. A thick ring is left by the partial veil
In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some basidiomycete fungi, typically agarics. Its role is to isolate ...
.
Edibility
''Amanita franchetii'' is considered inedible,[ and is reported as being toxic when raw or undercooked.][ this case report has been called into question for possible misidentification of the mushrooms involved. ]
See also
* List of ''Amanita'' species
References
External links
*
* - A description of the western North American species.
''Amanita franchetii'' var. ''lactella'' photo
from Aranzadi Society of Sciences, Mycology Gallery.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4739873
franchetii
Fungi of North America
Fungi described in 1889
Inedible fungi