''Amanita calyptroderma'' also known as coccora, coccoli or the Pacific amanita, is a white-spored

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

that fruits naturally in the coastal forests of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

during the fall and winter and spring.

Description

This mushroom's cap is about 10–25 cm in diameter, usually orange-brown in color (but sometimes white), and partially covered by a thick white patch of

universal veil In mycology, a universal veil is a temporary membranous tissue that fully envelops immature fruiting bodies of certain gilled mushrooms. The developing Caesar's mushroom (''Amanita caesarea''), for example, which may resemble a small white sphere ...

. It has white, close gills. Its cream-colored stalk is about 10–20 cm in length and 2–4 cm in width, adorned with a

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 ...

. It has a partially hollow stem (filled with a stringy white pith), and a large, sacklike volva at the base of the stalk. The spores of this species, which are white, do not change color when placed in a solution of

Melzer's reagent Melzer's reagent (also known as Melzer's iodine reagent, Melzer's solution or informally as Melzer's) is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi, and by phytopathologists for fungi that are plant pathogens ...

, and thus are termed

inamyloid In mycology a tissue or feature is said to be amyloid if it has a positive amyloid reaction when subjected to a crude chemical test using iodine as an ingredient of either Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, producing a blue to blue-black stain ...

. This characteristic in combination with the skirt-like

annulus Annulus (or anulus) or annular indicates a ring- or donut-shaped area or structure. It may refer to: Human anatomy * ''Anulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis'', spinal structure * Annulus of Zinn, a.k.a. annular tendon or ''anulus tendineus com ...

and absence of a bulb at the base of the stalk place this mushroom in the

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

''Caesareae''.

Distribution and habitat

This mushroom occurs in

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

forests, forming

mycorrhizae A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

with

madrone ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...

(''Arbutus menziesii)'' in the southern part of its range (Central California northwards to Washington). However, in the northern part of its range (Washington to southern Canada), its preferred host is

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

''(Pseudotsuga menziesii'').

Edibility

Experienced mushroom hunters regard this mushroom as a good

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

species, but caution must be exercised when collecting ''A. calyptroderma'' for the table, since it can be confused with other species in the genus ''

Amanita The genus ''Amanita'' contains about 600 species of agarics, including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities result ...

''. This genus contains some of the deadliest mushrooms in the world, most notably '' A. phalloides'' and '' A. ocreata''.

Similar species

Amanita vernicoccora The genus ''Amanita'' contains about 600 species of agarics, including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities result ...

'' is a closely related edible species, which fruits in hilly or mountainous areas from late winter to spring. Otherwise similar in appearance, its cap is yellow. '' A. caesarea'' is also related and edible. The deadly poisonous ''A. phalloides'' is similar in appearance.

References

External links