Species details
Warted Amanita
Amanita strobiliformis
Extra caution required
Photo: Matej Frančeškin · CC BY 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A large whitish to grey Amanita with coarse grey-white veil patches and a robust stem.
Identification features
The ring is large and fragile and the base bulbous; dangerous Amanita lookalikes make it unsuitable for beginners.
Identification checklist
Check the entire fruitbody for identification. A large whitish to grey Amanita with coarse grey-white veil patches and a robust stem. The ring is large and fragile and the base bulbous; dangerous Amanita lookalikes make it unsuitable for beginners. Typical habitat: Warm deciduous woodland, parks and grassy areas on calcareous soils.
Detailed features
- Cap
- 10–18 cm, initially hemispherical, later flattened, white to grey-yellowish, with large thick rhomboid veil patches.
- Hymenophore
- Gills white, crowded, broad and delicate; later becoming free.
- Stem
- Up to 18 × 4 cm, stout and white, with a large rapidly disintegrating ring; base strongly thickened.
- Flesh
- White, without marked colour change; old fruitbodies mould quickly.
- Smell
- Indistinct.
- Spore print
- Whitish.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 10–18 cm
- Stem height
- ≤ 18 cm
- Stem diameter
- ≤ 4 cm
Habitat
Warm deciduous woodland, parks and grassy areas on calcareous soils.
Fruiting period
June, July, August, September, October
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Mycorrhizal
- Substrate
- Forest soil, Grassland
- Soil
- Calcareous
- Notes
- A mycorrhizal species of open woodland, parks and path margins, characteristically on calcareous soils.
How to separate similar species
Compare especially with these similar species: Amanita ovoidea, Amanita verna, Amanita virosa. Check the combination of cap shape and colour, spore-bearing surface, stem, flesh changes and habitat. A single feature or photograph is not enough; if the key characters do not match the description, do not treat the identification as confirmed.
Similar species
- Bearded Amanita (Amanita ovoidea)
Egg-shaped amanita has a smoother white cap, a large sac-like volva and less prominent large cap scales.
- Destroying angel (Amanita virosa) DANGEROUS
Destroying angel is deadly, usually more slender and lacks the large thick rhomboid cap patches.
Conservation
- Protected species
- Yes
- Red list
- R – rare species
- Notes
- The species is legally protected in Slovenia under the regulation on protected wild fungi. On the Slovenian Red List: R – rare species.
Interesting facts
Did you know? It is among the larger European amanitas; the large thick veil patches give the cap a distinctive, almost cone-like appearance.