Fly agaric

[ AMANITA MUSCARIA ]

With the advent of autumn rains, hikers can again expect to run across mushrooms as diverse as familiar white puffballs and shapeless, gelatinous things that only experts recognize. No other mushroom, however, compares to the fly agaric in terms of sheer visual beauty. So distinctive is the agaric that its image has been endlessly duplicated on T-shirts, posters and lawn ornaments; the species has a long history in cultures throughout the Northern Hemisphere as a potent and dangerous intoxicant. In California, it grows from November to February in association with conifers and madrones in the Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges.

NATURAL HISTORY

Because more than 90% of the mushroom-related deaths in California stem from consumption of various Amanita species, these mushrooms demand serious respect.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

Amanitas have a characteristic “collar” around their stalks, although it may be broken or obscured; this species has a blood- to orange-red cap speckled with constellations of white warts.