Amanita rubescens - Amanitaceae.org - Taxonomy and Morphology of Amanita and Limacella
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name Amanita rubescens var. rubescens
name status nomen acceptum
author Pers. : Fr.
english name "Eurasian Blusher"
images


  • 1. Amanita rubescens, with pine, Highlands and Islands Region, Scotland, UK.



  • 2. Amanita rubescens, with beech, Netherlands.

  • cap The cap of Amanita rubescens is 61 - 107 mm wide, brown with the appearance of having radially embedded fibrils, hemispheric at first, then convex to plano-convex to planar, tacky, satiny to shiny, with a nonstriate and nonappendiculate margin.  The volva is present as pale brownish gray, small irregular warts, minutely warty, and easily removable.  The flesh is 10 - 11.5 mm thick over the stem, thinning evenly towards the margin, white, sordid under the cap skin, pinkish on exposure.
    gills The gills are adnate to narrowly adnate, white, 5 - 15 mm broad, with a decurrent line on the stem.  The short gills are subattenuate.
    stem The stem is 47 - 68 × 17 - 22 mm, white at first, soon bruising or staining pinkish, narrowing upward, flaring slightly at the top, with fibrils and recurved scales.  The bulb is 16 - 30 × 26 mm and narrowly turnip-shaped.  The ring is placed high on the stem, skirt-like, white at first, becoming cream, collapsing and tearing, with a thickened edge.  The volva is present as occasional gray powder above the bulb and is often left entirely in the soil as grayish patches.  The flesh is white, staining red brown, and solid.
    odor/taste The odor is sweetly fungoid.
    spores The spores measure (7.0-) 8.0 - 10.6 (-12.5) × (5.2-) 5.5 - 7.0 (-8.0) µm and are ellipsoid to elongate (rarely broadly ellipsoid) and amyloid.  Clamps are not observed at bases of basidia. [Note: RET's spore measurements are based on material from Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland as well as material introduced to Chile.]

    Neville and Poumarat (2004) provide the following spore measurements for this species: (7.0-) 7.5 - 10.0 (-11.0) × (5.0-) 5.5 - 7.0 (-8.0) µm.
    discussion This species was originally described from northern Europe with oak (Quercus) and beech (Fagus).  Neville and Poumarat (2004) mention the following associated trees: fir (Abies alba), pine (Pinus pinaster and P. silvestris), oak (Q. ilex, Q. pubescens, and Q. suber), and chestnut (Castanea sativa).  To date, it has not been found in the Americas where there are a number of rubescent species.  Although not as frequently as A. muscaria (L. : Fr.) Lam. var. muscaria and A. phalloides (Fr. : Fr.) Link, A. rubescens has been exported to other continents with European trees (for example, Chile in Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata) plantations).

    For comparison to other rubescent taxa, see A. brunneolocularis Tulloss, Ovrebo & Halling; A. orsonii A. Kumar & T. N. Lakh.; A. novinupta Tulloss & J. Lindgr., A. rubescens var. alba Coker; and A. congolensis (Beeli) Tulloss et al..

    For distinguishing between rubescent taxa in section Validae, refer to the Key of rubescent taxa in Amanita sect. Validae.—R. E. Tulloss and L. Possiel

    "Amanita rubescens f. annulosulfurea (Gillet) Lange"


    The name Amanita rubescens f. annulosulfurea is applied to those specimens of Amanita rubescens which differ only in having a sulfur-yellow ring on the stem.  Dr. C. Bas (Leiden, the Netherlands) and I have discussed this species.  Dr. Bas informs me that he has searched diligently for other macroscopic or microscopic character correlated with a colored annulus and that he found none.  This being the case, the name appears to lack taxonomic value and is not included in the list of taxa for this site.—R. E. Tulloss
    brief editors RET

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