Amanita scalaris - Amanitaceae.org - Taxonomy and Morphology of Amanita and Limacella
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name Amanita scalaris
name status nomen provisorum
author Tulloss & Rodríguez Caycedo
english name "Terraced Lepidella"
images

  • 1. Amanita sp-04, in typical sandy soil of Pine-Oak Barrens, Jamesburg Twp. Pk., ca. Helmetta Pond, Middlesex Co., New Jersey, U.S.A.


  • 2. Amanita sp-04, in typical sandy soil of Pine-Oak Barrens, Jamesburg Twp. Pk., ca. Helmetta Pond, Middlesex Co., New Jersey, U.S.A.

    • intro The incomplete description on this page is based or original research of RET and CRC.
    cap The white to off-white cap is 46-63 mm wide and becomes pinkish brown from the center outward with age.  The shiny, dry, cap is convex to flat, and sometimes is slightly depressed in the center.  The edge of the cap is smooth, and has bits of the volva attached to it.  White to pinkish warts are densely placed on the cap.
    gills The off-white gills are close together and are narrowly attached to the stem; at the point of attachment, the gills sometimes have a small tooth-like projection along the stipe surface.  The plentiful short gills are of diverse lengths and are rounded at their free ends.
    stem The white stem is 85-110 x 7-17 mm and sometimes has rusty stains near the bulb.  The soft bulb is 44-60 x 19-28 mm and sometimes has rusty stains.  The stem’s firm white flesh is sometimes stained in a way that suggests A. amerirubescens of sect. Validae.  The cream-white ring is felted and membranous and sometimes has a thickened edge.  The volval remnants form disc-like rings or terraces at the bottom of the stem and on the upper bulb, the lowermost of which are sometimes divided into warts.
    odor/taste Very young material of the present species may be odorless; however, recorded smells for older material range from "tide pool" [pleasant odor smelled approaching the ocean] to "old ham" to "spoiled meat" or others suggesting decaying protein.
    spores The spores of this species measure (10.5-) 11.0 - 15.0 (-19.0) × (3.8-) 4.2 - 5.2 (-6.8) µm and are predominantly cylindric and amyloid.  Status of clamps on the basidia is not yet known.
    discussion To date, this species is known only from two pine-oak "barrens" sites in New Jersey.  The first of these sites has sustained extensive damage from off-road vehicles in recent decades despite preservation attemps.  An extensive search for this mushroom in the original site and other locations in New Jersey and in similar pine barrens localities on Long Island is now required.—R. E. Tulloss, C. Rodríguez Caycedo, and N. Goldman
    brief editors RET

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