Amanita texasorora - Amanitaceae.org - Taxonomy and Morphology of Amanita and Limacella
[print] [map]
name Amanita texasorora
name status nomen provisorum
author Tulloss, Kudzma & D. P. Lewis
english name "Texan Sister Ringless Amanita"
images


  • 1. Amanita texasorora, Lance Rozier Unit, Big Thicket Preserve, Hardin Co., Texas, U.S.A.  RET 467-5



  • 2. Amanita texasorora, field note sketch of stipe base unusual for the amount coherent limb remaining, Day Pond St. Pk., New London Co., Connecticut, U.S.A.  RET 319-4


  • 3. Amanita texasorora, universal veil just beginning to change color on pileus, Fulton Co., Georgia, U.S.A.  RET 500-5


  • 4. Amanita texasorora, limbus internus beginning to be distinctly gray, Fulton Co., Georgia, U.S.A.  RET 500-5



  • 5. Amanita texasorora, dried pileus, notice color changes in pileus surface and lamellae, Fulton Co., Georgia, U.S.A.  RET 500-5


  • 6. Amanita texasorora, fully expanded pileus, Maine, U.S.A.  in herb. L. V. Kudzma

  • Amanita texasorora, mature specimen, Maine, U.S.A.  in herb. L. V. KudzmaAmanita texasorora, mature specimen, Maine, U.S.A.  in herb. L. V. Kudzma

    7. Amanita texasorora, mature specimen, Maine, U.S.A.  in herb. L. V. Kudzma

  • Amanita texasorora, fully expanded pileus, somewhat faded, Quincy Bluff, Adams Co., Wisconsin, U.S.A.  RET 575-7Amanita texasorora, fully expanded pileus, somewhat faded, Quincy Bluff, Adams Co., Wisconsin, U.S.A.  RET 575-7

    8. Amanita texasorora, fully expanded pileus, somewhat faded, Quincy Bluff, Adams Co., Wisconsin, U.S.A.  RET 575-7


  • 9. Amanita texasorora, mature or overmature specimen with unusual rusty coloration at margin, Devil's Hopyard St. Pk., East Haddam, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, U.S.A.  RET 489-9


  • 10. Amanita texasorora, Beaumont Unit, Big Thicket Nat. Pres., Orange Co., Texas, U.S.A.  RET 682-6



  • 11. Amanita texasorora, Hopeville Pond St. P., Griswold, New London Co., Connecticut, U.S.A.  RET 703-4



  • 12. Amanita texasorora, Devil's Hopyard St. Pk., E. Haddam, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, U.S.A.  RET 703-9


  • 13. Amanita texasorora, Devil's Hopyard St. Pk. E. Haddam, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, U.S.A.  RET 704-9

    • intro Upon first encountering this species in the field in Texas and in Connecticut it was noted to (often, but not always) have a darker cap than collections of Amanita sp-V03 and the taxon now called A. rhacopus.  It was given a separate code number on the basis of the darker cap and what appeared to be larger spores.  Since that time we have learned the the cap color is variable in these species and may not serve to separate them.

    For the moment, please see the technical tab of this page for more information that has not yet been digested for the brief tab.
    cap The tan to brown to grayish olive brown to dark gray brown cap is 76 - 100 mm wide.  The cap edge is sometimes pale cream.  The cap is cone-shaped at first, and becomes flattened with age; it is sometimes depressed over the center.  The cap is tacky and dull to dry and shiny.  The cap's flesh is 5 - 7 mm thick above the stem and white except for a pale brown to gray region below the cap's skin (about 1 - 2 mm thick).  The flesh does not stain or bruise.  The cap edge is grooved for a short distance.
    gills The off-white to pale gray gills are free to almost crowded and 6 - 9 mm broad.  There may be a descending line on the upper stem.  Infrequently a gill may fork toward the stem.  The short gilss are unevenly distributed, end abruptly, and may have a tooth-like extension along the the underside of the cap.  Short gills are plentiful and of varying lengths.  They may be attached at the stem or the cap edge, or neither.
    stem The stem has a white to pale ground color and is 99 - 146 x 10.5 - 15.0 mm.  The stem may be white at its base and becomes pale brown with handling.  The stem narrows upward and flares at its top and is often decorated with pale gray to brownish gray fibrils.

    The stem has three areas of surface decoration. The top most half of the stem is covered with white to pale gray powder, the middle area has lengthwise dense surface fibrils that become brown or gray with handling, the lowest area is white and sometimes has curving scales.  The mostly hollow stem's flesh is white to pale tan.

    The volva is soft, smooth, and sack-like with a white exterior at first.  The tissue of the upper part of the sack becomes gray to black and breaks into plaques and warts.  The base of the sac tends to remain as a white cup enclosing the stem base.  The latter is often separated from the dark volva fragments by a vertically grooved region often described as "strangulate."  The uppermost point of the fragmented part of the volval is found 28 - 56 mm from the base of the stem.
    odor/taste The odor of this mushroom is minimal to slightly "fungoid unpleasant."
    spores The spores measure (9.8-) 10.0 - 12.0 (-13.1) × (9.1-) 9.5 - 11.5 (-12.9) µm, are globose to subglobose and inamyloid.  Clamps are not to be found at bases of basidia.
    discussion This species has been found growing alone or in small groups.  In Connecticut it was described in moist sandy loam or loam of a coniferous or mixed forest.  In Texas it was found in a mixed pine-hardwood forest or among native grasses in an area with Pine, Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and Juniper.

    This species is similar to Amanita rhacopus.

    Connecticut material of this taxa was originally referred to the temporary code "sp-N34," which is no longer in use in these pages.—R. E. Tulloss, D. P. Lewis, and N. R. Goodman
    brief editors RET

    [top]