Species flashcards

Description

Cap: Hemispherical when young, then convex, finally spreading to 5-8 cm in diameter. The white cap surface is smooth, becoming slightly sticky when wet, shiny when dry.

Gills: Also white, dense, free-standing.

Stem: The 8-15 cm long, 0.5-2 cm thick, white, bulbous stem has a hanging ring and a large volva, often deep in the soil.

Flesh: White, quite soft, and has no characteristic smell and taste.

Spore: White; 8‑10 × 6.5‑8 μm; elliptical or spherical.

Occurrence: In Hungary, it has been found so far in hornbeam-oak forests and sandy oak forests, in summer and early autumn, a rather rare species in Hungary.

Edibility: Deadly poisonous, just like the Death Cap.

Confusion: This is the most dangerous poisonous mushroom species, because it can be very easily confused with white edible mushrooms. The careless mushroom collector may confuse it with white-fruiting mushrooms, but their gills quickly become grayish-pinkish, pinkish, and finally chocolate-brown, and the cylindrical stem has no volva. Dapperlings resemble the white amanita even more, as their fruiting body is white, including their gills. The dapperling's club-shaped stem, however, has no volva, and it generally grows outside forests. It can also be easily confused with the pointed amanita.

Note: The amanita genus currently includes 35 species. The fruiting body has both a general and a partial veil, except for grisettes, which have no ring. verna is a Latin word meaning - spring. Its toxin is the same as that of the Death Cap.

Species description: Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard first described it scientifically. Later, Pers placed it in the amanita genus.

Taxonomy

1. PhylumBasidiomycota
2. ClassAgaricomycetes
3. OrderAgaricales
4. FamilyAmanitaceae
5. GenusAmanita

• Species: verna
• Described by: (Bull. ex Fr.) Lam.
• Hungarian name: fehér galóca
• Lifestyle: mycorrhizal
• Edibility: poisonous