Amanita bisporigera

Destroying angel, death angel, eastern destroying angel amanita

My mom used to warn us kids about deadly toadstools when we were growing up, and this is the species that best deserves this moniker. It is common and widespread. All members of the Amanita genus are poisonous in varying degrees, but these are perhaps the most dangerous.

Identification: These are usually found singly or in small groups. They are all white, turning a bit tan, straw yellow, or rose pink with age. They rarely have white “warts” on the cap, leftovers of the veil. Fruits are up to 6″ (13 cm) high, with a stipe up to ⅝″ (1.8 cm) in diameter, and a cap up to 4″ (10 cm) in diameter. A thin delicate “skirt” encircles the upper stalk, one identifying feature. Another is that the gills under the cap do not attach to the stipe. The base of the mushroom is a bulblike sac called the volva. A faintly pleasant odor becomes sickeningly sweet/rotten in older specimens.

Habitats: Mixed coniferous and deciduous forests in eastern North America.

Spores: These typically measure 7.2-9.9 µm × 6.4-8.8 µm. They are globose, ellipsoid, or very rarely elongate.

Edibility: Deadly. This, and many amanitas, contain amatoxins, which interfere with cellular functions. The first symptoms of poisoning occur 6 to 24 hours after ingestion. This is followed by a misleading period of apparent improve­ment. Next, the liver and kidneys begin to fail, leading to death after four days. A single mushroom is fatal. Two extremely similar species: A. virosa and A. verna, are equally deadly, but restricted to Europe. A. ocreata appears in western North America.

Amanita bisporigera description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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