From the edible Reddish amanita, it is easily separated by the entire absence of any reddish hues or stains and of warts upon its cap.
From the Smooth lepiota its distinct, abrupt and marginal bulb at once distinguishes it.
A. ver´na Bull.—vernus, of spring. A variety of A. phalloides. POISONOUS. White. Pileus ovate then expanded, somewhat depressed, viscid, margin orbicular, even. Stem stuffed then hollow, equal, floccose, closely sheathed with the free border of the volva. Ring reflexed, swollen. Gills free. Pileus glabrous, even on the margin, white, viscid when moist. Gills white. Stem ringed, white, floccose, stuffed or hollow, closely sheathed at the base by the remains of the membranous volva, bulbous. Spores globose, 8µ broad.
In woods. Spring and summer.
The Vernal Amanita scarcely differs from white forms of the A. phalloides except in the more persistent and more closely sheathing remains of the wrapper at the base of the stem. It is probably only a variety of that species, as most mycologists now regard it, and it should be considered quite as dangerous. I have not found it earlier than in July, although in Europe it is said to appear in spring, as its name implies. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Common over the United States. West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, May to November. It appeared at Mt. Gretna, Pa., on May 28, 1899. McIlvaine.
The absence of a ring separates white forms of A. volvata and A. vaginata.
The virulence of its poison is the same as that of A. phalloides.
A. magnivela´ris Pk.—magnus, large; velum, veil. Pileus convex or nearly plane, glabrous, slightly viscid when moist, even on the margin, white or yellowish-white. Gills close, free, white. Stem long, nearly equal, glabrous, white, furnished with a large membranous white annulus, sheathed at the base by the appressed remains of the membranous volva, the bulbous base tapering downward and radicating. Spores broadly elliptical, 10×6–8µ.
Pileus 3–5 in. broad. Stem 5–7 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.