No report upon quality.
A. Cæsa´rea Scop.—king-like. (Called by the Greeks Cibus Deorum, food of the gods.) CAUTION. Pileus 3–8 in. across, hemispherical, then expanded, free from warts, distinctly striate on the margin, red or orange becoming yellow. Gills free, yellow. Stem 4–6 in. long, up to ¾ in. thick at base, slightly tapering upward, yellowish, flocculose, stuffed with white fibrils or hollow, with a conspicuous yellowish ring or veil. Volva white, large, distinct and membranous. Spores elliptical, 8–10µ Peck.
Open woods, under pines on lawns. July to October.
Reported from North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New York. Peck, Rep. 23, 32, 33, 48.
This emperor of fungi is the most showy of its race. It grows to 10 in. in height. The cap reaches 8 in. in diameter and the stem over 1½ in. in thickness. In very much smaller specimens about the same proportions occur. The cap is at first ovate, then hemispherical, then expanded. It has no warts or scales upon it. The margin is distinctly striate. The flesh is white, yellow or reddish under the skin; next to the gills it is usually yellow.
The stem tapers upward from the socket at its base. It is yellowish and covered with loose fibrils of darker hue. The ring is white, but frequently tinged with yellow. In taste and smell it is mild. Open woods is its favorite habitat, yet it is found growing luxuriantly under pines, maples, elms, on lawns. It is not often found, but when it is, it is solitary, or in groups or rings. In the latitude of Philadelphia it is found from July until October 1st. Further south its stay conforms to temperature, and it is more frequent. There is no doubt of its rare edibility abroad, and of its being eaten in America.
A specimen believed to be it should never be eaten until carefully distinguished from A. muscaria and A. Frostiana, which have warts or scales on the cap (which sometimes are not discernible after rain), white gills, and a volva which soon breaks up into fragments or scabs.
Appearing like a small form of A. muscaria, to which it was formerly referred, is A. Frostiana Pk. (Frost’s Agaric). It closely resembles small A. Cæsarea, especially in the yellow tinge of stem, ring and gills. The volva and ring (persistent in A. Cæsarea) soon disappear, but are traceable by fluffy fragments, or yellow stains. It is extremely poisonous.
The differences, concisely, are these: A. Cæsarea (Orange Amanita). Cap smooth, though occasionally with a few fragments of the volva as patches upon it. Gills yellow. Stem yellow. Volva usually persistent, sometimes breaking up into soft, fluffy masses.
A. muscaria (Fly Amanita). Poisonous. Cap covered with remains of the volva as scales or wart-like patches. Gills white. Stem white or light-yellow. Volva not persistent, breaking up into fluffy fragments or scales.