Agaricus - Tumblr Posts
Agaricus sp.
Shadowing the forest floor with its magnificent dark gills.
Aug. 14th, 2023
St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Olivia R. Myers
@oliviarosaline
Panthercap - Amanita pantherina
This post will discuss Amanita pantherina or the panthercap, a beautiful poisonous mushroom from the same genus as the iconic Amanita muscaria or the fly agaric.
This post includes pictures that I took last fall when I came across multiple panthercaps, only the microscopic picture of the spores I did not make myself. One of the panthercaps I took with me to make a spore print so there are pictures of that too:)
Fruitbody
The cap of Amanita pantherina ranges from 4 to 16 centimeters in diameter. The cap has a shiny brown, tan or yellowish brown colour and has a very finely striate margin. Initially the cap is domed but flattens out as the fruitbody matures. The pure white remains of the universal veil are dotted fairly even over the surface of the cap.¹
The gills of the panthercap are white, free, crowded and relatively broad.¹
The stipe of Amanita pantherina ranges from 4 to 18 centimeters tall and has a pure white colour with a hanging ring. The base of the stipe is slightly swollen and bulbous.¹
Spores and microscopic features
The spores are white of colour and are broadly ellipsoidal to ovoid, smooth, 8-12 x 6.7-7.5µm and inamyloid.¹ The basidia are 4-spored, rarely with clamps.²
Spore print
To make the spore print I seperated the stipe from the cap and put the cap down on paper. I sprinkled some water on top of the cap and left it over-night. In the morning I had this beautiful spore print.
Some advise I can give, however, is to make the spore print outside in case there are maggots in the mushroom. Sharp as ever, I forgot about that and woke up to find some maggots crawling over the cap, which had gotten all mushy on the top because of it.
Psychoactivitiy
The panthercap can contain the psychoactive chemical compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol as well as muscazone and muscarine. These are not the same as the psychoactive chemicals associated with many other psychedelic mushrooms which often contain psilocybin. The psychoactive compounds contained in Amanita pantherina are also toxins, which means that this species must be treated as a poisonous mushroom.¹
Ecology and distribution
Amanita pantherina forms ectomycorrhizal relationships with trees in deciduous and coniferous woodlands. Being an ectomycorrhizal fungus, it lives in root symbiosis with trees, deriving photosynthesised nutrients from it and providing soil nutrients in return.³ They might grow alone, scattered, or gregariously.²
The panthercap can be found throughout (southern) Europe and western Asia in late summer and autumn.³ It can also be found in the western North America during the fall and winter.²
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References
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Mutuals:
@squidsandthings
@fungus-gnats
@fairy-tales-of-yesterday
@flamingears
@lameotello
@lovelyalicorn
@writingraccoon
Another mycology infodump:)