Blusher
| Blusher | |
|---|---|
| |
| Amanita rubescens in Italy | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Amanitaceae |
| Genus: | Amanita |
| Species: | A. rubescens
|
| Binomial name | |
| Amanita rubescens | |
Amanita rubescens | |
|---|---|
 | Gills on hymenium |
 | Cap is flat |
 | Hymenium is free |
 | Stipe has a ring |
 | Spore print is white |
 | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
 | Edibility is edible but not recommended |
The blusher is the common name for several closely related species of the genus Amanita. A. rubescens (the blushing amanita) is found in Eurasia and A. novinupta (the new bride blushing amanita or blushing bride)[1][2] is found in western North America. Both their scientific and common names stem from the tendency of their flesh to bruise pink.
Blushers are difficult to distinguish from similar species, but one identifying feature is the pink bruising. The mushroom is edible and tasty, sought for in several European countries.
Taxonomy
[edit]Amanita rubescens is native to Europe and Asia, with related species being confused for it in other regions.[3] Amanita novinupta can be found in western North America.[4]
Other closely related species and variants include Amanita brunneolocularis, A. orsonii, A. rubescens var. alba, and A. rubescens var. congolensis.[5][3]
Description
[edit]A. rubescens has a reddish-brown convex pileus (cap), which is 5–15 centimetres (2–6 inches) across, and strewn with small white-to-mahogany warts.[6] It is sometimes covered with an ochre-yellow flush which can be washed by the rain. The flesh of the mushroom is white, becoming pink when bruised or exposed to air. The stipe (stem) is white with flushes of the cap colour, and grows to 5–15 cm.[6] The gills are white and free of the stem, and display red spots when damaged. The ring is striate (i.e. has ridges) on its upper side. The spores are white, ovate, amyloid,[6] and approximately 8 by 5 μm in size. The flavour of the uncooked flesh is mild, but has a faint acrid aftertaste. The smell is not strong.
A. novinupta has a whitish cap 5–15 cm wide and stem up to 12 cm long.[7] It also blushes pink[4] and has a mild smell and white spore print.[7]
Several related species are difficult to distinguish.[7] The pink blush is a key feature in differentiating blushers from A. pantherina (the poisonous false blusher), the flesh of which does not. A. pantherina also lacks a striate ring.
-
Amanita 'amerirubescens' -
Underside of A. 'amerirubescens' -
Blushers at various ages -
A. rubescens -
A. rubescens f. annulosulphurea -
A. rubescens cap -
Illustration of A. rubescens group
Distribution and habitat
[edit]
A. rubescens is common throughout much of Europe and Asia. It grows on poor soils as well as in deciduous and coniferous woodlands, appearing from June through to November in the UK. It has also been recorded from South Africa, where it is thought to have been accidentally introduced with trees imported from Europe.[8]
A. novinupta is found in western North America, especially California.[7] Additionally, there are several North American species known as A. amerirubescens.[3]
Ecology
[edit]The mushroom is often attacked by insects.[citation needed]
In eastern North America, species in the A. rubescens group are frequently parasitized by Hypomyces hyalinus. Parasitized fruiting bodies are extremely difficult to recognize unless they occur in conjunction with healthy ones, although some retain the "blushing" characteristic of the species.[9]
Uses
[edit]A. rubescens is edible when cooked.[10] A. rubescens contains a toxic hemolytic protein in its raw state, although it is not apparently harmful to consume and can be destroyed by cooking.[4] It is noted in some mushroom books as poisonous, with David Pegler stating that if eaten raw in large quantities it can cause severe anaemia if left untreated; Pegler classifies it as a blood cell-damaging (haemolytic-poisoning) mushroom.[11]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
- ^ Schwarz, Christian; Siegel, Noah (2016). Mushrooms of the redwood coast: a comprehensive guide to the fungi of coastal northern California. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1-60774-817-5.
- ^ a b c Quintero-Corrales, Christian A.; Vega, Melania; Ramírez-Terrazo, Amaranta; Águila, Bernardo; Garibay-Orijel, Roberto (2024-06-24). "Downfall of an empire: Unmasking the hidden diversity and distribution of the Amanita rubescens species complex". Mycologia. 116 (5): 642–649. doi:10.1080/00275514.2024.2355276. ISSN 0027-5514. PMID 38913569.
- ^ a b c Roberts, Peter; Evans, Shelley (15 April 2011). The Book of Fungi. University of Chicago Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-226-72117-0.
- ^ "Amanita brunneolocularis Tulloss, Ovrebo and Halling". Archived from the original on 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ a b c Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC 797915861.
- ^ a b c d Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 536. ISBN 978-0-593-31998-7.
- ^ Reid DA, Eicker A (1991). "South African fungi: the genus Amanita" (PDF). Mycological Research. 95: 80–95. doi:10.1016/S0953-7562(09)81364-6. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ^ Michael Kuo, Hypomyces hyalinus, MushroomExpert.com, Oct. 2003.
- ^ Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2.
- ^ Pegler, Prof David (1999). Easy Edible Mushroom Guide. Duncan Petersen. p. 182. ISBN 185410631-7.
Easy Edible mushroom Gide by Prof. David Pegler ISBN 185410631-7
External links
[edit]
- "Tabular and Nontabular Keys to the Rubescent Species of Amanita section Validae" by Rodham E. Tulloss, March 10, 2003.
Amanita rubescens
[edit]- "Amanita rubescens" by Michael Kuo, MushroomExpert.Com, March 2003.
- "Amanita rubescens Pers.:Fr." by Rodham E. Tulloss, June 25, 2006.
Amanita novinupta
[edit]- "Amanita novinupta" by Michael Kuo, MushroomExpert.Com, March 2003.
- "Amanita novinupta Tulloss & J. Lindgr." by Rodham E. Tulloss, July 25, 2006.
- "Amanita novinupta" by Michael Wood & Fred Stevens, MykoWeb, 2004. And will
Other species
[edit]- "Amanita brunneolocularis Tulloss, Ovrebo & Halling" by Rodham E. Tulloss, October 6, 2006.
- "Amanita flavorubens (Berk. & Mont.) Sacc." by Rodham E. Tulloss, July 25, 2006.
- "Amanita flavorubescens" by Michael Kuo, MushroomExpert.Com, September 2002.
- "Amanita orsonii A. Kumar & T. N. Lakh." by Rodham E. Tulloss, July 25, 2006.
- "Amanita rubescens var. alba Coker" by Rodham E. Tulloss, July 25, 2006.
- "Amanita rubescens var. congolensis Beeli" by Rodham E. Tulloss, July 25, 2006.
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| Subgenus Amanita |
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