Blusher
| Blusher | |
|---|---|
| File:Amanita rubescens.JPG | |
| Amanita rubescens in Italy | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Amanitaceae |
| Genus: | Amanita |
| Species: | A. rubescens
|
| Binomial name | |
| Amanita rubescens | |
| Amanita rubescens | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
| File:Gills icon.png | Gills on hymenium |
| File:Flat cap icon.svg | Cap is flat |
| File:Free gills icon2.svg | Hymenium is free |
| File:Ring stipe icon.svg | Stipe has a ring |
| Spore print is white | |
| File:Mycorrhizal fungus.svg | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
| File:Mycomorphbox Edible.png File:Mycomorphbox Caution.png | 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 | edit source]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 | edit source]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]
Similar species
[edit | edit source]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.
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Amanita 'amerirubescens'
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Underside of A. 'amerirubescens'
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Blushers at various ages
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A. rubescens
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A. rubescens f. annulosulphurea
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A. rubescens cap
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Illustration of A. rubescens group
Distribution and habitat
[edit | edit source]
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 United Kingdom.[citation needed] 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 | edit source]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 | edit source]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] It also resembles some toxic species.[12]
See also
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References
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- ^ Michael Kuo, Hypomyces hyalinus, MushroomExpert.com, Oct. 2003.
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External links
[edit | edit source]
- "Tabular and Nontabular Keys to the Rubescent Species of Amanita section Validae" by Rodham E. Tulloss, March 10, 2003.
Amanita rubescens
[edit | edit source]- "Amanita rubescens" by Michael Kuo, MushroomExpert.Com, March 2003.
- "Amanita rubescens Pers.:Fr." by Rodham E. Tulloss, June 25, 2006.
Amanita novinupta
[edit | edit source]- "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.
Other species
[edit | edit source]- "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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