# Blusher

The blusher is the common name for several closely related species of the genus Amanita. A. rubescens, or the blushing amanita, is found in Europe and Asia, and A. novinupta, also known as the new bride blushing amanita or blushing bride. is found in western North America. Both their scientific and common names are derived from the propensity of their flesh to turn pink upon bruising or cutting.
The mushroom is edible and tasty, sought for in several European countries. Blushers can be distinguished from similar species by the pink or reddish colouration that appears when the mushroom is damaged, typically most visible at the base of the stipe from insect damage.

## Description

The European blusher has a reddish-brown convex pileus (cap), that is 5–15 centimetres (2–6 inches) across, and strewn with small white-to-mahogany warts. 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. This is a key feature in differentiating it from the poisonous false blusher or panther cap (Amanita pantherina), whose flesh does not. The stipe (stem) is white with flushes of the cap colour, and grows to 5–15 cm. 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, another feature distinguishing it from A. pantherina. The spores are white, ovate, amyloid, 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.
* Amanita 'amerirubescens'
* Underside of Amanita 'amerirubescens'
* Mushrooms at various ages
* A. rubescens
* A. rubescens f. annulosulphurea
* A. rubescens cap
* Illustration of A. rubescens group

## Taxonomy

A. rubescens is native to Europe and Asia, with related species being confused for it in other regions. Western North America's A. novinupta has a whitish cap and blushes pink.
Other closely related species and variants include Amanita brunneolocularis, A. orsonii, A. rubescens var. alba, and A. rubescens var. congolensis.

## Distribution and habitat

It is common throughout much of Europe and Asia. (In North America there are several different species that fit into the name A. amerirubescens) 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.
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.

## Ecology

The mushroom is often attacked by insects.

## Uses

A. rubescens is edible when cooked. 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. 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.