page_title: Amanita aestivalis
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Amanita aestivalis / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: The mushroom Amanita aestivalis Singer ex Singer. Photographed in Strouds Run State Park, Athens, Ohio, USA. Notes: "Found under mixed hardwoods in the rain."
context_page_description: Amanita aestivalis, commonly known as the white American star-footed Amanita, is a species of fungus in the mushroom family Amanitaceae. The fungus is distributed in the eastern United States, south to Florida, and reaches north into the southeastern provinces of Canada. The cap of the fruit body is medium-sized, 5 to 8.5 cm in diameter and white. It sits atop a stem that is 8.5 to 16 cm long and has a rounded bulb at its base. The entire fruit body will slowly stain a reddish-brown color in response to bruising or aging. It remains unknown whether Amanita aestivalis is a distinct species from A. brunnescens, another similar Amanita with a comparable distribution. There are several other white-bodied amanitas with which A. aestivalis may be confused, including A. virosa, A. phalloides, and A. bisporigera.
context_section_description: The cap of the fruit body is 5 to 8.5 cm (2.0 to 3.3 in) in diameter, and depending on its age, may range from egg-shaped to convex to somewhat flattened. Older specimens may have edges that are curved upwards. The color is white or pale tan in the center of the cap; older specimens may have areas of discolored tissue colored brownish-red shades. Sometimes, the edge of the cap has radial grooves—up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long—that mirror the position of the underlying gills. When moist, the cap is sticky to the touch; when dry, it is shiny, usually without any remnants of the thin volva. The white gills are crowded close together, and are free from attachment to the stem. They are subventricose: slightly swollen in the middle, and tapering near the ends.
  The stem is 8.5 to 16 cm (3.3 to 6.3 in) long by 0.9 to 1.6 cm (0.4 to 0.6 in) thick, and slightly thicker at the base than at the top. It is stuffed with whitish hyphae that resemble cotton. The surface of the stem is smooth or has delicate tufts of soft, white, woolly hairs. There is a rimmed bulb at the base of the stem, which can reach a diameter of over 3 cm (1.2 in). The ring—located on the upper portion of the stem, 1.2–1.7 cm (0.47–0.67 in) from the top—is white, membranous, and long-lasting. The volva remains closely attached to the bulb, although a portion may stretch out like a thin membrane and adhere to the base of the stem before collapsing. The flesh will slowly turn pinkish-brown to chocolate-brown when it has been injured or bruised. Young specimens do not have any distinct odor, but fruit bodies may smell slightly of onions or garlic in age.
  Although the edibility has not been documented for this species, some sources have noted that toxicity is suspected.
caption: When moist, the cap surface is sticky. The ring is found on the upper part of the stem.
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