| Blusher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 | |
 | Gills onhymenium |
 | Cap is flat |
 | Hymenium is free |
 | Stipe has aring |
 | Spore print is white |
 | Ecology ismycorrhizal |
  | Edibility isedible butnot recommended |
Theblusher is the common name for several closely related species of the genusAmanita.A. rubescens (theblushing amanita) is found in Eurasia andA. novinupta (thenew bride blushing amanita orblushing 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 isedible and tasty, sought for in several European countries.
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 includeAmanita brunneolocularis,A. orsonii,A. rubescens var.alba, andA. rubescens var.congolensis.[5][3]
A. rubescens has a reddish-brown convexpileus (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. Thestipe (stem) is white with flushes of the cap colour, and grows to 5–15 cm.[6] Thegills are white and free of the stem, and display red spots when damaged. Thering is striate (i.e. has ridges) on its upper side. Thespores are white, ovate,amyloid,[6] and approximately 8 by 5 μm in size. Theflavour of the uncooked flesh is mild, but has a faint acridaftertaste. 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 whitespore print.[7]
Several related species are difficult to distinguish.[7] The pink blush is a key feature in differentiating blushers fromA. pantherina (thepoisonous false blusher), the flesh of which does not.A. pantherina also lacks a striate ring.
A. rubescens is common throughout much of Europe and Asia. It grows on poor soils as well as indeciduous andconiferous 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 asA. amerirubescens.[3]
In eastern North America, species in theA. rubescens group are frequently parasitized byHypomyces 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]
A. rubescens is edible when cooked.[10]A. rubescens contains a toxichemolytic 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, withDavid Pegler stating that if eaten raw in large quantities it can cause severeanaemia if left untreated; Pegler classifies it as ablood cell-damaging (haemolytic-poisoning) mushroom.[11] It also resembles some toxic species.[12]
PoisonousAmanita mushrooms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Subgenus Amanita |
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| Subgenus Amanitina |
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| Subgenus Lepidella |
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