Amanita Rubescens - The blusher - conditioned edible
I found that beutiful mushrooms in hardwoods and coniferous forest from spring to late in the autumn. Is a very tasty mushrooms, but if not cooked well is toxic.
The blusher is a common name for many species of Amanita who are closely related.
My recommendation is to avoid this mushroom if you are not sure because it can be confused with poisonous species even deadly.
Amanita rubescens is very common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland as well as in mainland Europe and in North America. (Many authorities believe that Blushers found in the USA are a different species from the European Blusher.) In South Africa, where Amanita rubescens is also recorded, it is thought to be an introduced species rather than a native one.
The epithet rubescens means reddening; it refers to the colour change from white to pinkish red when cut or damaged flesh of either the cap or the stem is exposed to air. ( this is the element who make difference from the other species ).
- Blusher caps range from 5 to 20cm diameter when fully expanded;
- Often brownish-pink but very variable; usually retaining irregularly distributed;
- When damaged, the gills and cap flesh turn deep pink or dull red;
- Gills re white, almost free of the stem, and crowded. In mature Blusher specimens the gills are often marked with pink or rusty red spots, and when handled the gills very quickly blush pink or pal red;
- Stems are usually between 7 and 15 cm in length, stem diameter is typically 1 to 2 cm
- The ring is striate on its upper side;
- The spores are white, ovate;
Can be confused with other Amanita species ( be careful because can be deadly) or sometime with Macrolepiota procera which is edible.
- all the photos are taken by me