American Caesar's mushroom vs destroying angel
- Deadly: Destroying Angel
Both start as white eggs in a white cup. Sliced top to bottom, a Caesar's egg is orange and yellow inside; a destroying angel's is white throughout.
American Caesar's mushroom vs death cap: the white egg that hides the difference
Quick answer
Grown mushrooms are easy to separate: the American Caesar's mushroom has a bright red to orange cap, yellow gills and a yellow stem, while the death cap has a greenish to olive cap with white gills and a white stem. The danger is the unopened egg, which is white in both. Sliced top to bottom, a Caesar's egg shows an orange cap and yellow gills inside; a death cap egg shows pale gills under a pale or greenish cap.
Deadly lookalike
The death cap is deadly.
Unlike the American Caesar's mushroom, the death cap (Amanita phalloides) contains amatoxins, which halt protein production in cells by binding the enzyme RNA polymerase II. The CDC describes a delay of 6 to 24 hours before vomiting and diarrhea begin, an apparent recovery 24 to 36 hours after the meal, and liver and multiorgan failure typically 3 to 5 days after it. Amatoxins are heat stable and are not inactivated by cooking. In the 2016 northern California outbreak, three of 14 patients needed liver transplants.
If someone has eaten a wild mushroom and feels unwell, or may have eaten one of these, call poison control now: 1-800-222-1222 in the US. Do not wait for symptoms.
Side by side
The tell for each
Edible
The tellBright red to orange cap with a lined edge, yellow gills, a yellow stem and ring, and a thick white sac-like cup at the base.
Deadly
The tellGreenish to yellow-olive cap, white gills, a skirt-like ring, and a white sac-like cup around the base of the stem.
How they differ
| Feature | American Caesar's Mushroom | Death Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Cap color | American Caesar's MushroomBright red to orange, fading yellow toward the edge. | Death CapYellow-green to olive or bronze, sometimes pale or nearly white. |
| Gills | American Caesar's MushroomYellow to yellow-orange. | Death CapWhite, staying white. |
| Stem and ring | American Caesar's MushroomYellow, often with orange bands, and a yellow to orange ring. | Death CapWhite or tinged with the cap color, with a white ring. |
| Cup at the base | American Caesar's MushroomA large, thick, white sac. | Death CapA white, membranous sac around a bulb, often buried. |
| Cap edge | American Caesar's MushroomLong lines (striations). | Death CapSmooth. |
| Range | American Caesar's MushroomEastern North America. | Death CapMainly the Pacific coast, with scattered introduced populations in the Northeast. |
| Egg, sliced top to bottom | American Caesar's MushroomOrange cap and yellow gills inside. | Death CapWhite gills under a pale or greenish cap. |
FAQ
Common questions
Does the American Caesar's mushroom have a cup like a death cap?
Yes. Both have a white sac-like cup (volva) at the base, so the cup does not separate them. Gill and stem color do: yellow in the Caesar's mushroom, white in the death cap.
Can you tell a Caesar's mushroom egg from a death cap egg?
Only from the inside, once sliced top to bottom. A Caesar's egg shows orange and yellow tissue inside; a death cap egg shows white gills. From the outside, both are white eggs.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Amanita jacksonii
MushroomExpert.com
- Amanita phalloides
MushroomExpert.com
- Amanita phalloides, death cap (Mushrooms Up!)
Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia
- Amanita phalloides Mushroom Poisonings, Northern California, December 2016
CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Keep checking
Read both pages in full
- More on the American Caesar's mushroom
- More on the death cap
- Not sure it is either? Narrow it down with the identification key
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
More comparisons
Common earthball vs death cap
- Toxic: Common Earthball
- Deadly: Death Cap
Split top to bottom, a death cap egg shows a cap, gills and stem. An earthball is solid purple-black inside a thick, scaly rind.
Common stinkhorn vs death cap
- Deadly: Death Cap
Sliced top to bottom, a stinkhorn egg shows jelly around a folded stalk. A death cap egg shows a cap, gills and stem. Both start as white eggs.
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