Blusher

Amanita rubescens

Toxic raw

Also called blushing amanita.

The blusher is a reddish brown amanita whose flesh slowly turns pinkish red wherever it is damaged. It grows in eastern hardwood and mixed forests in summer and fall. It is toxic raw, and it is easily confused with the panther cap.

A blusher lying on its side, with a warty brown cap and a pale stem stained reddish at the base, on soil

The tell

Dull reddish brown cap with grayish to pinkish warts, and flesh that slowly turns pinkish red where it is cut, bruised or eaten by insects.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
Convex to flat, dull reddish brown, tan or pinkish brown, with scattered grayish, pinkish or dirty white warts. The edge is smooth or faintly lined.
Underside
Gills white, crowded and free from the stem or nearly so. They develop reddish stains with age or handling.
Stem
White to pinkish, often with reddish stains toward the base. A white, skirt-like ring near the top has fine lines on its upper surface. The base is swollen into a bulb with no sac-like cup, often with reddish stains.
Flesh
White, slowly turning pinkish red where cut or bruised. Insect holes are usually reddish.
Spore print
White.
Size
Cap 2 to 6 inches wide (5 to 15 cm); stem 3 to 6 inches tall (7.5 to 15 cm).

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Hardwood and mixed forests, especially with oaks and pines.
Grows on
Soil, mycorrhizal with the roots of living trees.
Season
Summer through fall.
Range
Eastern North America; western blushers are treated as a separate species, Amanita novinupta.

Lookalikes

What the blusher gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  1. Compare side by side

  2. Cleft-foot amanita

    Amanita brunnescens has a brown cap with whitish warts and a bulb that is often split vertically. Its flesh bruises reddish brown rather than pinkish red.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Toxic raw

European field guides list the blusher as edible when thoroughly cooked. Raw, it contains a protein that breaks down red blood cells; heat destroys it. North American guides add that it is easily confused with the panther cap and other toxic amanitas, and that North American blushers may be different species from the European one, so most list it with caution.

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.

FAQ

Questions about the blusher

Is the blusher mushroom poisonous?

Raw, it contains a protein that damages red blood cells; cooking breaks it down. European field guides list it as edible when well cooked. North American guides note its close resemblance to the toxic panther cap.

Why is it called the blusher?

Its white flesh slowly turns pinkish red wherever it is cut, bruised or eaten by insects. Older mushrooms often show reddish stains on the stem and gills.

How do you tell a blusher from a panther cap?

The blusher's flesh reddens when damaged, and its warts are grayish or pinkish. The panther cap's flesh stays white, its warts are pure white, and its bulb has a neat rolled collar.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Amanita rubescens

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Blusher

    Missouri Department of Conservation

  3. Amanita rubescens

    Index Fungorum

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