Toxic raw
Blusher
Amanita rubescens
The blusher has grayish to pinkish warts and a ring with fine lines on its upper side, and its flesh slowly turns pinkish red where cut or eaten by insects. The panther cap does not redden.
Panther Cap
Amanita pantherina
Toxic
Also called panther amanita, panther mushroom.
The panther cap is a brown amanita with white warts, a ring and a collared bulb at the base. It contains ibotenic acid and muscimol, usually at higher levels than the fly agaric, and is a recorded cause of serious poisonings in the Pacific Northwest.
The tell
Brown cap with neat white warts and a lined edge, white gills, a ring, and a bulb with a rolled collar at the top.
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, brown to tan or yellowish brown, darker at the center, and dotted with small white warts. The edge is lined with short grooves.
- Underside
- Gills white, crowded and free from the stem or nearly so.
- Stem
- White, with a white skirt-like ring that may fall away. The base is a rounded bulb with a distinct rolled rim or collar at its upper edge, sometimes with one or two rings of tissue above.
- Flesh
- White and unchanging when cut. It does not turn pink or red.
- Spore print
- White.
- Size
- Cap 2 to 5 inches wide (5 to 12 cm); stem 2 to 6 inches tall (5 to 15 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Conifer and mixed forests, often with Douglas fir, pines and oaks.
- Grows on
- Soil, mycorrhizal with the roots of living trees.
- Season
- Spring and fall in the Pacific Northwest and mountains; fall and winter in California.
- Range
- Most common in the Pacific Northwest and California; panther-like amanitas elsewhere on the continent are usually treated as separate species.
Lookalikes
What the panther cap gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
EdibleParasol Mushroom
Macrolepiota procera
Parasols have a tall stem with a snakeskin pattern, a thick movable ring, brown scales rather than white warts on the cap, and no collared bulb.
ToxicFly Agaric
Amanita muscaria
Faded or brownish fly agarics can resemble the panther cap, but the fly agaric's bulb has several concentric rings of scales rather than a single rolled collar. It contains the same toxins.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Toxic
The panther cap contains ibotenic acid and muscimol, the same compounds as the fly agaric, and field guides record it as more potent. Symptoms begin 30 minutes to 3 hours after eating and include confusion, agitation, delirium, muscle spasms and deep sleep or coma. Recorded deaths are rare. Field guides list it as poisonous.
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 panther cap
Is the panther cap mushroom poisonous?
Yes. It contains ibotenic acid and muscimol, usually at higher levels than the fly agaric. Symptoms include confusion, delirium, muscle spasms and deep sleep, starting 30 minutes to 3 hours after eating.
How do you tell a panther cap from a blusher?
The blusher's flesh slowly turns pinkish red where it is cut, bruised or eaten by insects, and its warts are grayish to pinkish. The panther cap's flesh stays white, its warts are pure white, and its bulb has a neat rolled collar.
Where does the panther cap grow in North America?
Mainly in the Pacific Northwest and California, in conifer and mixed forests. Similar brown, white-warted amanitas in eastern North America are now usually treated as different species.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Amanita pantherina
MushroomExpert.com
- Amanita pantherina
MykoWeb, California Fungi
- Amanita pantherina
Index Fungorum
Also on Mushrooms.id
Related species
Edible
American Caesar's Mushroom
Amanita jacksonii
Bright 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
Death Cap
Amanita phalloides
Greenish to yellow-olive cap, white gills, a skirt-like ring, and a white sac-like cup around the base of the stem.
Deadly
Destroying Angel
Amanita bisporigera
Pure white all over, with white gills, a skirt-like ring, and a white sac-like cup around a bulb at the base.
Amanita smithiana
Photo coming
Toxic, kidney damage
Smith's Amanita
Amanita smithiana
Large white amanita with soft, cottony patches on the cap, a ragged ring, and a shaggy, tapering root-like base, under Pacific Northwest conifers.
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