Collection & Photo: Ron Pastorino

There is a pretty good species concept amongst informed collectors in California for this frequently encountered Gemmatoid Amanita. She stands apart from the typical Amanita gemmata by the thick, cottony universal veil that splits into large patches that may even form a calyptra in young fruitbodies. The similarly thick and soft partial veil may form multiple girdles on the stipe, reminiscent of a series of friable annulae, above the rather smooth basal bulb. The stature is mostly leggy with the length of the stem exceeding the cap diameter in most well developed basidiocarps. The cap color tends to be deeper yellow with a hint of peach is younger fruitbodies.

The wrong photo choice in the book series "THE AGARICALES OF CALIFORNIA 1. Amanitaceae" (to the right) mislead a generation of California collectors to believe that the species illustrated here represents Amanita breckonii Thiers & Ammirati. Upon comparison of the Type Collection and several representative collection of this species, it was demonstrated that the spores are quite different in shape and they cannot possibly be conspecific. There are many other differences too. As of now no new pictures of the original Amanita breckonii exist, while the species pictured here has to be described and named formally.