Caesar's mushroom
Amanita caesarea · 橙盖鹅膏
Rare鹅膏科🍽 Reported Edible (Wild)
Reference sources describe this as an edible wild fungus. This guide provides no basis whatsoever for foraging or consumption.
The same species can be described differently across regions and stages of maturity, and countless look-alike species cannot be told apart by eye. Never use the information on this page to judge whether a real mushroom is safe to eat.
How to Tell
- Cap orange-red and smooth, margin striate
- Gills and stem both yellow
- Base has a large, loose white volva
ID notes are compiled by AI from public sources, not reviewed by a mycologist, for learning only — never a basis for foraging.
Basics
- Family
- 鹅膏科
- Hymenium
- Gills
- Grows On
- Mycorrhizal
- How Big
- 8–20 cm (cap diameter)
- Encounter Rate
- Rare
- Habitat
- Oak woodland
Easily Confused With
Fly agaricCaesar's mushroom has a smooth cap without white spots, and yellow gills and stem.
Half-dyed slender caesarCap orange-red to red, margin clearly striate
Death capCaesar's mushroom has an orange-red cap with yellow gills and stem; death cap has an olive-green cap and white gills.
East Asian yellow death capCaesar's mushroom has yellow gills and stem; East Asian yellow death cap has white gills.
American CaesarCap bright orange-red and smooth, margin distinctly striateFun Fact
Named for the Roman emperors who favored it, it's separated from its deadly Amanita cousins by only a handful of features, and history records no shortage of fatal misidentifications.