Fly agaric
Amanita muscaria · 毒蝇伞
Common鹅膏科⚠️ Poisonous
Reference sources list this as a poisonous mushroom.
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 red, scattered with white wart-like scales that may wash off after rain
- Stem white, with a bulbous base ringed by several bands of volva remnants
- Upper stem has a drooping white ring
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
- Common
- Habitat
- Ectomycorrhizal, on the ground in birch and pine woods
Easily Confused With
Caesar's mushroomCaesar's mushroom has a smooth cap without white spots, and yellow gills and stem.
Half-dyed slender caesarHalf-dyed slender caesar has a smooth orange-red cap with no white warts, and yellow gills.
Panther capCap brown, densely covered in neat rows of pure white warts
The blusherThe blusher has a brownish-red cap that reddens when damaged; its warts rub off easily and are not neatly arranged.
American CaesarAmerican Caesar has a smooth cap with no white spots, a striate margin and yellow gills.Fun Fact
The white spots on its cap are leftover fragments of the veil that once wrapped the whole young mushroom — a heavy rain can wash them all away, leaving a bare red cap.
More in this family
- Death cap
- Destroying angel
- East Asian death cap
- East Asian yellow death cap
- False death cap
- Grisette
- Smith's amanita