Amanita echinocephala is a large, whitish or ivory-coloured mushroom with a characteristic spiny, or warty-looking cap. A. solitaria is a synonym and opinions are divided as to which name takes precedence. It lives on chalky soils with beech trees, and appears earlier than most mushrooms of similar size in southern England. It frequently occurs singly or in small groups, resulting in it being referred to as the solitary amanita or, more specifically, European solitary lepidella. It is very drought-tolerant.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
Considered toxic. Public sources list it as such; we have not verified this individually. The note covers its whole genus. Genus holds the deadliest mushrooms; several species are edible but none should be eaten without expert identification Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Amanita canescens — considered toxic
- Amanita atkinsoniana — considered toxic
- Amanita cokeri — considered toxic
- Amanita strobiliformis — considered toxic
- Amanita pareparina — considered toxic
Classification
- Kingdom
- Fungi
- Phylum
- Basidiomycota
- Class
- Agaricomycetes
- Order
- Agaricales
- Family
- Amanitaceae
- Genus
- Amanita
- Species
- Amanita echinocephala
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