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Fly agaric button
Amanita muscaria var. guessowii Species (variety)
Angles captured. Two close views from slightly different angles; no shot of the stipe base.
Morphology
Egg to broadly convex button ~6 cm, warm orange to apricot fading yellower toward the margin, the surface studded with irregular white to cream patches of universal veil tissue. Still unexpanded, so gills and ring are not exposed. Base buried in moss and litter.
Habitat & substrate
Wedged among moss and leaf litter against a lichen-covered rock face and tree base. Ectomycorrhizal.
Lookalikes & what rules them out
The orange-yellow cap with loose white veil patches is diagnostic for the American yellow-orange fly agaric. A. flavoconia is yellower with more powdery, easily lost warts.
To confirm this identification
Excavate the base carefully next time — the concentric rings of veil tissue at the stipe base are the confirming feature.
Notes
Toxic. Contains ibotenic acid and muscimol — not a species to handle casually or taste-test.
Found at Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester, MA on Saturday, 1 August 2026 at 19:21. See the full walk for that day's weather and everything else recorded.
Others in this group
Earthballs in leaf litterScleroderma sp. · Oct 11Moderate
Weathered / grazed fruitbodies on an eroded bankcf. Russula · Jul 31Low
Pink-tan capped agaricUnidentified agaric · Jul 31Low
White-capped agaric in litterUnidentified agaric · Jul 31Low
White cap in leaf litterUnidentified agaric · Jul 31Low
Puffball in grassLycoperdon or Calvatia · Jul 31Moderate–high
White agaric in grassUnidentified agaric · Aug 1Low
White mycelium in leaf litterMycelium · Aug 6