Russula-like Amanita

Appearance

Cap: 3-9 cm; convex to broadly convex, flat, or shallowly depressed in age; thin-fleshed; sticky when fresh but soon dry; brownish yellow when very young, becoming pale yellow to straw yellow or, in old age, nearly whitish; with a few whitish to grayish warts that often disappear entirely; bald; the margin lined and pimply for 1-3 cm.

Gills: Free from the stem or nearly so; white to creamy; crowded or close; short-gills occasional.

Stem: 4-9 cm long; 0.5-1.5 cm thick; tapering slightly to the apex; whitish; bald or finely hairy; whitish, discoloring brownish; with a fragile whitish ring that can appear fairly high on the stem or nearly at the bottom and often disappears entirely; terminating in a small basal bulb; with fragile white volval remnants that form a few vague rings or, more often, a collarlike rim.

Flesh: White; unchanging.

Odor: Not distinctive.

Distribution

Possibly widely distributed east of the Great Plains in the United States.

Habitat

Mycorrhizal with conifers and hardwoods, but especially fond of oaks; often found in grassy areas; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall