Amanita echinocephala

Appearance

The cap can be up to 15 centimetres in diameter, and is white to ivory, or silver-grey in colour. It is covered in raised pyramidal warts, that become less well defined, and less frequent towards the margin. These are remnants of the universal veil which covers the mushroom in its earliest stages. The young buttons are darker, and sometimes shaped like a two tier loaf, with a ring of raised scales around the base. The white to ivory stipe is 8–16 cm high and 2–3 cm wide, with several rings of upturned scales towards the bulbous base. It is fairly deeply rooted, often laterally below the surface. The ring is thin and fragile, often adhering to the stipe. The gills are cream, but sometimes have a slight green tint.
They are largely free of the stipe, but sometimes have a small decurrent tooth. The flesh is white, and is said to have an unpleasant smell.

Naming

Because the two species often share the same growing ground, "A. echinocephala", and "A. strobiliformis" have both been erroneously identified as "Amanita solitaria" in the past.

⤷ "Amanita strobiliformis" lives in the same locations, often at the same time. It is a more robust mushroom, with large, thick but flat patches on the cap, and typically has noticeable hanging veil remnants around the cap margin. With a delicate mealy ring.
⤷  "Amanita vittadinii" has conical warts on the cap, and has recurved scales right to the underside of the ring. It is usually found on heavier soils.

Distribution

"A. echinocephala" occurs in Britain, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It appears in Britain during summer, and early autumn. It grows in light, dry calcareous soils with both broad leaved, and coniferous trees. It is quite drought-tolerant, giving rise to the suspicion that Southern England could be at the northern extent of its range. It occurs with hardwoods on calcareous soils, often associated with Limes in the Czech Republic, sometimes together with "A. strobiliformis".