Warted Amanita / Pine-cone Amanita

Amanita strobiliformis – Edible

Calcareous deciduous forests, parks. Summer, autumn (rarely).

Fruiting bodies large. Cap 8-12 (20) cm across, when young hemispherical, when old flattened, sometimes slightly depressed, covered with scaly, pointed warts, fleshy, massive. Gills white, later cream, very crowded, free, with many lamellulae. Stem 10-15 (20)x2-4 cm, thickening downwards but tapered at the very base, with a fibrous ring, roughened, shaggy. Flesh white, thick, with a pleasant smell and taste. Characteristic features: spores amyloid, broadly elliptical. Grows in summer, rarely in autumn, singly, in deciduous forests. Warmth-loving. A calcitroph. Very rare. Edible, but collecting it is not recommended, because it is found very rarely; it should be classed as worthy of protection.