Amanita Notes

Amanita

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION

Family :                      Amanitaceae

Genus :                       Amanita

Species :                      cothurnata; gemmata; muscaria; pantherina; regalis

Common Names        Fly Agaric; Beni Tengutake

The generic name, coined by Persoon, derives from the Greek amanitai, meaning "fungi without any details" or from Amanos, a mountain place between Cicilia and Syria.

Distribution

            The genus Amanita is widely distributed across Europe. Amanita zambiana is found in in central Africa, A. basii and similar species in Mexico, A. caesarea in Europe,A. chepangiana in South-East Asia. Other species are used for colouring sauces, such as the red A. jacksonii with a range from eastern Canada to eastern Mexico. Some species of Amanita are found in Northern areas of Pakistan.

General Characters of Amanita:

v  The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities resulting from mushroom poisoning, with the death cap accounting for about 50% on its own. The most potent toxin present in these mushrooms is α-amanitin.

v  Mushrooms of the genus Amanita are gilled mushrooms, distinguised by white gills and spores, a ring around the stipe (called an annulus or partial veil) and a cup at the base of the stipe (the volva).

v  The mushrooms in Amanita include some of the world's best known and most beautiful fungi. Amanita species are recognized by their (usually) pale gills, which are free from the stem; their white spore prints; the presence of a universal veil that often creates a volva or other distinctive features on the stem; and their more or less dry caps (as opposed to the slimy caps in the related genus Limacella). Many species of Amanita have warts or patches on their caps, and many have a ring on the stem.

v  Psychoactive Amanitas are mushrooms which contain the psychoactive chemicals ibotenic acid and muscimol. They have a long history of use in Asia and Northern Europe. They are best known for their distinctive appearance (bright reds and yellows with white spots).

v  Amanitas are not as hard to identify as many gilled mushrooms are, though there are difficult and frustrating areas within the genus--particularly among the white species. Plenty of good literature is available for the genus (see the references list below), and identification for many species is based on a set of fairly easily ascertained, reasonable characters ("reasonable" as opposed to the characters in Russula, for example, where subtle differences in taste or the "peelability" of the cap cuticle are operative).

v  A few amanitas are "rubescent"--the term in Mycology for mushrooms that blush pink or reddish when bruised, or develop reddish discolorations with age. Amanita rubescens and Amanita novinupta are among the most commonly encountered "blushers." Some species bruise and discolor brown, like Amanita brunnescens, whose chiseled stem base is illustrated above.

v  Microscopic characters are sometimes required for success in amanita identification, but the necessary microscope work is often centered around simple analysis of spores, rather than more erudite microfeatures that require substantial microscope experience. The shape of the spores is important, as well as their dimensions and their reaction to the iodine in Melzer's reagent: "amyloid" spores have bluish to blackish walls in Melzer's, while "inamyloid" spores do not.

v  Lastly, since the great majority of amanitas are mycorrhizal. Amanitas appear to be a little less picky about their mycorrhizal associates than members of some genera.

Diversity of  Amanita species with reference to Pakistan

Amanita crocea                       Edible                          According to Gardezi et al 1993

Amanita muscaria                   Poisonous                                According to Gardezi et al1993

                                                Medicinal                                According to Batra et al  1983

Amanita vaginata                    Edible                                      According to Gardezi et al1993

Most of the Agaricus species are recorded from Gilgit baltistan

Amanita pakistanica

Botanical Name         Amanita pakistanica

Name status               nomen acceptum

Discovered by                       Tulloss, S. H. Iqbal & A. N. Khalid

Common Name         "Pakistan Slender Caesar"

Introduction       

 The following is based on the original description of Amanita pakistanica.

Cap  

 The cap of A. pakistanica is up to 80 mm wide, campanulate to convex when young, plane then convex at maturity, umbonate, non appendiculate, with a striate margin taking up 15 - 20% of the radius.  The cap is white to cream colored to pale tan away from the center and orange-tan to light brown to brown in the center.  The flesh is white.  The volva is absent or present as patches or small flakes; it is membranous to sub membranous and detersive.

Gills   

The gills are free, crowded, and white to pale pinkish.  The short gills are truncate, of diverse lengths, plentiful, and unevenly distributed.

Stem    

The stem is up to 150 × 10 mm, white, narrowing upward, with pallid ridges encircling or partially encircling the stem.  The flesh is white.  The white bulb at the stipe base is proportionately rather small (up to 30 mm wide), sub ovoid, and difficult to discern in dried material.  The somewhat weakly structure and flap-like volva is up to 32 mm high, membranous to sub membranous, white to off-white, and attached in part to the upper part of the bulb.

Spores

The spores measure (10.0-) 10.1 - 12.2 (-12.8) × (6.5-) 7.0 - 8.8 (-9.2) µm and are broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid (infrequently elongate) and inamyloid.  Clamps are common at bases of basidia.