How to Identify the Death Mushroom

The death mushroom (scientific name Amanita phalloides ) is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world. We need to know how to identify death mushrooms because of its deadly danger, especially when many people still confuse death mushrooms with straw mushrooms, an edible mushroom. Death mushrooms are mostly white, have white spores, and give off an unpleasant detergent odor. If you suspect that a certain mushroom is a death mushroom, absolutely do not eat it.

Table of Contents

Mushroom hat identification

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Look for green or yellow hues on the white mushroom caps. Look closely at the mushroom cap. The color of death mushrooms can vary depending on the environment. In general, however, the caps are ivory-white with a slight olive green, pale green or yellow tint. Very old mushrooms can turn almost brown. Older mushrooms also often have 1-2 large cracks on the top of the mushroom cap. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Death caps usually have one or more patches with a thin white membrane.

Notes: The great César mushroom ( Amanita caesarea ), a completely edible mushroom (although sometimes confused with the death mushroom), has a bright orange cap. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Measure the diameter of the mushroom cap to see if it falls between 7.5 – 15 cm. Measure the mushroom cap while it is still growing in the soil without pulling it up to prevent the mushroom from dying. Use a ruler to measure its diameter. If you are facing a death mushroom, the mushroom cap will be between 7.5 – 15 cm in diameter. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

You can touch mushrooms without wearing gloves. Mushroom toxins can only be harmful if you swallow them.
Be very careful when picking mushrooms to eat. If you’re not sure if a certain mushroom is a death mushroom, don’t touch it.
The caps of adult straw mushrooms are roughly the same size and shape as death mushrooms, so it can be difficult to tell apart. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Check for the white ray leaves close together under the mushroom cap. Death mushrooms (and amanita mushrooms) have thin white ray leaves under the mushroom cap. Turn the mushroom upside down (you can crouch down to the ground) and look at the underside of the mushroom cap to see the rays. These thin rays grow closely together near the outer edge of the cap and attach very smoothly to the stem. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

The color of the leaves is another feature that distinguishes death mushrooms from straw mushrooms and other edible mushrooms. The ray leaves of straw mushrooms are pinkish brown in color.
Other fungi, such as those of the genus Agaricus , also have pink ray leaves, although they will turn brown on older mushrooms.

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Observe round caps on young death mushrooms. Tilt the mushroom back and forth to see the shape of the cap. In young mushrooms, you can see a very round bowl-shaped cap, sometimes so round that it surrounds and almost touches the stem. However, as the mushroom grows and reaches maturity, its cap flattens out. If you notice the mushroom cap is almost flat, it’s an old death mushroom. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Edible puffball mushrooms sometimes look like death mushrooms in the forest. The best way to tell the two apart is to cut the mushroom apart. If there are no rays, it is a puffball mushroom. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Note: Death mushrooms, whether young or old, have the same toxicity. The amount of toxins in 1 mushroom can kill an adult, and just a few pieces of mushroom are enough to kill a child or pet.

Observe the mushroom body

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Notice the ivory white mushroom body, about 7cm-15cm high. Gently dig up the mushrooms or brush the soil around the mushrooms. If you have a ruler, measure the height of the mushroom. One of the most prominent features of the death mushroom is the tall, fat, ivory-white or yellowish mushroom body and the raised mushroom cap above the forest floor. The body of the death mushroom is usually covered with a thin layer of smooth scales. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Mushrooms are usually lighter in color than the caps.
The edible mushroom Amanita caesarea has a yellow body and is usually about 5cm-7.5cm shorter than the death mushroom. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Check the base of the mushroom to see if it looks like a white cup. If the base of the mushroom is not visible, use a spade to dig down a bit to find the bottom of the mushroom. You may have to uproot the mushroom completely. The base of the fungal stem is called the basal capsule, a remnant of the tissue that protects the fungal rays as they grow. The root capsule of the death mushroom is quite large, up to 4 cm in diameter. ^{[10] X Research Source}

The lower part of the mushroom stem, including the root sheath, is usually in the ground around the plant it attaches to. The base of the mushroom can also break or fall off over time, so even if you don’t see a root sheath, it could still be Amanita.
Mushrooms also have a root capsule of a similar size, so finding a root capsule is not enough to identify a mushroom as a death mushroom. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Look at the top of the mushroom body for a drooping membrane like a skirt. Tilt the mushroom to the side and look directly below the mushroom cap. The “skirt” of the death mushroom is a thin membrane that surrounds the mushroom body, just below the mushroom cap. This membrane is white and loosely attached to the top of the mushroom body. ^{[12] X Research Source}

This thin film can be broken if you dig up and grasp the death mushroom.
If you happen to come across a very young death mushroom, you will see this membrane growing from the stem to the edge of the cap, covering the leaves.

Hold and smell mushrooms

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Smell to see if the mushroom smells like ammonia. Hold the mushroom about 8cm away from your nose and smell it. Death mushrooms have an odor similar to that of the ammonia found in household cleaners, creating a distinctive scent distinct from the mushroom world. ^{[13] X Research Source} Use this test if you cannot distinguish death mushrooms from other mushrooms by their appearance.

Absolutely do not taste the mushroom. Even if you don’t die when you taste a small piece of mushroom in your mouth, you can still get serious poisoning.
Most other mushrooms do not have a strong odor.

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Use one or two fingers to tap the mushroom cap to see if it sticks. Tap gently so as not to break the mushroom or uproot the mushroom. The caps of death mushrooms are usually a bit sticky and can leave a small amount of sticky substance on your fingers when you tap them lightly. You also have a slightly viscous sensation to the touch of the mushroom cap. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after touching the death mushroom. You can get sick from the deadly toxin if you eat it without washing your hands.

Tip: You can completely touch the death mushroom, because its toxicity is only dangerous if swallowed. If you feel uncomfortable touching poisonous mushrooms, put on gloves.

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Take the spore impression and look for the white spores left behind. To get an imprint of the spores of the death mushroom, you will place the mushroom cap on a piece of dark paper, with the leaf part facing down on the paper. Leave the mushroom like that overnight, the next morning remove the cap and look for the white spore prints on the paper. The death fungus will leave a white spore imprint. ^{[15] X Research Source}

If it’s a harmless straw mushroom, you’ll see a pink spore imprint on the paper.
Never let children or pets into the room where you are imprinting the fungal spores.

Determine where the death fungus grows in nature

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Beware of death mushrooms in temperate forests with lots of oak trees. The death mushroom is native to Europe, and is still found in many temperate forests of Europe. They are scattered throughout the earth and can thrive in temperate forests, especially in oak-filled forests. The death fungus is commonly found in North Africa, but usually does not live in other parts of the continent. ^{[16] X Research Source}

The death fungus also thrives in the woodlands of southern Australia, especially around cities such as Adelaide and Canberra. ^{[17] X Research Source}

Note: In the United States, death mushrooms are found among oak trees in coastal areas, such as New Jersey, Oregon, and the San Francisco Bay Area in California.

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Look for death mushrooms in late summer and throughout fall. In temperate regions, death mushrooms are found between late summer and late autumn. The temperature during this time is favorable for many types of fungi, including death mushrooms. ^{[18] X Research Sources} The death fungus is very rarely found in the wild in winter or spring.

In North America and Europe, late summer to late fall is from late August to late November. In Australia and South America, this period is from late February to late May.

Advice

The death mushroom is often confused with the edible straw mushroom ( Vpvariella vpvacea ).
Death mushrooms are native to Europe, where they are still found among cork and Norwegian spruce. From there, they spread to both North America and North Africa, now to Australia and South America. ^{[20] X Research Sources}
Some species of mushrooms in the Amanita family, such as the Amanita caesarea (Caesar the Great mushroom), are edible, but if you can’t tell them apart from their deadly relatives, it’s best not to touch them. ^{[21] X Research Source}

Warning

If you accidentally ingest one of the poisonous mushrooms of the Amanita family, seek medical attention immediately. The longer it is left, the more harmful it is to the body. The initial treatment regimen for Amanita mushroom poisoning is to use milk thistle extract to prevent toxins from attacking the liver, followed by albumin dialysis to remove toxins.
Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated if you swallow any part of the Amanita mushroom. Severe cases may require a liver transplant.
Death mushrooms and other poisonous Amanita species attack the body by blocking the formation of certain proteins in the liver and kidneys, leading to coma and death. The death mushroom’s toxin is present in all its tissues. ^{[22] X Research Source}

Steps