Amanita lanei (Murr.) Sacc. & Trott.
Syll. Fung. 23: 5. 1925.

Common Name: Coccoli, Coccora

Synonyms: Amanita calyptrata Peck, Amanita calyptroderma Atk. & Ballen.

• Pileus

  Cap 8-25 cm broad, convex, becoming nearly plane in age; margin decurved to plane at maturity, conspicuously striate; surface sticky when moist, smooth, typically partially covered with a thick, white patch of universal veil tissue; color variable: dark-brown, orange brown, (typical form), yellow-brown, lemon-yellow in a spring form, white in a rare variant; colors fading in age, often to buff or pale-tan; flesh white to cream, thick; odor mild.

• Lamellae

  Gills close, adnexed to free, close, white to cream.

• Stipe

  Stipe 10-20 cm long, 1.5-4 cm thick, more or less equal, the core hollow to stuffed; surface smooth or with scattered fibrils, color varying from white to pale yellow; partial veil membranous, forming a fragile, pendulous, superior ring; volva thick, white, membranous, sac-like, erect from the stipe base.

• Spores

  Spores 8-11 x 5-6 µm, elliptical, smooth, nonamyloid. Spore print white.

• Habitat

  Scattered to gregarious in mixed hardwood/conifer woods; fruiting from late fall to early winter; a pale yellow form fruits during the spring.

• Edibility

  Edible, but often not recommended due to the possibility of confusion with toxic Amanitas.

• Comments

  Because this large, beautiful, and edible mushroom could be mistaken for Amanita phalloides (Death Cap), only collectors with years of local experience should consider it for the table. Amanita lanei is recognized by a combination of characters: an orange-brown cap (in the typical form), with a thick white universal veil patch and conspicuously striate margin, hollow stipe, and a thick white volva cup which stands erect from stipe. Amanita phalloides when young and fresh has a yellowish-green to yellowish-brown, smooth cap, the universal veil patch usually thin and appressed, the cap margin not striate or obscurely so, the stipe usually solid, not hollow, and the volva, thin and membranous. While the differences between these two species are considerable, it should be noted that in age they become less obvious, thus mistakes can and have happened.

  Amanita calyptratra Peck is a homonym of the earlier Amanita calyptrata Lamark and therefore invalid. That makes Amanita lanei the correct name for this species.

• References

  Jenkins, David T. (1986). Amanita of North America. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 197 p.
  Smith, A.H. (1949). Mushrooms in their Natural Habitats. Sawyer's Inc: Portland, OR. 626 p.
  Thiers, Harry D. (1982). The Agaricales (Gilled Fungi) of California. 1. Amanitaceae. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 53 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Tom Duffy: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Robert Mackler: Amanita lanei (CP) — "egg" stage
  • Robert Mackler: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP) -- a hillside of Coccoli
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP) — rare white form
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP) — rare white form
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP) — white and normal form...growing within a meter of each other
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP) — Samantha guards the coccoli
  • Michael Wood: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita lanei (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita lanei (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita lanei (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita lanei (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita lanei (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Amanita lanei (I)
  • Boleslaw Kuznik -- Hunting for Mushrooms: Amanita calyptrata (CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Amanita lanei (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 284 (D), plates 61-63 (CP) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  • Arora (1991): p. 68 (D), p. 68 & 69 (CP) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  • Jenkins: p. 61 (D), figs. 38, 39 (CP) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  • Lincoff: p. 529, plates 138, 671 (CP) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  • McKenny et al.: p. 33 (D), p. 34 (CP) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  • Smith & Weber: sp. 119 (D & CP) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  • Thiers (1982): p.21 (D) [as Amanita calyptrata]
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)