Grisette

(Amanita vaginata)

Conservation Status
Grisette
Photo by Margot Avey
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Grisette is a common, medium-sized, gilled mushroom. It occurs in Europe, Japan, eastern Australia, North America, Mexico, and Central America. In the United States and southern Canada, it occurs east of the Great Plains and in the Pacific Northwest. It is relatively common in eastern Minnesota. It is found in the summer and fall, alone, scattered, or close together but not clustered (gregarious), in deciduous and mixed woodlands. It grows on the ground near trees. It has a mutually beneficial relationship (mycorrhizal) with the tiny rootlets of hardwood and coniferous trees, absorbing sugars and amino acids while helping the tree absorb water.

The cap is oval, gray to grayish-brown, and sticky at first. As it ages it spreads out, becoming broadly convex. The mature cap is 1¼ to 4 (3 to 10 mm) in diameter and flat, often with a raised bump in the middle (umbonate). It is usually darker, often very dark, in the middle. The margins are prominently lined or grooved (striate), the grooves extending inward (1 cm) or more. The surface is dry but becomes slightly slimy when wet. There are sometimes a few scattered white to grayish patches, remnants of the universal veil, clinging to the cap.

The stalk is 2¾ to 6 (7 to 15 cm) long, 316 to ¾ (5 to 20 mm) thick, and slightly tapered to the top. It is slender, fragile, white, and often covered with grayish or grayish-brown scales. There is no ring. The base is loosely enclosed in a cup-like sac (volva) that is the persistent remains of the universal veil. The volva is white and often develops grayish or rust-colored blemishes.

The gills are closely spaced to nearly crowded and are narrowly attached to the stalk (adnate) or not attached (free). They are white or tinged with gray. There are secondary, short gills between the main gills. These are plentiful but unevenly distributed.

The flesh is thin, white, and soft. It does not discolor when sliced. Unlike most Amanitas, it is edible. However, eating it is strongly discouraged due to its similarity to highly poisonous species.

The spore print is white.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Tawny Grisette (Amanita vaginata) cap is orangish-brown to tawny or tan. There are no short gills.

 
     
 
Habitat and Hosts
 
 

Woodlands. Hardwood and coniferous trees.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Season

 
 

Summer and fall

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

 
  8/3/2023      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Phylum Basidiomycota (club fungi)  
  Subphylum Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms)  
  Class Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies)  
  Subclass Agaricomycetidae  
  Order Agaricales (common gilled mushrooms and allies)  
  Suborder Pluteineae  
  Family Amanitaceae (Amanita mushrooms and allies)  
  Tribe Amaniteae  
  Genus Amanita (Amanita mushrooms)  
  Subgenus Amanita  
 

Section

Vaginatae  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Agaricus vaginatus

Amanita strangulata

Amanitopsis vaginata

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Grisette

Grisette Amanita

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Mycorrhizal

A symbiotic, usually beneficial relationship between a fungus and the tiny rootlets of a plant, usually a tree.

 

Striate

Striped or grooved in parallel lines (striae).

 

Umbonate

On mushrooms, having a distinct, raised, knob-like projection in the center of the cap.

 

Universal veil

An egg-like structure that envelopes all or most of a developing gill mushroom. Remnants of the universal veil sometimes visible on a mature mushroom are patchy warts on the cap, a ring on the stalk, and a volva at the base of the stalk.

 

Volva

Also called cup. A cup-like covering at the base of a mushroom stem, sometimes buried. In Amanita, Volvariella, and some other mushrooms, it is the remnants of the universal veil ruptured by the mushroom pushing through. In Phallales it is the remnants of the ruptured peridium.

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Paul

 
 

sprouted from the ground in a heavy wooded area. Dominantly burr oak and red oak. The specific area was a large pile of fallen trees, branches and brush that had been piled in the woods for years but was cleared earlier this summer to make way for a food plot which has been growing for better than a month. All of them are growing individually. First sighting was yesterday 8/1. As of today 8/2 all of the domes have flattened and it appears that the deer have eaten several as well. In all there was between 8-12 that I could find. Today I also found a few more that are just starting to pop out of the ground.

  Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
 

… I was only able to find a small handful of them today. It appears that most have been eaten by animals as I found several that were bitten off half way down the stem and the top of the stem with cap laying beside it. In any event, I did find a good example and I removed it from the ground by accident while lightly trying to brush away the soil around the base. …

  Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
 

This is a sample of what I am finding today. Some is new growth and some have clearly been chomped on. …

  Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette   Grisette  
 

Margot Avey

 
 

They are beautiful in their own way!

 
    Grisette   Grisette  
           
    Grisette      
           
 
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slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  What's That Fungus? - Amanita vaginata
KY Forest Health
 
   
 
About

Oct 23, 2020

 
  How to identify Amanita Vaginata (Grisette) mushroom?
Alper Derya
 
   
 
About

Jun 7, 2020

Amanita vaginata, commonly known as the Grisette, is an edible mushroom in the fungus family Amanitaceae.

The genus Amanita contains many deadly species. Amanita Vaginta has also some similiarites to these deadly species. I wanted to talk about a few imporant points to identify Amaniga vaginata.

Have fun.

Attention! - Please do not consume the mushrooms you have collected or purchased according to the comments and images here, get the opinion from a qualified person or search from reliable sources to be 100% sure.

 
  Amanita vaginata
herbs & mushrooms
 
   
 
About

Sep 26, 2016

The details of this mushroom

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
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Report a sighting of this fungus.

 
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  Paul
8/3/2023

Location: St. Cloud, MN (Benton County)

… I was only able to find a small handful of them today. It appears that most have been eaten by animals as I found several that were bitten off half way down the stem and the top of the stem with cap laying beside it. In any event, I did find a good example and I removed it from the ground by accident while lightly trying to brush away the soil around the base. …

Grisette

 
  Paul
8/2/2023

Location: St. Cloud, MN (Benton County)

sprouted from the ground in a heavy wooded area. Dominantly burr oak and red oak. The specific area was a large pile of fallen trees, branches and brush that had been piled in the woods for years but was cleared earlier this summer to make way for a food plot which has been growing for better than a month. All of them are growing individually. First sighting was yesterday 8/1. As of today 8/2 all of the domes have flattened and it appears that the deer have eaten several as well. In all there was between 8-12 that I could find. Today I also found a few more that are just starting to pop out of the ground.

Grisette

 
  Margot Avey
8/24/2022

Location: Westwood Nature Center, St Louis Park MN

They are beautiful in their own way!

Grisette

 
  Margot Avey
8/20/2022

Location: Westwood Nature Center, St Louis Park MN

Grisette

 
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 8/31/2022

Last Updated:

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