Amanita caesarea
Amanita caesarea, commonly known as Caesar's mushroom, is a highly regarded edible mushroom in the genus Amanita, native to southern Europe and North Africa. While it was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772, this mushroom was a known favorite of early rulers of the Roman Empire.
| Amanita caesarea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Amanitaceae |
| Genus: | Amanita |
| Species: | A. caesarea |
| Binomial name | |
| Amanita caesarea | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
| Amanita caesarea Mycological characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Gills on hymenium | |
| Cap is convex | |
| Hymenium is free | |
| Stipe has a ring and volva | |
| Spore print is white | |
| Ecology is mycorrhizal | |
| Edibility is choice but not recommended | |
It has a distinctive orange cap, yellow gills and stipe. Organic acids have been isolated from this species. Similar orange-capped species occur in North America and India. It was known to and valued by the Ancient Romans, who called it Boletus, a name now applied to a very different type of fungus.
Although it is edible, the Caesar's mushroom is closely related to the psychoactive fly agaric, and to the deadly poisonous death cap and destroying angels.