A deadly, all-white Amanita from southern China, described in 2001 after a March 2000 poisoning in Guangzhou in which only one of nine people who ate it survived. A Chinese study ranked it as having the highest mortality rate of the toxic mushrooms in China. Like the North American A. bisporigera, its basidia are almost always two-spored.
Deadly. Contains amatoxins (mainly alpha-amanitin), which exceed phallotoxins in all tissues; total toxin content exceeds 8,000 ug/g dry weight in the cap. About 50 g of fresh mushrooms may be enough to kill a 50 kg adult. Treat every white Amanita with a ring and volva as deadly.
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Habitat
On the ground, solitary or in groups. Described from coniferous forest; field observations suggest an ectomycorrhizal association with Castanopsis fissa. Fruits abundantly with the warm spring rains of March and April, and also from May to July.
Distribution
East Asia; described from Guangdong Province, China. Probably also in India, where it has been recorded under the name A. verna.
Characteristics
Cap: 4-7 cm; white with a cream centre; egg-shaped at first, becoming convex, sometimes slightly depressed. Gills: free, white to whitish, crowded, up to 5 mm deep. Stem: 7-9 cm x 0.5-1 cm, white, with a basal bulb 1-2 cm wide. Ring: thin, membranous, near the top of the stem; may tear away as the cap expands. Volva: limbate, thin, membranous, free limb up to 7 mm. Spores: globose to subglobose, 9.5-12 x 9-11.5 um, amyloid. Basidia: 27-55 x 10-15 um, almost always two-spored. Chemical test: tissues turn yellow with dilute KOH.
