hi all...
well, it has been a mostly dry summer in n.e. Ohio...
the recent rains (finally!) have allowed mushroom caps to come up, but:
last year, the color on the the fly agarics was a pretty yellowish-orange;
this years, same beds (mulch & under pines) have a walnut-brown coloration...
is the pigment difference due to the difference in growing conditions this year (compared to previous years), or have these fungi morphed into A. pantherina?
Amanita pantherina has brown caps. It's said that this kind is three times more potent then fly agaric. Be sure that they have white dots. Eating misidentified mushroom can be fatal.
Amanita pantherina can be found growing in close proximity or where amanita muscaria and its varieties, formosa and var. gussowii grow.
It is now fact that the europeen yellow-orange varieties are amanita muscaria var. formosa. The north american, especially north east usa and canada yellow-orange varieties are recongnised as amanita muscaria var. gussowii, in the past these were named formosas and probably still are.
Both var. formosa and var. gussowii contain hallucinogenic properties, that could make this mushroom of interest to you, but too much of anyhting is bad and especially amanitas. Pantherinas are for the experienced amanita consumer in the sense that , one pantherina can indeed kill the amateur. Determining the potency of a single specimen is relatively impossible , making potency variable with any size or var. of mushroom.
Dont indulge in the brown capped ones friend.
The yellow and orange ones are ok in small doses till you know the proper amount for you.
Keep in mind, there are alot of other amanitas which are orange or yellow that i would NOT consume.
eg: flaviconia, frostiana and many more.
This is what you want.
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Discoloration and pigmentation changes are due to rains or direct sunlight, not the temperature making them grow differently but perhaps earlier or late in season due to temps. or making then of smaller or larger size variables of humidity.
Hail Soma!