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African Caesar-group mushroom

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The African Caesar-group mushroom, Amanita masasiensis, is a wild ectomycorrhizal species of central and southern African woodlands, eaten locally. The genus contains deadly poisonous species, so identification needs care.

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Three whole cream-buff mushrooms and two lengthwise halves show white stems, pale gills and soil-marked volvas against a warm ivory background.

Identity and habitat

Amanita masasiensis is a wild ectomycorrhizal fungus of the woodlands of central and southern Africa. It grows in partnership with trees such as Uapaca and Julbernardia, and the supplied catalogue gives its supply as wild.

The species was described as new from Tanzania in 1994, together with two related species from the same work. It is one of the Caesar-group Amanitas, a group that the catalogue ties to African woodland use.

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Local use

The supplied catalogue records the species as a locally used Caesar-group mushroom in Benin, the DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

A local name, the part eaten, a preparation and a market price for this species are not given, so how it is cooked is not known.

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Safety

The genus Amanita includes deadly poisonous species. The catalogue says that this species must be identified to the regional species with expert support, and that rule applies before any use.

The sources read here give no toxicity data for this species specifically, and a local food record does not establish that it is safe to eat. Mushrooms of this genus should never be gathered for food on the basis of a photograph or a general resemblance to an edible Caesar's mushroom.

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Places

Benin

Traditional use · Country evidence

Listed in the supplied catalogue as a locally used Caesar-group mushroom. The catalogue gives no preparation.

See Beninon the mapLocation source 1 →

Tanzania

Traditional use · Country evidence

The species was described from Tanzania. The catalogue lists it in Tanzania among its regional records.

See Tanzaniaon the mapLocation source 1 →

DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Traditional use · Country evidence

The supplied catalogue lists the species in these three countries. The sources read here give no food detail for them.

See DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabweon the mapLocation source 1 →

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