American blusher

What it is

Amanita novinupta is a blusher, a relative of the European Amanita rubescens. Its common names include American blusher and new bride blushing amanita. Both names come from the flesh, which turns pink when bruised or exposed to air.

Several closely related blushers exist, including A. brunneolocularis, A. orsonii and varieties of A. rubescens. Several North American species are grouped under the name A. amerirubescens. The catalogue marks the species as not interchangeable with European A. rubescens or with other Amanita.

Appearance and look-alikes

The cap is whitish, 5 to 15 cm across, with a stem up to about 12 cm long, a mild smell, and a white spore print. The pink bruising of the flesh separates blushers from the poisonous false blusher, Amanita pantherina, whose flesh does not pink and whose ring is not striate.

The encyclopedia entry notes that A. novinupta is found mainly in western North America, especially California, and that the blusher group is often parasitised by Hypomyces hyalinus in eastern North America, which can make fruiting bodies hard to recognise.

Habitat and ecology

The species is mycorrhizal and grows in forest. The encyclopedia entry records that A. amerirubescens and possibly A. novinupta are food for the pleasing fungus beetle, Tritoma biguttata.

Food use and toxicity

The catalogue records the species as food in Amealco, Mexico, and records blusher traditions as involving cooking. The encyclopedia entry describes the mushroom as edible if cooked but poisonous raw.

Raw flesh contains a toxic haemolytic protein. Sources report it is not apparently harmful in normal cooked consumption and is destroyed by cooking. David Pegler notes that eating large quantities raw can cause severe anaemia if untreated. Raw consumption is therefore the hazard to avoid.

Cautions

This page does not establish that the mushroom is safe to eat, and it is not an identification guide. The species resembles toxic Amanita species, and the pink bruising is the feature used to separate it from A. pantherina. Anyone gathering it should identify it with an expert, cook it thoroughly, and never eat it raw.