Amanita pantherina : European Panther

Technical description not yet available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: (t.b.d.)

The spores measure (7.5-) 9.0 – 12.0 (-14.0) x (5.2-) 6.2 – 8.2 (-9.8) µm and are broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid (occasionally elongate) and inamyloid. Clamps are rare at bases of basidia.

This species was originally described from France. It is a species of Europe and western Asia. Material described as A. pantherina in the Americas seems to belong to a number of distinct taxa only some of which have been described: A. multisquamosa Peck, A. pantherina var. pantherinoides (Murrill) Dav. T. Jenkins, and A. velatipes G. F. Atk. are examples.. There are also a number of taxa in eastern and southern Asia to which the name A. pantherina has been mistakenly applied. Among those of these mushrooms there are some which have been described (such as A. subglobosa Zhu L. Yang, A. parvipanthera Zhu L. Yang, M. Weiss & Oberw., and A. pseudopantherina Zhu L. Yang nom. prov.), while others are not yet treated in the literature.

I believe that there is at least one good icon of this mushroom in the collection at the University of Montpellier herbarium. It may date from the period when DeCandolle was on the faculty. [I would appreciate receiving more information on the painting.]

The species is toxic and produces dramatic symptoms similar to those of A. muscaria (L.:Fr.) Pers. — R. E. Tulloss

Photo: R. E. Tulloss (The Netherlands)