Hard-boiled Eggs & Lollipops: American Caesar’s Mushrooms Forming Fruiting Bodies

This is not the first Naturally Curious post on American Caesar’s Mushrooms, nor will it probably be the last.  Every August the forest floor is bursting with the beautiful fruiting bodies of these fungi, and I find the urge to photograph them as well as the desire to celebrate their beauty with you irresistible. Pardon the repetition.

American Caesar’s Mushroom (Amanita jacksonii), a member of the Amanita genus found in New England, differs from most Amanita species in at least two ways. It is one of the few edible Amanitas (most species are poisonous, so consumption is discouraged unless an expert identifies the fungus). Secondly, unlike many other Amanita species, American Caesar’s Mushroom does not usually have any warts or patches on its cap.

The common name of this mushroom traces back to the fact that its close relative, Caesar’s Mushroom, Amanita caesarea, which grows in Italy, was a favorite of the emperors of the Roman Empire, the Caesars. Both of these species of Amanita are mycorrhizal, forming a symbiotic beneficial relationship with the roots of certain trees. Look for American Caesar’s Mushrooms under pine and oak. (Main photo: American Caesar’s Mushroom rupturing through its protective white membrane, or universal veil, as it matures, leaving a remnant white cup, or volva, at its base.)

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