Amanita caesarea

Amanita caesarea was first described by Italian mycologist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772 as Agaricus caesareus,{{cite book |author=Scopoli JA. |title=Flora Carniolica exhibiens Plantas Carnioliae Indigenas et Distributas in Classes, Genera, Species, Varietates ordine Linnaeano. Vol. 2 |publisher=Johann Paul Krauss |year=1772 |location=Vienna |page=419 |language=la}} before later being placed in Amanita by Persoon in 1801.{{cite book |last=Persoon CH. |url=http://194.203.77.76/LibriFungorum/Image.asp?ItemID=82&ImageFileName=0252b.jpg |title=Synopsis Methodica Fungorum |publisher=Gottingae |year=1801 |page=252 |language=la}}{{Dead link|date=September 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} The common name comes from its being a favourite of the Roman emperors, who took the name Caesar (originally a family name) as a title. It was a personal favorite of Roman emperor Claudius.{{cite book |last=Marley |first=Greg A. |title=Chanterelle dreams, amanita nightmares : the love, lore, and mystique of mushrooms |publisher=Chelsea Green Pub. |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60358-214-8 |location=White River Junction, Vt. |page=112}} The Romans called it Bōlētus, derived from the Ancient Greek βωλίτης for this fungus as named by Galen.{{cite book |author=Ramsbottom J. |title=Mushrooms & Toadstools |publisher=Collins |year=1953 |isbn=1-870630-09-2 |page=6}} Several modern common names recognise this heritage with the English Caesar's mushroom and royal amanita, French impériale, Polish cesarski and German Kaiserling. In Italian, it is ovolo (pl. ovoli), due to its resemblance to an egg when very young.{{cite book |author=Carluccio A. |title=The Complete Mushroom Book |publisher=Quadrille |year=2003 |isbn=1-84400-040-0 |pages=23–24 |author-link=Antonio Carluccio}} In Albanian it is kuqëlorja from its colour (< Albanian kuqe 'red'). Other common names include Amanite des Césars and Oronge.

It has also been classified as A. umbonata. A. hemibapha is a similar species originally described from Sikkim, India. It is widely eaten in the Himalayas and the Tibetan areas. Also North American collections have been labeled in the past as A. hemibapha. The relationship of the similar North American species A. arkansana and A. jacksonii to A. caesarea is not clear. The edibility of some of these similar species is also unclear, though A. jacksonii is eaten by many and there have been no reports of illness from it. A similar mushroom can also be found in La Esperanza, Honduras, where a festival is celebrated annually in its honor. A. caesarea was first domesticated in 1984.{{cite book |last=Chang |first=Philip G. Miles, Shu-Ting |title=Mushroom biology : concise basics and current developments |publisher=World Scientific |year=1997 |isbn=981-02-2877-5 |location=Singapore |page=139}}

File:Amanita caesarea.jpg

This mushroom has an orange-red cap, initially hemispherical before convex and finally flat. The surface is smooth, and margins striated, and it can reach {{convert|15|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=off}} or rarely {{convert|20|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in diameter. The free gills are pale to golden yellow, as is the cylinder-shaped stipe, which is {{convert|8|–|15|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|2|–|3|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} wide. The ring hangs loosely and is lined above and smooth below. The base of the stipe is thicker than the top and is seated in a greyish-white cup-like volva, which is a remnant of universal veil. The spores are white.{{cite book|vauthors=Breitenbach J, Kränzlin F | year = 1995 | title = Fungi of Switzerland 4: Agarics, 2nd Part | isbn= 3-85604-240-7|page=146}}

It could be confused with the poisonous fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Though A. muscaria has a distinctive red cap dotted with fluffy white flakes, these tend to fall off as the mushroom ages and the bright red tends to fade to a yellowy orange. The latter mushroom will always have white gills and stalk with a ringed volva rather than a yellow stalk and is typically associated with spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus) or birch (Betula).{{cite book |vauthors=Breitenbach J, Kränzlin F | year = 1995 | title = Fungi of Switzerland 4: Agarics, 2nd Part | isbn= 3-85604-240-7|page=150}} Certain varieties (e.g. A. muscaria var. guessowii) are close to yellow even at the juvenile stage.

A study of isolates from the fruit bodies of A. caesarea showed that the radial growth (increases in axon's diameter) of this species was possible at pH 6–7, and optimal growth was in a temperature of {{convert|24|-|28|C|F|abbr=on}}, depending on the isolate.{{cite journal|last=Daza|first=A.|author2=Manjón, J. L.|author3= Camacho, M.|author4= Romero de la Osa, L.|author5= Aguilar, A.|author6= Santamaría, C.|title=Effect of carbon and nitrogen sources, pH and temperature on in vitro culture of several isolates of Amanita caesarea (Scop.:Fr.) Pers.|journal=Mycorrhiza|date=15 November 2005|volume=16|issue=2|pages=133–136|doi=10.1007/s00572-005-0025-6|pmid=16292570|s2cid=86656991}}

An investigation of the heavy metal content of mushroom samples found cadmium levels in A. caesarea four times greater than allowed in cultivated mushrooms by European Union standards. The amount of lead in A. caesarea also exceeded allowed levels. The study concluded that the accumulation of heavy metals may be a species-specific property of mushrooms, and that chronic consumption of some mushroom types could potentially be harmful.{{cite journal|last=Cocchi|first=Luigi|author2=Vescovi, Luciano|author3= Petrini, Liliane E.|author4= Petrini, Orlando|title=Heavy metals in edible mushrooms in Italy|journal=Food Chemistry|year=2006|volume=98|issue=2|pages=277–284|doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.05.068}}

A study of the organic acid composition of mushrooms found a relatively high level, about 6 g/kg, in A. caesarea. Malic acid, ascorbic acid, citric acid, ketoglutaric acid, fumaric acid, shikimic acid and traces of succinic acid were detected. Malic and ascorbic acids were the most abundant compounds.{{cite journal|last=Valentão|first=Patrícia|author2=Lopes, Graciliana|author3=Valente, Miguel|author4=Barbosa, Paula|author5=Andrade, Paula B.|author6=Silva, Branca M.|author7=Baptista, Paula|author8= Seabra, Rosa M.|title=Quantitation of Nine Organic Acids in Wild Mushrooms|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|date=1 May 2005|volume=53|issue=9|pages=3626–3630|doi=10.1021/jf040465z|pmid=15853411|hdl=10198/939|hdl-access=free}} Ergosterol has also been isolated from A. caesarea.{{cite journal|last=Yokokawa|first=H.|author2=Mitsuhashi, T.|title=The sterol composition of mushrooms|journal=Phytochemistry|year=1981|volume=20|issue=6|pages=1349–1351|doi=10.1016/0031-9422(81)80036-2|bibcode=1981PChem..20.1349Y }}

File:Amanita caesarea.JPG

It is found in southern Europe and North Africa, particularly in the hills of northern Italy. It is thought to have been introduced north of the Alps by the Roman armies as it is most frequently found along old Roman roads. The mushroom is also distributed in the Balkans, Hungary,{{cite journal |author=Zoltan K. |year=1986 |title=Mushrooms Of The Vali Forest Central Hungary |journal= Botanikai Kozlemenyek |volume=73 |issue=1–2 |pages=49–72|issn=0006-8144|language=hu}} India,{{cite journal |author=Rishikesh M. |year=2003 |title=Some wild edible mushrooms of Siang valley: Arunachal Pradesh. |journal=Plant Archives |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=81–84|issn=0972-5210}} Iran{{cite book |author=Asef M.R. |title=Field guide of Mushrooms of Iran |publisher=Iran-Shanasi Press |location=Tehran|year=2020|page=360 |isbn=9786008351429}} and China (Sichuan Province).{{cite journal |vauthors=WeiHong P, BingCheng G, Wei T, Yong G |year=2003 |title=Studies on economic mushrooms in Longmen mountain areas |journal= Southwest China Journal of Agricultural Sciences |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=36–41 |issn=1001-4829|language=zh}} Although the species is not known to exist in the United States and Canada, it has been collected in Mexico.{{cite journal |vauthors=Castano-Meneses G, Quiroz-Robledo LN |year=2004 |title=Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with macromycetes fungus (Fungi: Basidiomycetes) in sierra de Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico |journal= Folia Entomologica Mexicana |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=79–86|issn=0430-8603}}{{cite book |vauthors=Guzmán G, Ramirez-Guillen F |year=2001 |title=The Amanita caesarea-complex |work=Bibliotheca Mycologica|publisher=J. Cramer|location=Berlin |volume=187 |isbn=978-3-443-59089-5 }}

In Europe, A. caesarea inhabits primarily oak forests (Quercetum troianae Em. et Ht., Quercetum frainetto-cerris Rudsky. and Quercetum frainetto-cerris macedonicum Oberd., e.g.). It grows individually or in groups from early summer to mid autumn. In warmer climates this mushroom fruits in higher oak woodlands, sometimes mixed with conifers. Thus, in Mexico its natural habitat is oak, pine or fir forests at altitudes of {{convert|2200|-|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level, where it prefers plains and can occur at slopes of 20 degrees.{{cite book|last=Poe|first=Melissa Renee|title=Wild Mushrooms, Forest Governance, and Conflict in the Northern Sierra of Oaxaca|year=2009|page=139}}

A. caesarea is listed in the Red Data book of Ukraine,{{cite journal |vauthors=Sarkina IS, Prydiuk MP, Heluta VP |year=2003 |title=Macromycetes of Crimea, listed in the red data book of Ukraine |journal=Ukrayins'kyi Botanichnyi Zhurnal |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=438–46 |issn=0372-4123 }} and it is protected by law in Croatia,[http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/308498.html MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA I PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA] Slovenia,{{cite journal |vauthors=Al-Sayegh Petkovsek S, Pokorny B, Piltaver A |year=2003 |title=The first list of macrofungi from the wider area of the Salek Valley |journal= Zbornik Gozdarstva in Lesarstva |issue=72 |pages=83–120|issn=0351-3114|language=sl}} the Czech Republic{{Cite web |url=https://www.idnes.cz/hobby/houby/chranene-houby-pokuta-za-sber-hub-houba-chranena-druh.A191003_145631_houby_mce/4#space-a |title=Houby pod zákonem, jehož neznalost neomlouvá a pokuta přijde draho |date=4 October 2019}} and Germany.{{Cite web|last=IT.NRW|title=Pilze sammeln – jetzt schon?|url=https://www.lanuv.nrw.de/landesamt/veroeffentlichungen/pressemitteilungen/details/300-pilze-sammeln-jetzt-schon|access-date=2021-10-16|website=www.lanuv.nrw.de|date=21 August 2017 |language=de}}

A. caesarea is a highly appreciated edible mushroom in Europe. It is traditionally gathered and consumed in Italy, where it is known as ovolo or ovolo buono or "fungo reale".{{cite web |title=ovolo |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ovolo/ |access-date=28 September 2013 |work=Enciclopedia Treccani |publisher=Treccani}} It has been traditionally taken as food in Mexico. There it is consumed roasted with a bit of the herb epazote, Dysphania ambrosioides. The international export market developed in the 1990s.

• List of Amanita species

Amanita cesarea 334.jpg

Amanita caesarea3.jpg

Amanita caesarea (Ovulo buono) September 14, 2013 034 (9740848314).jpg

Amanite Oronge 02.jpg

Amanita caesarea (American Caesar's mushroom), Scituate, RI (32017634462).jpg

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050831201237/http://pluto.njcc.com/~ret/amanita/species/caesarea.html Photos and description of A. caesarea]
• [http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/mar2002.html Photos and description of related North American species, with some discussion of relationships]
• [http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_jacksonii.html Classification problems of this mushroom]
• [http://naturdata.com/Amanita-caesarea-11813.htm Amanita caesarea from Portugal with photos and information]

{{Amanitas}}

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caesarea

Category:Edible fungi

Category:Fungi of Africa

Category:Fungi of Europe

Category:Fungi of Mexico

Category:Fungi described in 1772

Category:Fungus species