Panthercap or Franchet's Amanita?

These two Amanita species are quite difficult to tell apart. Thanks to amanitamozart on iNaturalist I was given a few clues to help.

The main clue is that the flaky remains of the veil on the cap are subtley different. On Franchet's Amanita they are pale grey with a yellowish tinge. They are also less bobbly ie flatter, more attached and less projecting. The flakes on a Panthercap are pure white and more three dimensional, a bit like pearl sugar.

 

Franchet's Amanita Amanita franchetii (Fr. Amanite à voile jaune).

Franchet's Amanite is covered in a sulphur yellow veil and volva when young, and the scales on the cap, the 'skirt' around the upper stem and the 'sack' at the bottom of the stem are the remnants of that. With age these parts fade to dirty yellow. 

Panthercap Amanita pantherina (Fr. Amanite panthère).

Panthercaps have a lightly striated cap margin and a series of 'beaded' rings around the volva. The stem ring is plain, not striated, and not yellow edged. The cap is 4 - 15 cm across, initially hemispherical, then convex and finally flat, maybe even a bit depressed in the centre. When it's damp the cap surface will be viscous, if the weather is dry it will be satiny. The brown colour will lighten at the edge as the mushroom ages.

Panthercap.

The 'snowflake' like 'warts' on the cap will wash off quite easily in rain. The gills are pure white and quite tightly packed. The spores are also white. The white stem is 5 - 15 cm tall and 1 - 2 cm thick. And the flesh is white and does not react to being bruised. The mushroom doesn't smell of anything in particular.

Panthercap.

Both species grow in small groups in deciduous forest on calcareous soil, in association with oak, chestnut and hornbeam as well as other trees and sometimes conifers if the soil is flinty.

Panthercap.

Panthercap.

 

 

Panthercap. The volva ('sack' at the base of the stem, which most Amanita spp have in some form) is typical for this particular species.

As you can see by the number of photos I have, Franchet's Amanita is rare, whereas Panthercap is abundant in the Touraine. Both species are toxic, and can lead to convulsions, violent vomiting and psychodelic experiences but not believed to be normally fatal. Both species can be mistaken for the edible Blusher Amanita rubscens (Fr. Amanite rougissante), but it stains red when bruised.