Introduction to Mushrooms Revised April 2000
by By Michael W. Beug Email: beugm@evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA
Slide 38.
Volvariella speciosa is an edible species with a pink spore print, but a dangerous similarity to a Destroying Angel. When young, its gills are pure white like an Amanita and it has the sac-like volva but it lacks the ring on the stem. The problem is that the ring on the stem of one of the Death cups may have rubbed off and then the two mushrooms look virtually identical. To make matters worse, Volvariella speciosa is highly similar to its close relative the Paddy Straw mushroom of Asia. Many Asian immigrants have been poisoned in North America when they thought they were picking the Paddy Straw mushroom and instead had one of the Destroying Angels.
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