Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the Fly Agaric or Fly Amanita, is a medium to large, fleshy agaric, with a red cap, white patches, white gills, a ring, and a bulbous base. It grows scattered or in groups on poor and sandy soils and the fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like white eggs.

Cap first round to hemispherical, and finally to plate-like and flat in mature specimens, often with a low, shallow depression on disk when fully expanded. Surface shiny, deep scarlet, fading to orange-red or orange-yellow in older specimens, adorned with numerous small, cottony warts that are initially yellow but very quickly fade to white. Gills white, free or barely touching the stem, crowded. Stem white, robust, and has a slightly brittle, fibrous texture. At the base is a bulb that bears universal veil remnants in the form of two to four distinct rings or ruffs. Between the basal universal veil, remnants and gills are remnants of the partial veil (which covers the gills during development) in the form of a white ring. It can be quite wide and flaccid with age. Spore print white.

Microscopic Features: The spores are ellipsoidal in shape and measure 8.2-13 μm in length and 6.5-9 μm in width. They are inamyloid.

Amanita muscaria on the First Nature Web site.
Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.