Orange Grisette (Amanita Crocea) Identification

Orange Grisette / Summer / Autumn / Edible

Orange Grisette is an edible member of the Amanita family, they can easily be confused with toxic species. Not for beginners!

Scientific Name

Amanita Crocea

Common Names

Orange Grisette, Orange Ringless Amanita

Family

Amanitaceae

Habitat

They are mycorrhizal with quite a few different trees including, oak, birch, chestnut, alder, spruce and pine. Most often found in mossy woodlands clearings.

Our Orange Grisette Foraging Video

Description 

An edible member of the Amanita family, they can be confused with toxic species so care needs to be taken.

Identifying Features:

Cap:

The cap is orange in colour but you can be quite variable so lighter versions are common. When young they are egg-shaped, flattening out as they mature, they tend to develop a darker, central umbo as they age. Along the margin, there are deep striations.

Stem:

They are fairly long up to 15cm, they are generally white to yellow in colour and have a zig-zag or snakeskin pattern of brown scales. At the base, there is a white sack-like volva structure. They also lack a ring which is present in most Amanitas.

Gills:

The gills are white, free and crowded. Some of the gills will terminate before reaching the cap edge or stem.

Smell:

Quite a sweet smell.

Spores:

White.

Uses

In food

They must be thoroughly cooked before consumption. They do contain some toxins but these are destroyed by heat.

The taste and texture are pleasant but due to the risk of confusing them with deadly Amanitas they’re not very often collected.

Harvesting 

Not for the novice. Only experienced or stupid foragers collect ring-less Amanitas. They can however be found in large numbers in most parts of the UK.

Known hazards

They must be thoroughly cooked before consumption.

Potential lookalikes

Other Amanitas, some of which are deadly poisonous. But they all tend to have rings on their stems.

Other ring-less Amanita’s that look similar are the:

The Tawny Grisette (Amanita Fulva) but has a darker more brownish coloured cap and lacks the zig-zag pattern on the stem.

The Snakeskin Grisette (Amanita Ceciliae) is also similar in appearance and has a snake-skin, zig-zag pattern of scales of the stem but it also tends to have large fragments of the veil on the cap and is darker in colour.

The Grisette (Amanita Vaginata) looks very similar but tends to be darker in colour. All three are edible when cooked.