(39 votes, average: 3.72 out of 5)
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The Blusher
Edible 
Autumn 
Spring 
Summer 
Common and available before many other species are out, this is a good eating mushroom but must be cooked before consumption. Great care should be taken identifying this fungi.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | The Blusher |
| Scientific Name | Amanita rubescens |
| Season Start | May |
| Season End | Nov |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 15 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 15 |
Cap
Flesh coloured to light brown to a darker red/brown sometimes with a yellow flush and covered in off-white to grey scales. Spherical to convex to flat.
Gills
Gills white, free of the stem, quite crowded. Can develop red spots where damaged.
Stem
Scaly and off white to grey/red/brown below the skirt, generally smoother and whiter above.
Skirt
The skirt is an important identification tool as the top has fine grooves or striations running from the stem out.
Volva
Young Blushers have an obvious volva but as the mushroom matures the bottom of the stem is bulbous rather than volva like.
Flesh
White but ‘blushing’ red when bruised or exposed to air.
Habitat
Mixed woodland.
Possible Confusion
Can be confused with the deadly Panthercap (Amanita pantherina), pictured. The main difference is that the Blusher has lines or striations on its skirt running from the stem out, the Panthercap skirt is smooth. Other differences are the Blusher has a lighter cap, the scales on the cap are off-white to grey rather than white, the Blusher stem is bulbous at the bottom the Panthercap growing from a volval sack and has a rim or ‘gutter’ at the top of the volva and finally, the Blusher ‘blushes’ red when damaged or exposed to air.
The Grey Spotted Amanita, Amanita excelsa, but this is an edible mushroom.
Care should be taken when identifying Amanitas.
Spore Print
White. Ovoid.
Taste / Smell
Faint then becoming slightly acrid. Must be well cooked before eating as it contains a toxin that is destroyed when heated.
Frequency
Very common.
5 comments for The Blusher
Mushrooms 🍄 have always been a dangerous mystery to me in a practical and spiritual way.
Thanks. When I was in Ukraine, 2017, they had an excellent crop of mushrooms. In 2019 they had none. Apparently they need a good rainy season. MY cousins always knew which ones to pick.
Thanks. When I was in Ukraine, 2017, they had an excellent crop of mushrooms. In 2019 they had none. Apparently they need a good rainy season. MY cousins always knew which ones to pick. I love mushrooms in every form, and just avoid the dangerous forms, by their appearance and name.
Does this mushroom emerge with a baby pink / blush colour? We came across lots of them at the Wotton estate in Surrey, 2-3 weeks ago. They were just emerging it seemed, a lot of them almost spherical still. They had a vulva and a veil covering their gills which were white. The ones that were partially open had white scales on the cap as well as the ridged skirt. But what was striking was the beautiful pink colour on the cap and a paler wash on the stem as well as the fact that each was really heavy, as heavy as a small to a medium apple I would say depending on the size. The colour was the colour you see on baby girl clothing a little paler perhaps, not the reddish tan in the photos here. They were beautiful to see in large numbers against the fallen leaves of beech and birch. I so wish I had taken some photos now.
Do you have any ideas?
They sound like Blushers but without photos to ID, mushrooms from the Amanita family are not ones to forage for without being 100% certain you have Blushers.