Amanita subpallidorosea is a mushroom of the large genus Amanita, which occurs under oaks in southern China and Taiwan. It is closely related to the destroying angel mushrooms A. virosa and A. ocreata.[1]
Two people died in 2014 after eating mushrooms picked near Zunyi in Guizhou province in southwestern China; investigations led to the description of Amanita subpallidorosea in 2015.[1] Molecular analysis found it to be closely related to the destroying angel species A. virosa and A. ocreata.[2] The mushrooms all belong to a clade within the section Phalloideae, a large group of highly toxic mushrooms responsible for the deaths of many people worldwide.[1]
Amanita subpallidorosea is a medium-sized mushroom, that is predominantly white. The cap is initially conical, before becoming more convex and flattening , sometimes with a central boss. Measuring 3 to 6.5 centimetres (11⁄4 to 21⁄2 in) in diameter, the cap is white initially, before developing a pale pink, more prominently in the centre and paler at the margins. It can be slightly sticky when wet. The flesh is white. The crowded gills are free and around 4 mm deep. The stipe is 7 to 12 centimetres (23⁄4 to 43⁄4 in) high and 0.6 to 1.4 centimetres (1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in) thick, is white, cream or pale buff in colour and bears a thin white membranous ring. The bulb at the base is 1.5 to 3 centimetres (1⁄2 to 11⁄4 in) across. The spore print is white, and the round amyloid spores are 8–12 x 8–12 μm viewed under a microscope. Their surface is smooth. The mushroom turns yellow when potassium hydroxide is applied to it.[2]
It can be distinguished from Amanita pallidorosea as the latter's cap has a pronounced boss and its spores are smaller when viewed under a microscope. Other lethal amanitas in China are generally white.[2]
Amanita subpallidorosea is found under oaks of the genera Quercus and Cyclobalanopsis in Guizhou province as well as Taiwan.[2]
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