Amanita Phalloides - Taxonomy and Naming

Taxonomy and Naming

The death cap was first described by French botanist Sébastien Vaillant in 1727, who gave a succinct phrase name "Fungus phalloides, annulatus, sordide virescens, et patulus", which is still recognizable as the fungus today. Though the scientific name phalloides means "phallus-shaped", it is unclear whether it is named for its resemblance to a literal phallus or the stinkhorn mushrooms Phallus. In 1821, Elias Magnus Fries described it as Agaricus phalloides, but included all white amanitas within its description. Finally in 1833, Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link settled on the name Amanita phalloides, after Persoon had named it Amanita viridis 30 years earlier. Although Louis Secretan's use of the name Amanita phalloides predates Link's, it has been rejected for nomenclatural purposes because Secretan's works did not use binomial nomenclature consistently; some taxonomists have, however, disagreed with this opinion.

A. phalloides is the type species of Amanita section Phalloideae, a group that contains all of the deadly poisonous Amanita species thus far identified. Most notable of these are the species known as destroying angels, namely Amanita virosa and Amanita bisporigera, as well as the fool's mushroom (A. verna). The term "destroying angel" has been applied to A. phalloides at times, but "death cap" is by far the most common vernacular name used in English. Other common names also listed include "stinking amanita" and "deadly amanita".

A rarely appearing, all-white form was initially described A. phalloides f. alba by Max Britzelmayr, though its status has been unclear. It is often found growing amid normally colored death caps. It has been described, in 2004, as a distinct variety and includes what was termed A. verna var. tarda. The true Amanita verna fruits in spring and turns yellow with KOH solution, whereas A. phalloides never does.