Fungus · GBIF taxon 5452051
Eastern North American Destroying Angel
Amanita bisporigeraAlso known as Eastern Destroying Angel, Destroying Angel
Eastern North American destroying angels stand out in damp summer forests with their pristine, ghostly white fruiting bodies. These fungi form crucial mycorrhizal partnerships beneath the soil with the roots of native oaks and hardwoods, exchanging mineral nutrients for plant sugars. Beneath their satiny white caps, they produce lethal amatoxins that destroy human liver and kidney tissue if consumed.
ToxicFungusForest Floor
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Mycorrhizal (obtains sugars from tree roots)
Predators
- Fungus gnats
- Slugs
- Rodents
ThreatsDeforestation and clear-cutting of hardwood host trees
HabitatsDeciduous and mixed forests, particularly near oaks and hickory
Life spanFruiting bodies persist 3 to 7 days, underlying mycelium lives for decades
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- FamilyAmanitaceae
- SpeciesAmanita bisporigera
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskHigh
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is high
- Lethally poisonous if eaten. Many edible mushrooms have toxic look-alikes; never eat wild fungi based on app identification alone.
- Why it is dangerous
- Contains deadly amatoxins, primarily alpha-amanitin, which destroy liver and kidney cells after a delayed period of severe digestive distress.
- How to recognize a risky encounter
- Completely pure white from cap to stem, featuring a skirt-like ring on the stalk and a bulbous cup at the base.
- What to do
- Never consume wild white mushrooms. Touching the mushroom does not transfer toxins, but wash hands after field examination.
Responsible observation
- Safe inspection: Observe from above or take photograph without disturbing the base of the mushroom.
- Examine the base: Gently move leaf litter to check for the characteristic cup-like volva surrounding the stem base.
- Spore testing: Cut a cap and place it on dark paper to observe the white spore print.
Close Relative (c) Davide Puddu, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Davide Puddu · cc-by
Close Relative (c) Thomas Laxton, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Thomas Laxton · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) Borja Fierro, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Borja Fierro · cc-by
Close Relative (c) Bill Sheehan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
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