Tag Archives: American caesar

Late July and early August Many Amanitas at Saint Andrews Forest Farm

Amanita amerirubescens complex from below
A. amerirubescens from above. Note the red blushing. These are edible when thoroughly cooked. We haven’t tried them.
Amanita jacksonii, a delicious Caesar mushroom that can even be eaten raw. We cooked them and they maintained a wonderful texture. These were some of the tastiest mushrooms we’ve had.
A. jacksonii, A. banningiana, Bolete edulis and Exsudoporous frostii in our basket. All were delicious. 😋

The forest is full of mushrooms with the rain we’re getting. Every day we go out and find something completely new. Since we bought the farm last year, we’ve searched for Amanita jacksonii. Saturday we walked down Amanita Way towards the wet weather gully and there they were. They were very large and strikingly red with orange caps and yellow stems. We have seen hundreds of Amanita parcivolvata, commonly called False Caesar, and these were instantly recognizable as the true sought after delicacy. The small one to the left in the basket is the first American caesar we found last week, Amanita banningiana or Mary Banning Slender yellow caesar. This is also tasty and special. They are much smaller and found in the northeastern and southern regions of the US.

A. banningiana has striations along the edge of the cap. It is found in oak-beech-hickory forests from Maine to Alabama.
A. parcivolvata, or false caesar. Found all over SAFF.
Amanita rhopalopus, American club footed Lepidella.