The Blusher

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The Blusher (Amanita rubescens)

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The Blusher Sculpture, acrylic paint by "Wildman"
The blusher is an amanita with a reddish-brown to yellow-orange cap 2-6 inches across, sometimes with an orange-brown knob in the center.
The Blusher, side view Note the patches on the cap, and the raised bulge in the cap's center.
Pinkish-white patches, which may be washed off by rain, decorate the pale red-orange and yellow-orange tinged cap.
Immature Blushers Note the numerous pink-white patches, and the red-orange discoloration on the orange-yellow cap
The white gills are free from the stem.
The Blusher, Older Specimen, side view Note the stalk's reddish discoloration, and tattered white ring encircling it.
The stem can grow 3-8 inches long. A ring encircles it, and it ends in a club-like base.
The Blusher Unearthed Note the stalk's club-like base, the space between the (free), gills from the stalk, and the skirt or ring (partial veil) around the upper stalk. This specimen is younger than the one above, so it has fewer reddish stains.
It's called the blusher because the cap, gills, ring, and stem discolor reddish-pink when bruised. It grows on the ground near oak or pine trees in eastern North America (late June-October), where it's very common, and in California (February-April). Although non-poisonous, this is not a mushroom to eat. The similar-looking, poisonous, cleft-foot amanita (A. brunnescens), which bruises brown, and other deadly relatives, which also discolor, resemble it too closely for safety. Deadly hybrids between the blusher and its close relatives also cannot be ruled out.