Amanita Section Phalloideae Species in the Mediterranean Basin: Destroying Angels Reviewed

Abstract

In Europe, amatoxin-containing mushrooms are responsible for most of the deadly poisonings caused by macrofungi. The present work presents a multidisciplinary revision of the European species of Amanita sect. Phalloideae based on morphology, phylogeny, epidemiology, and biochemistry of amatoxins and phallotoxins. Five distinct species of this section have been identified in Europe to date: A. phalloides, A. virosa, A. verna, the recently introduced North American species A. amerivirosa, and A. vidua sp. nov., which is a new name proposed for the KOH-negative Mediterranean species previously described as A. verna or A. decipiens by various authors. Epitypes or neotypes are selected for species lacking suitable reference collections, namely A. verna and A. virosa. Three additional taxa, Amanita decipiens, A. porrinensis, and A. virosa var. levipes are here considered later heterotypic synonyms of A. verna, A. phalloides, and A. amerivirosa, respectively.