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Coker's Amanita (Amanita cokeri) — ForageIQ

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Coker's AmanitaAmanita cokeri

Highly Toxic — Do Not EatrareWikipedia →

Edibility

Toxic

Lookalike Danger

3 / 5

Habitat

🌳 Oak, pine

Season

Jul – Sep

"Huge, white, spiny. Appalachian monster Amanita. Looks majestic. Do not eat."

🌳 Host Trees & Plants

This species is found with or partners with the following hosts. Ectomycorrhizal hosts (green border) form a root-level partnership; ericoid / arbutoid shrubs (purple border) share the same mycorrhizal networks.

Oak

Quercus spp.

Ectomycorrhizal · Forageable

Truffle / bolete / chanterelle host. Acorns edible after leaching.

Pine

Pinus spp.

Ectomycorrhizal

Matsutake, slippery jack, suillus host.

Large white Amanita with pyramidal or conical warts on the cap, persistent ring, and heavy basal bulb with scaly tiers. Contains ibotenic acid and muscimol (like fly agaric) at higher concentrations plus additional unidentified toxins.

Habitat

Mixed pine-oak forests of the southeastern US, summer through early fall. Mycorrhizal.

Look for this on the ground

Mixed conifer duff

Layered pine and fir needles, assorted cones, dry needle mat.

Season Windows by Region

Region

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Glacier / Flathead NF

MT · 3,500–8,500 ft

Bitterroot / Sapphire

MT · 3,500–9,000 ft

Helena / Big Belts

MT · 4,000–8,500 ft

Gallatin / Madison

MT · 5,500–10,500 ft

Beartooth / Absaroka

MT · 5,000–12,000 ft

Sawtooth / Stanley Basin

ID · 6,000–10,500 ft

White Mountains / Apache-Sitgreaves

AZ · 6,500–11,400 ft

Clear Creek Canyon / Mayhem Gulch

5,500–8,500 ft

Jones Pass Road

8,000–11,000 ft

Gordon Gulch / Nederland

7,000–9,000 ft

Kenosha Pass

8,000–10,500 ft

Guanella Pass Corridor

9,000–12,000 ft

Vasquez Creek / Winter Park

8,500–11,000 ft

Gunnison NF North — Crested Butte

8,500–12,000 ft

Gunnison NF South — Almont/Pitkin

8,000–11,000 ft

Cottonwood Pass

9,000–12,000 ft

San Juan NF — Pagosa Corridor

7,500–11,000 ft

Ruby Mountains

NV · 6,000–11,387 ft

Spring Mountains / Mt Charleston

NV · 6,000–11,916 ft

Jarbidge Wilderness

NV · 6,500–10,839 ft

San Juan NF — Silverton/Durango

8,000–12,000 ft

Grand Mesa

9,000–11,000 ft

Glenwood Canyon / White River NF

6,500–9,500 ft

Vail / Eagle County

8,000–11,000 ft

Steamboat / Routt NF

7,000–10,000 ft

Pike NF South / Tarryall

7,500–10,500 ft

Royal Gorge / Wet Mountains

6,500–9,500 ft

Leadville / Arkansas Headwaters

9,000–12,000 ft

Poudre Canyon / Roosevelt NF

6,500–10,000 ft

Rampart Range / Palmer Divide

7,000–9,500 ft

Clearwater Mountains

ID · 2,500–7,500 ft

Boise Mountains

ID · 4,000–9,500 ft

Salmon River / Lemhi

ID · 4,500–10,000 ft

Sun Valley / Wood River

ID · 5,500–10,500 ft

Bighorn Mountains

WY · 5,500–13,000 ft

Bridger-Teton / Tetons

WY · 6,000–13,500 ft

Wind River Range

WY · 7,000–13,800 ft

Absaroka / Shoshone NF

WY · 6,000–12,500 ft

North Cascades

WA · 1,500–8,000 ft

Central Cascades / Snoqualmie

WA · 1,500–7,000 ft

Olympic Peninsula

WA · 500–6,000 ft

Gifford Pinchot / South Cascades

WA · 1,000–8,000 ft

Okanogan Highlands

WA · 2,500–7,500 ft

Mt Hood / North Oregon Cascades

OR · 2,000–8,000 ft

Central Oregon / Deschutes

OR · 3,500–9,000 ft

South Cascades / Klamath

OR · 4,000–9,000 ft

OR · 3,500–9,500 ft

OR · 4,000–8,000 ft

UT · 5,500–11,500 ft

UT · 7,000–13,500 ft

UT · 6,000–12,700 ft

Sangre de Cristo / Carson NF

NM · 7,000–13,100 ft

Jemez / Santa Fe NF

NM · 6,500–11,200 ft

Santa Fe / Pecos Wilderness

NM · 7,000–12,600 ft

Gila NF / Black Range

NM · 5,500–10,800 ft

Coconino / Flagstaff

AZ · 6,500–10,000 ft

Kaibab Plateau / North Rim

AZ · 6,500–9,200 ft

Northern Sierra / Tahoe

CA · 5,000–9,000 ft

Central Sierra / Alpine

CA · 6,000–11,000 ft

South Sierra / El Dorado

CA · 5,000–9,500 ft

Northeast CA / Modoc-Lassen

CA · 4,500–8,500 ft

Snake Range / Great Basin

NV · 6,000–13,063 ft

Ozark Highlands

MO · 800–1,772 ft

Missouri River Valley

MO · 500–1,200 ft

Mark Twain National Forest

MO · 600–1,600 ft

Northeast Missouri Prairies

MO · 600–1,000 ft

Daniel Boone NF

KY · 700–2,700 ft

Land Between the Lakes

KY · 350–750 ft

Shawnee NF

IL · 350–1,065 ft

Central IL Prairies

IL · 450–850 ft

NW IL Driftless

IL · 600–1,200 ft

Hoosier NF / Brown County

IN · 500–1,050 ft

IN · 650–1,050 ft

IN · 750–1,100 ft

OH · 650–1,150 ft

OH · 600–1,400 ft

OH · 650–1,350 ft

MI · 580–1,000 ft

MI · 700–1,400 ft

Northern Lower Peninsula

MI · 600–1,700 ft

MI · 600–1,979 ft

WI · 650–1,700 ft

WI · 750–1,400 ft

WI · 1,000–1,950 ft

Eastern IA River Valleys

IA · 550–1,100 ft

Southern IA

IA · 700–1,300 ft

SE MN Driftless

MN · 650–1,350 ft

Central MN

MN · 900–1,500 ft

Monongahela National Forest

WV · 1,500–4,863 ft

New River Gorge

WV · 800–3,200 ft

Shenandoah / Blue Ridge

VA · 1,000–4,049 ft

Southwest Virginia Highlands

VA · 2,000–5,729 ft

Central PA Ridges

PA · 800–2,500 ft

Allegheny National Forest

PA · 1,000–2,300 ft

Pocono Mountains

PA · 800–2,200 ft

Catskills / Hudson Valley

NY · 400–4,180 ft

Finger Lakes / Central NY

NY · 500–2,000 ft

Great Smoky Mountains

TN · 900–6,643 ft

Cumberland Plateau

TN · 1,000–3,500 ft

Western NC Mountains

NC · 2,000–6,684 ft

Foothills / Piedmont Transition

NC · 800–2,500 ft

Chattahoochee National Forest

GA · 1,200–4,784 ft

Apalachicola National Forest

FL · 10–300 ft

Ocala National Forest

FL · 20–200 ft

Myakka / Southwest Florida

FL · 5–100 ft

ME · 0–1,530 ft

ME · 400–4,170 ft

ME · 500–5,267 ft

NH · 800–6,288 ft

Lakes Region / Southern NH

NH · 300–1,800 ft

Green Mountains

VT · 800–4,393 ft

Northeast Kingdom

VT · 600–3,300 ft

Berkshires / Western MA

MA · 500–3,491 ft

Northwest CT Hills

CT · 400–2,380 ft

Arcadia / South County

RI · 0–812 ft

Eastern Kansas River Valleys

KS · 750–1,200 ft

NE Kansas Woodlands

KS · 800–1,300 ft

Willamette Valley / Columbia Gorge

OR · 200–1,500 ft

Turtle Mountain SF

ND · 1,800–2,400 ft

Pembina Gorge

ND · 850–1,500 ft

Black Hills NF

SD · 3,200–7,242 ft

Custer NF / Slim Buttes

SD · 3,000–4,000 ft

Pine Ridge / Oglala NG

NE · 3,400–5,000 ft

Niobrara River Valley

NE · 1,900–2,700 ft

Ouachita NF (OK)

OK · 600–2,500 ft

Ozark Plateau (NE OK)

OK · 700–1,800 ft

OK · 1,200–2,479 ft

TX · 80–350 ft

TX · 50–400 ft

TX · 200–500 ft

TX · 1,000–2,500 ft

AR · 700–2,700 ft

AR · 600–2,700 ft

Buffalo National River

AR · 500–2,500 ft

AL · 600–1,100 ft

AL · 700–2,407 ft

MS · 100–400 ft

LA · 80–400 ft

Sumter NF (Andrew Pickens)

SC · 800–3,500 ft

Francis Marion NF

SC · 10–100 ft

Western MD / Catoctin

MD · 700–3,360 ft

DE · 100–350 ft

NJ · 400–1,803 ft

KS · 1,000–1,600 ft

MN · 1,300–2,301 ft

MN · 1,200–1,500 ft

IA · 1,000–1,500 ft

NE Iowa Driftless / Effigy Mounds

IA · 650–1,250 ft

Uwharrie NF

NC · 400–1,100 ft

Croatan NF

NC · 0–150 ft

George Washington NF

VA · 1,000–4,397 ft

Oconee NF / GA Piedmont

GA · 400–800 ft

MS · 300–600 ft

LA · 5–50 ft

NY · 1,000–5,344 ft

PA · 1,200–3,213 ft

TN · 1,000–6,285 ft

AL · 200–400 ft

AL · 0–50 ft

MS · 300–700 ft

SC · 100–200 ft

GA · 100–200 ft

Blackwater / FL Panhandle

FL · 50–300 ft

MN North Shore / Sawtooth

MN · 600–2,301 ft

Oak Openings / NW Ohio

OH · 620–720 ft

NJ Pine Barrens

NJ · 0–200 ft

Eastern NE / Missouri Bluffs

NE · 900–1,350 ft

SE South Dakota / Newton Hills

SD · 1,300–1,550 ft

Sheyenne NG Oak Savanna

ND · 1,000–1,350 ft

Minnesota River Valley

MN · 800–1,150 ft

Osage Hills / Cross Timbers

OK · 700–1,250 ft

Smoky Hills / Wilson Lake

KS · 1,500–1,950 ft

Cape Cod National Seashore

MA · 0–306 ft

Pachaug SF / Eastern CT

CT · 200–500 ft

Trap Pond / DE Bald Cypress

DE · 20–80 ft

Pocomoke / Eastern Shore

MD · 0–50 ft

Great Swamp / Central RI

RI · 10–120 ft

Coal River / Southern WV

WV · 800–3,200 ft

Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness

WV · 2,500–4,863 ft

Cumberland Gap / SE KY

KY · 1,200–2,700 ft

Western KY / Pennyrile

KY · 350–700 ft

Big South Fork / NE TN

TN · 1,000–1,900 ft

Nantahala NF / Western NC

NC · 2,000–5,500 ft

Catskills North / Mountain Lakes

NY · 800–4,000 ft

Western NY / Allegany SP

NY · 1,500–2,300 ft

Pine Creek / North-Central PA

PA · 1,000–2,300 ft

Hiawatha NF / Eastern UP

MI · 600–1,100 ft

Huron NF / Lower MI

MI · 600–1,200 ft

Chequamegon NF / NW WI

WI · 1,000–1,900 ft

Black River SF / Driftless WI North

WI · 750–1,400 ft

Mid-Coast Maine

ME · 0–800 ft

Connecticut River Valley / NH

NH · 300–1,500 ft

Cross Timbers / LBJ National Grassland

TX · 700–1,200 ft

Lost Pines / Bastrop

TX · 300–700 ft

Coastal Bend / Lake Corpus Christi

TX · 50–400 ft

Arbuckle Mountains / Chickasaw

OK · 700–1,400 ft

Red Hills / Gyp Hills

KS · 1,500–2,200 ft

Nebraska NF / Bessey (Sandhills)

NE · 2,500–3,200 ft

Mount Blue Sky / Echo Lake

9,000–11,700 ft

Growing Requirements

Min Soil Temp

50°F

Moisture Need

rain 0.5in 7d

Drought Tolerance

moderate

Elevation Range

0–13,800 ft

Commonly Mistaken For

Species people confuse with this one — often the edible they were hunting for. Each is tagged with its own edibility; Coker's Amanita is the dangerous one.

Amanita solitaria / strobiliformis (European edibles)

Use caution

A. strobiliformis is eaten by some in Europe, but related species are suspect and North American Lepidella Amanitas like Coker's are considered toxic. Do not substitute.

Young destroying angels

Deadly

Amanita bisporigera is DEADLY. Pyramidal warts distinguish Coker's, but err on the side of avoiding all white Amanitas.

Identification Tips

✓Never eat any white Amanita in North America regardless of appearance
✓Pyramidal warts + scaly tiered base = Coker's
✓Ingestion causes severe GI distress plus the delirium syndrome typical of ibotenic acid

Field Notes

Oak, pine

Found Coker's Amanita?

Photograph it and log your observation on iNaturalist. The community can help confirm your ID — always get confirmation before eating.

Log on iNaturalist View recent observations →

Safety: Never eat any wild mushroom without 100% certain identification from multiple sources. This page is for informational purposes only. When in doubt, throw it out.