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Yellow Fly AgaricAmanita muscaria var. guessowii
Edibility
Toxic
Lookalike Danger
3 / 5
Habitat
🌲 Birch, pine
Season
Aug – Oct🌱 Now
"Golden-yellow version of the iconic red Amanita. Eastern NA color form. Same compounds, same warning."
🌳 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.
Birch
Betula spp.
Ectomycorrhizal
Chaga, birch bolete, birch polypore host.
Pine
Pinus spp.
Ectomycorrhizal
Matsutake, slippery jack, suillus host.
Yellow-capped variety of Amanita muscaria (var. guessowii or var. flavivolvata), common across North America — especially the Northeast and Rocky Mountains. Same ibotenic acid and muscimol toxins as the red-capped form. Do not eat.
Habitat
Under birch, pine, spruce, and fir across North America. Summer through fall.
Look for this on the ground
Spruce-fir duff
Short stiff dark-green needles, small pendant cones, montane feather moss.
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
Wallowa Mountains
OR · 3,500–9,500 ft
Blue Mountains
OR · 4,000–8,000 ft
Wasatch Mountains
UT · 5,500–11,500 ft
Uinta Mountains
UT · 7,000–13,500 ft
Manti-La Sal
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
NW IL Driftless
IL · 600–1,200 ft
SW Michigan
MI · 580–1,000 ft
Central MI
MI · 700–1,400 ft
Northern Lower Peninsula
MI · 600–1,700 ft
Upper Peninsula
MI · 600–1,979 ft
WI Driftless Area
WI · 650–1,700 ft
Central WI
WI · 750–1,400 ft
Northern WI
WI · 1,000–1,950 ft
Eastern IA River Valleys
IA · 550–1,100 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
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
Apalachicola National Forest
FL · 10–300 ft
Ocala National Forest
FL · 20–200 ft
Acadia / Down East
ME · 0–1,530 ft
Western Maine
ME · 400–4,170 ft
Northern Maine
ME · 500–5,267 ft
White Mountains
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
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
Ouachita NF (AR)
AR · 600–2,700 ft
Superior NF / BWCA
MN · 1,300–2,301 ft
Chippewa NF
MN · 1,200–1,500 ft
NE Iowa Driftless / Effigy Mounds
IA · 650–1,250 ft
Croatan NF
NC · 0–150 ft
Adirondacks
NY · 1,000–5,344 ft
Cherokee NF
TN · 1,000–6,285 ft
Blackwater / FL Panhandle
FL · 50–300 ft
MN North Shore / Sawtooth
MN · 600–2,301 ft
NJ Pine Barrens
NJ · 0–200 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
Cape Cod National Seashore
MA · 0–306 ft
Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness
WV · 2,500–4,863 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
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; Yellow Fly Agaric is the dangerous one.
Amanita caesarea (Caesar's Mushroom)
EdibleChoice edible but also a yellow-orange Amanita. Caesar's has NO warts on cap; yellow fly agaric has white warts.
Amanita flavoconia (Yellow Patches)
Use cautionEdibility unknown, possibly poisonous — do not eat. Yellow cap with yellow (not white) warts.
Identification Tips
- ✓White warts on yellow cap = yellow fly agaric, toxic
- ✓Same rules as red fly agaric — do not eat
- ✓Ring on stem + volva at base = all toxic Amanitas in this complex
Field Notes
Birch, pine
Found Yellow Fly Agaric?
Photograph it and log your observation on iNaturalist. The community can help confirm your ID — always get confirmation before eating.
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.