BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The cap of A. gracilior is 30 - 40 mm wide, soon plano-convex to flat, subviscid, slightly appendiculate, with a nonsulcate margin.  The cap is white, tending to turn yellowish or yellowish-brownish.  The cap is scattered with small, detersile, conical to subconical, white volval warts.

The gills are free to narrowly adnate, crowded, rather broad, and white to cream.  The short gills are rather abundant and probably subtruncate to attenuate.

The stem is 80 - 100 x 5 -10 mm, cylindrical, and white.  The stem is flocculose at the lower half and with many small, recurved, scales provoked by remnants of volva just above the rooting base.

The spores measure (9.5-) 10 - 12.5 (-13.4) x (5.4-) 5.5 - 6.3 (-7.8) µm and are amyloid and elongate.  Clamps are present at bases of basidia.

This species was orginally described base on material from Spain and France.  It has proven to be a taxon of the Mediterranean region where it occurs with oak (Quercus) and pine (Pinus) in autumn.

For comparison, see Amanita miculifera Bas & Hatan. and the taxa assigned by Bas to his stirps Virgineoides (under A. virgineoides Bas).  See also the discussion of A. boudieri Barla.

Apparently, A. boudieri and A. gracilior are often confused in the field, a study by Neville and Poumarat (1996) reveals that A. boudieri is uncommon and occurs mostly in the first half of the year, while A. gracilior is common and occurs in the second half of the year. In my herbarium, all material of A. boudieri is from the period including March through May and all material from A. gracilior is from the months including September through November.

Concerning A. gracilior var. beilleioides Neville & Poumarat, see A. boudieri var. beillei (Beauseign.) Neville & Poumarat.-- R. E. Tulloss

Drawing: Dr. C. Bas (1969) (reproduced by courtesy of Persoonia, Leiden, the Netherlands)