Amanita pantherina or not?

[alge]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Thanks alge,

If I'm honest I'm still a bit mystified. They are lovely, I agree. And if they were rare, then I could get really excited, but they are just 'uncommon', no? Do they have good years and bad years, is that it? Someone please help me to get more excited about this find. Because I could name maybe ten fungi that I would be very, very happy about finding. Panthers aren't in that list.

TY

Deb

Geography, geology, climate. there are a huge bunch of factors going into wether your going to live in a local pocket or generally suitable place to find some fungi. Everyone on this site will have a few species that you will be lucky enough to have a glut to study where as another keen amateur or professional will have to travel 200 miles to stand a chance if seeing that species because they are afforded other habitats, soil types, altitude ......... probably a longer list than i can explain. And you may come to hope to see one of them because they dont occur within 200 miles of where you live. Then as you get to me more knowledgeable you may even start to notice the ones that were under your nose all along. Then you may just simply like them because you do??

For me i'm pretty sure i've seen A. pantherina but it would be nice to see one in the company of others that do know it, to help me "get my eye in" as it were.

[Deb London]

Well I did travel 105 miles, an epic journey that also produced a feathered first for me too. I want to live there now. Anyway, thanks for the explanation, alge. I suppose it's just whatever floats your boat, or ticks your list, or something.