Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii)

Edibility

Toxic

Lookalike Danger

3 / 5

Habitat

🌲 Birch, pine

Season

Aug – Oct

"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.

Habitat

Under birch, pine, spruce, and fir across North America. Summer through fall.

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

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

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

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

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

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

OK · 600–2,500 ft

AR · 600–2,700 ft

MN · 1,300–2,301 ft

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

Growing Requirements

Min Soil Temp

50°F

Moisture Need

rain 0.5in 7d

Drought Tolerance

moderate

Elevation Range

0–13,800 ft

Look-Alikes

Amanita caesarea (Caesar's Mushroom)

Choice edible but also a yellow-orange Amanita. Caesar's has NO warts on cap; yellow fly agaric has white warts.

Amanita flavoconia (Yellow Patches)

Also inedible. Yellow cap with yellow warts (not white).

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

Yellow Fly Agaric

🌳 Host Trees & Plants

Habitat

Season Windows by Region

Growing Requirements

Look-Alikes

Amanita caesarea (Caesar's Mushroom)

Amanita flavoconia (Yellow Patches)

Identification Tips

Field Notes

Found Yellow Fly Agaric?