How to tell Peppery bolete from Fly agaric

Cap 8–20 cm across, egg-shaped when young, then flattened-convex or almost flat. The surface is bright red or orange-red, fading to orange in old mushrooms. It is covered with white or yellowish warts — remnants of the universal veil (easily washed off by rain).

Cap 2-6 cm across, hemispherical when young, becoming convex-flat with age. Color yellowish-rust to copper-brown, reddish-orange, darker when young, fading with age. Surface smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather.

Gills free, crowded, white, not changing color. Spore print white. White gills combined with a red cap, a ring and a volva are a reliable combination of amanita features.

Pored hymenophore: tubes decurrent down the stem, copper-red, rusty orange, a distinctive rich tube color that shows from every angle. Pores wide, angular, the same color as the tubes. Spore print copper-brown.

Stem 8–18 cm tall, 1.5–2.5 cm thick, white, cylindrical, with a bulbous, swollen base. There is a well-developed membranous ring in the upper part and a characteristic ragged, sheath-like volva at the base, often hidden in the soil.

Stem 3-7 cm tall, 0.5-1 cm thick, cylindrical, often narrowing toward the base. Color yellowish-rust to orange-brown, in the lower part lemon-yellow (a distinctive feature: a bright yellow patch at the base of the stem, as in the ruby bolete). No ring.

Flesh soft, white, yellowish under the cap skin. Does not change color when cut. No distinctive smell. It contains toxic isoxazoles even in flesh that has no smell and no sharp taste.

Flesh thin, yellowish to yellow-pink, at the base of the stem bright yellow, lemon. When cut it turns faintly pink in the upper part. The taste is distinctly burning and peppery, hot like chili pepper: the main diagnostic feature of the species.

Smell faint, neutral or slightly sweetish. The very absence of a repulsive smell is part of the fly agaric's “trap”: the mushroom looks attractive and doesn't put you off by its smell.

Faint, pleasant and mushroomy, with no distinctive notes. The smell is not pronounced, unlike the taste.