How to tell Orange grisette from Panther cap
Orange grisette and Panther cap look alike, so they're easy to mix up — but Orange grisette is conditionally edible, while Panther cap is poisonous. The main visible difference: ring (veil): Orange grisette — no ring, Panther cap — ring present. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: cap surface, cap colour. If you have even the slightest doubt, leave the mushroom be.
Not sure? Identify by photoSide by side
| Characteristic | Orange grisette | Panther cap |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility class | Orange grisette: Conditionally edible | Panther cap: Poisonous |
| Size | Orange grisette: Medium (5–15 cm), Large (over 15 cm) | Panther cap: Medium (5–15 cm) |
| Cap colour | Orange grisette: Orange, Pale yellow | Panther cap: Brown, Grey |
| Cap shape | Orange grisette: Convex, Umbonate, Flat | Panther cap: Convex, Flat |
| Cap surface | Orange grisette: Smooth | Panther cap: Scaly |
| Taste | Orange grisette: — | Panther cap: Neutral taste |
| Smell | Orange grisette: Odourless, Pleasant, mushroomy | Panther cap: Odourless, Radish-like |
| Stem | Orange grisette: Central, Hollow | Panther cap: Central, Bulbous |
| Ring (veil) | Orange grisette: No ring | Panther cap: Ring present |
| Substrate | Orange grisette: Soil, Moss | Panther cap: Soil |
| Partner trees | Orange grisette: Birch, Beech | Panther cap: Oak, Beech |
Same in both: season, use, flesh colour change, hymenophore, volva, nutrition type, growth habit.
POISONOUS
Eating it causes poisoning. Do not pick it unless you have identified it with certainty.
The panthercap is poisonous, considerably more so than the fly agaric (Rubel and Arora, 2008). The active compounds are ibotenic acid and muscimol. Symptoms usually appear 1–3 hours after eating: confusion, delirium, hallucinations and, in severe cases, seizures. Loss of consciousness is noticeably more common after the panthercap than after the fly agaric (Vendramin and Brvar, 2014). Most people recover within 12–24 hours.
If someone has eaten it, call 112 (999 in the UK) straight away and keep any leftover mushrooms for the doctors.
If you suspect poisoning, call your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK) immediately
When and where they meet
Together: July–October
What they look like
Cap, Hymenophore, Stem, Flesh, Smell
Cap
Orange grisette
The cap is 5 to 12 cm across, egg-shaped as it breaks out of the sac, then bell-shaped and convex, finally flat with a low, darker central bump.
It's yellow-orange to orange-brown with an apricot tinge in the centre, paler towards the edge. The surface is smooth and shiny, slightly sticky when wet, and almost never carries patches of veil. The edge is grooved like a comb.
Panther cap
The cap is 5–12 cm across, spherical or bell-shaped when young, later flattened-convex. The surface is shiny, brown, grey-brown or olive-brown, dotted with small pure-white warts, usually spread fairly evenly; rain can wash them off.
Hymenophore
Orange grisette
The gills are free, crowded, white to cream, with shorter gills of varying length in between.
The spore print is white.
Panther cap
The gills are free, white and crowded. They don't change colour when damaged, which sets them apart from a similar edible species, the blusher, whose flesh and gills turn pink.
Stem
Orange grisette
The stem is 10 to 15 cm tall, up to 20 cm, and 1 to 2 cm thick, tapering upwards, hollow and brittle with age, pale to deep orange with a white-and-orange zig-zag pattern of soft scales, like snakeskin. There's no ring and no bulb.
At the base is a large, thick, loose white sac (volva), often lobed and hidden in the soil.
Panther cap
The stem is 6–12 cm tall, white and smooth, with a thin membranous ring in the upper part. At the base is a bulb with veil remnants: not a free, sac-like volva but one or more white woolly rings, or a spiral, above a narrow gutter on the bulb. This rimmed bulb distinguishes it from the blusher.
Flesh
Orange grisette
The flesh is thin, white, soft and fragile, and doesn't change colour when cut.
Panther cap
The flesh is firm and white and doesn't turn pink when damaged (a critical feature that distinguishes it from the similar blusher). There's no distinctive taste.
Smell
Orange grisette
The smell is faint: some sources call it sweet and mushroomy, others indistinct.
Panther cap
The smell is faint, neutral or slightly unpleasant, subtly radish-like or earthy. It's neither sharp nor repulsive, so nothing warns you of the danger while foraging.
Related comparisons
Sources · 16
- [1]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [2]GBIF
- [3]Index Fungorum
- [4]Wikipedia (English)
- [5]Википедия (русская)
- [6]First Nature: Amanita crocea, Orange Grisette
- [7]First Nature: Amanita fulva, Tawny Grisette
- [8]First Nature: Amanita phalloides, Deathcap
- [9]First Nature: Amanita virosa, Destroying Angel
- [10]First Nature: Amanita pantherina, Panthercap
- [11]Wild Food UK: Orange Grisette
- [12]Wikipedia (de): Orangegelber Scheidenstreifling
- [13]Шульга В. М. Світ грибів України: Поплавок шафрановий
- [14]vlisi.com.ua: Поплавок шафрановий
- [15]La Rosa et al. Epidemiology and clinical aspect of mushroom poisonings in South Sardinia: A 10-year retrospective analysis (2011-2021). Food Science & Nutrition, 2024, La Rosa et al. (2024)
- [16]GBIF: знахідки Amanita crocea в Україні