| Amanita bisporigera | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Amanitaceae |
| Genus: | Amanita |
| Species: | A. bisporigera
|
| Binomial name | |
| Amanita bisporigera G.F.Atk. (1906)
| |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
| |
Amanita bisporigera | |
|---|---|
 | Gills on hymenium |
 | Cap is convex or flat |
 | Hymenium is free |
 | Stipe has a ring and volva |
 | Spore print is white |
 | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
 | Edibility is deadly |
Amanita bisporigera is a deadly poisonous species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. It is commonly known as the eastern destroying angel amanita,[3] the eastern North American destroying angel or just as the destroying angel, although the fungus shares this latter name with three other lethal white Amanita species, A. ocreata, A. verna and A. virosa. The mushroom has a smooth white cap that can reach up to 10 centimetres (4 inches) across and a stipe up to 14 cm (5+1⁄2 in) tall with a white skirt-like ring near the top. The bulbous stipe base is covered with a membranous sac-like volva. The white gills are free from attachment to the stalk and crowded closely together. As the species name suggests, A. bisporigera typically bears two spores on the basidia, although this characteristic is not immutable. A. bisporigera closely resembles a few other white amanitas, including the equally deadly A. virosa and A. verna.
A. bisporigera was described as a new species in 1906. It is classified in the section Phalloideae of the genus Amanita together with other amatoxin-containing species. The species is found in mixed coniferous and deciduous forests of eastern North America south to Mexico, but are rare in western North America. The first symptoms of poisoning appear 6 to 24 hours after consumption, followed by a period of apparent improvement, then by symptoms of liver and kidney failure, and death after four days or more.