Amanita muscaria Identification

This is probably the most iconic of all mushrooms. Recognized the world over for its bright red cap with white spots, this member of the Amanita family grows all around the world and has been used for ages for its psychoactive properties as well as prepared as an edible, although most field guides will classify it as a toxic mushroom.
This mushroom comes from a family that contains the most deadly mushrooms in the world, although this isn't one of them. Amanitas are in the class of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms that require a tree association to create a fruiting body, in the case of these particular specimens it happens to be Aspen, a tree not native to Washington state, although seeming to grow very well around the courthouse!
The effects of using this mushroom as a psychotropic or deliriant are said to be so unpleasant that most people never do it twice. That's also probably the reason they are not illegal.
The young fruiting body erupts out of the first stage of its life as an egg-like structure, and when the cap separates from the volva (egg like sack) it leaves small patches of the remaining 'universal veil' or volva chunks on its cap, making the distinct white "warts" that are so easily recognized.
This is a short and not super involved ID, but is one in many individual mushroom ID videos that we are trying to upload to Mushroom Wonderland to make it easy to look in the playlist section to find videos of your favorite mushrooms.
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