Eastern Caesar's Amanita Amanita jacksonii

Eastern Caesar's Amanita is an edible mushroom found in woodlands from eastern Canada through the United States and into Mexico.  It is common to the oak and pine forests and fields of the Piedmont region of North Carolina. 

These mushrooms grow in partial shade to dappled shade. Forms mycorrhizal associations with forest trees and grows singly but sometimes in scattered loose groups.

It is easy to spot with its brilliant red cap that fades from the outer edge to the center with age.  The stem of the mushroom is yellow with orange fibrils. The cap of the mushroom can grow to 4 inches; oval at first, then becoming convex with a central bump. the gills are crowded, orange-yellow, and free from the stem. The short gills are subtruncate to truncate.