Amanita echinocephala is a large, whitish or ivory-coloured mushroom with a characteristic spiny, or warty-looking cap. It lives on chalky soils with beech trees, and appears earlier than most mushrooms of similar size in southern England. It frequently occurs singly or in small groups, resulting in it being referred to as The Solitary Amanita or, more specifically, European Solitary Lepidella. It is very drought-tolerant. Amanita solitaria is a synonym and opinions are divided as to which name takes precedence.
The cap can be up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter, and is white to ivory, or silver-grey in colour. It is covered in raised pyramidal warts, that become less well defined, and less frequent towards the margin. These are remnants of the universal veil which covers the mushroom in its earliest stages. The young buttons are darker, and sometimes shaped like a two tier loaf, with a ring of raised scales around the base. The white to ivory stipe is 8–16 cm (3–6 in) high and 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) wide, with several rings of upturned scales towards the bulbous base. It is fairly deeply rooted, often laterally below the surface. The ring is thin and fragile, often adhering to the stipe. The gills are cream, but sometimes have a slight green tint. They are largely free of the stipe, but sometimes have a small decurrent tooth. The flesh is white, and is said to have an unpleasant smell.
Because the two species often share the same growing ground, A. echinocephala, and A. strobiliformis have both been erroneously identified as Amanita solitaria in the past.
It grows in light, dry calcareous soils with both broad leaved, (usually beech Fagus) and coniferous trees. It is quite drought-tolerant, giving rise to the suspicion that Southern England could be at the northern extent of its range. It occurs with hardwoods on calcareous soils, often associated with Limes (Tilia) in the Czech Republic, sometimes together with A. strobiliformis.
Pronounced edible by some, but probably best avoided in case of confusion with other poisonous Amanita species. This mushroom is rare and protected. It is on the United Kingdom Red Data List. Newly, it was reported that this species hyperaccumulates silver.