Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

oronge the French name for a large, delicious and famous mushroom, Amanita caesarea, is also used in English. An alternative name is Caesar’s mushroom.

The oronge, which grows in open woodland in many parts of Europe and N. America, and in China, prefers a warm climate. In France, for example, it is common in the south, but rare north of the Loire. It is the largest of the genus Amanita, sometimes reaching 25 cm (10") high and 20 cm (8") across the cap. The cap is a clear red or orange, becoming yellower with age, and all other parts are yellow.