Amanita mushrooms abound in the woods

 

I think that this is Amanita muscaria, but I am not certain. We found so many of them in the woods that I was able to photograph them in all stages of growth.

Amanita muscaria are poisonous and hallucinogenic mushrooms. The cap can be yellow, orange, or red. These warts are lightly yellowish to white. One of the characteristics are the concentric rings above the bulb. These rings are the remains of the volva (a sort of veil that surrounds the young mushroom.)

You will also notice that the stalk looks rather hairy. The warts on the cap are also left over pieces of the universal veil that stay attached to Amanita mushrooms.

Another characteristic of Amanita muscaria is the orange color in the center of the cap as well as the bulbous shape of the stalk base.

As they get older, the cap starts to flatten out and the warts seem to get a bit worn away.

The underside of the cap has gills that are quite close together and are filled with white spores. By the way, I measured the cap and it was about 5.5" in diameter while the stem was about 5.5" long.