Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The most iconic and easily identified mushroom in the world is Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric. It grows around the world at northern latitudes in association with spruces, pines, birches and aspens, with its roots forming mutually beneficial mycorrhizal associations to exchange water and nutrients. It is easy to recognize, for it has a bright red cap, and all else white: stipe (stem), gills (underside of cap) and crumbles of the egg sac on the cap.