Other than the brownish cap with white warts, distinguishing features of A. pantherina include the collar-like roll of volval tissue at the top of the basal bulb, and the elliptical, inamyloid spores.

Unlike A. rubescens, the panther cap does not color red/pink ("blush") when the flesh is damaged, hence its name "false blusher".

[citation needed] The panther cap is an uncommon mushroom, found in both deciduous, especially beech and, less frequently, coniferous woodland and rarely meadows throughout Europe, western Asia in late summer and autumn.

The effects of muscimol and ibotenic acid most closely resemble that of a Z drug, like Ambien at high doses, and not a classical psychedelic, e.g. psilocybin.

[10][11] As with other wild-growing mushrooms, the ratio of ibotenic acid to muscimol depends on countless external factors, including: season, age, and habitat—and percentages will naturally vary from mushroom to mushroom—with dark brown A. pantherina specimens having a greater concentration of ibotenic acid.