Amanita verna was first mentioned in the scientific literature by French mycologist Jean Bulliard in 1780 as form vernus of Agaricus bulbosus.

Bulliard warned that it could be easily confused with the edible field mushroom (Agaricus campestris), and that remedies for those who had eaten it included putting vitriolic ether in wine or crushed garlic in milk.

[4] A. verna is a close relative of A. phalloides (the death cap); both species belong to the Amanita subfamily Phalloideae.

Its annulus is white and membranous, and A. verna react yellow with 20% potassium hydroxide solution, unlike its relative Amanita phalloides var.

[6] The fool's mushroom grows in European woodlands and hardwood forests in springtime as the fungus' Latin name (Amanita verna or spring destroying angel) suggests.