Destroying angels are among the most toxic known mushrooms; both they and the closely related death caps (A. phalloides) contain amatoxins.[1]
Destroying angels can be mistaken for edible fungi such as the button mushroom, meadow mushroom, or the horse mushroom. Young destroying angels that are still enclosed in their universal veil can be mistaken for puffballs, but slicing them in half longitudinally will reveal internal mushroom structures. This is the basis for the common recommendation to slice in half all puffball-like mushrooms picked when mushroom hunting. Mushroom hunters recommend that people know how to recognize both the death cap and the destroying angel in all of their forms before collecting any white gilled mushroom for consumption
The destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera) and the death cap (Amanita phalloides) account for the overwhelming majority of deaths due to mushroom poisoning. The toxin responsible for this is amatoxin, which inhibits RNA polymerase II and III. Symptoms do not appear for 5 to 24 hours, by which time the toxins may already be absorbed and the damage (destruction of liver and kidney tissues) is irreversible. As little as half a mushroom cap can be fatal if the victim is not treated quickly enough. The symptoms include vomiting, cramps, delirium, convulsions, and diarrhea.
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.[4] It has also been recorded from South Africa, where it is thought to have been accidentally introduced with trees imported from Europe and Asia.[5]
It is an ectomycorrhizal fungus, living in root symbiosis with a tree, deriving photosynthesised nutrients from it and providing soil nutrients in return.
A. pantherina is toxic; if consumed fresh, it may not be fatal to humans. It can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and hyperhidrosis, which can lead to severe dehydration
A. pantherina contains the psychoactive compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol,[7] two psychoactive constituents which can cause effects such as hallucinations, synaesthesia, euphoria, dysphoria and retrograde amnesia. 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.
Fun Fact
A. muscaria and A. pantherina are illegal to buy, sell, or possess in the Netherlands since December 2008. Possession of amounts larger than 0.5 g dried or 5 g fresh lead to a criminal charge
The mushroom itself is edible, but can absorb arsenic from the soil. Because its bright amethyst coloration fades with age and weathering, it becomes difficult to identify, hence the common name “deceiver” wikipedia
That’s interesting, I’ve noticed recently that the iNaturalist identification has been suggesting wrong IDs on some very easy and obvious images like a pair of Killdeer IDd as a Hooded Merganser.
I did a little reading on the difference. It seems I’ll have to start looking at the undersides of mushrooms in the future. That seemed to be the easiest way to differentiate.
I think identifying mushrooms with these apps is a fool’s errand at this point. They are almost always wrong, unless it’s something very obvious and distinctive.
Well maybe your experience has been different from mine but the suggestions I get are usually very wrong. You can absolutely use it as a jumping off point for further research and verification but I am wary of people thinking that these apps are at all accurate for mushrooms. There was just an article of a guy who ate destroying angels because his app ID’d them as giant puffballs. This is not a level of accuracy that I can endorse when the consequences can be life or death.
Seek specifically has a warning as soon as you open the camera to start an identification. I personally would not trust it enough for consumption even without the warning.
It doesn’t say on <a href="">wikipedia</a> if it can be used for making dyes, but the colour is due to light exposure…
Young fruit bodies that are still beneath the earth are white; as they mature and emerge from the ground, the exposure to light causes the color to change to violet
and also
It was one of six species that appeared as part of a series depicting native New Zealand fungi on stamps, released in 2002
It is incredibly striking, so I can see why it was ‘honoured’ with a stamp
Slime molds do it for me also, I just don’t know whether they fit here though? I have started some posting to macro photography (which is another community that’s gone quite quiet recently)
They are really beautiful, the green and blue ones look like they belong on the ‘Avatar’ planet. I’m going to have a look for some nice photos to post, cheers 👍
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