Amanita: Difference between revisions
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Wherever there is cryptology, there is espionage and there are deadly poisons. Several species of '''Amanita''' are to be found in the area. These are naturally present in the boreal forest and tundra, where the mycelia are in symbiosis with rich beds of moss, birches and spruces. | Wherever there is cryptology, there is espionage and there are deadly poisons <ref>[https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mushroom-murderer-serve-three-life-003850883.html ‘Mushroom murderer’ given three life sentences for killing lunch guests (CNN)]</ref><ref>Juliana Garcia et al. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26375431/ Amanita phalloides poisoning: Mechanisms of toxicity and treatment]. Food Chem Toxicol. 2015 Dec. </ref><ref>Nikhil Mehta, Pulkit Girdhar, Yogender S Bansal, Navneet Sharma 1, Senthil Kumar, Shikha Gupta. [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8848561/ Clinicopathological Aspects of Death due to Wild Mushroom Poisoning: An Autopsy Report] | ||
Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2022 Jan 31;12(1):64–66.</ref>. Several species of '''Amanita''' are to be found in the area. These are naturally present in the boreal forest and tundra, where the mycelia are in symbiosis with rich beds of moss, birches and spruces. | |||
Aerobic exercise, adequate fluid intake, abstinence from alcohol, and a well-balanced diet of fresh foods are crucial to building up and maintaining the body's resistance and immunity to the toxins in these mushrooms which will inevitably be encountered by accident in minute doses out in the woods. | Aerobic exercise, adequate fluid intake, abstinence from alcohol, and a well-balanced diet of fresh foods are crucial to building up and maintaining the body's resistance and immunity to the toxins in these mushrooms which will inevitably be encountered by accident in minute doses out in the woods. | ||
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And these mushrooms all have their uses. The mycelia of any or all of them, growing in thick beds of moss on a healthy boreal forest floor, have long been used as fine soft toilet paper or sanitary or baby wipes in woodland emergencies, and taking care to handle them in a manner of handling filth, one should not be poisoned by them. Fly agarics are thought to kill flies and mosquitoes. | And these mushrooms all have their uses. The mycelia of any or all of them, growing in thick beds of moss on a healthy boreal forest floor, have long been used as fine soft toilet paper or sanitary or baby wipes in woodland emergencies, and taking care to handle them in a manner of handling filth, one should not be poisoned by them. Fly agarics are thought to kill flies and mosquitoes. | ||
If there is a "Caesar's Mushroom," Shakespeare was British of course, but the characters in his play Romeo and Juliet were quite appropriately Roman, and Julius Caesar's famous words "Et tu, Brute!" tell us that this mushroom is named for its treason, not for its desirability as an edible. There are bell peppers with no heat, and salad bar mushrooms with no poison, but fungi do not always breed true to named species, and there is no way to tell the presence or absence of a mushroom gene that encodes deadly toxins merely by visual identification of species that happen to have been named in the pseudo-Latin Linnaeus system. | |||
== Death cap == | == Death cap == | ||
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== Fly agaric == | == Fly agaric == | ||
[[File:20250820_212310.jpg]] | [[File:20250820_212310.jpg]] | ||
== References == | |||
Latest revision as of 18:03, 11 September 2025
Wherever there is cryptology, there is espionage and there are deadly poisons [1][2][3]. Several species of Amanita are to be found in the area. These are naturally present in the boreal forest and tundra, where the mycelia are in symbiosis with rich beds of moss, birches and spruces.
Aerobic exercise, adequate fluid intake, abstinence from alcohol, and a well-balanced diet of fresh foods are crucial to building up and maintaining the body's resistance and immunity to the toxins in these mushrooms which will inevitably be encountered by accident in minute doses out in the woods.
Death caps and destroying angels are, well, deadly. Fly agarics are poisonous, but claims that they are hallucinogenic are probably highly overrated. Deadly amanitas have a very faint, sickly sweet, earthy or musty odor that becomes very sharp and acrid, and causes a stomachache similar to cyanide poisoning. A walk in the woods hunting mushrooms should be a healthful, relatively safe activity. Observe, breathe fresh air, and also watch out for wildlife and big game but otherwise do not pick or eat or sniff poisonous mushrooms.
And these mushrooms all have their uses. The mycelia of any or all of them, growing in thick beds of moss on a healthy boreal forest floor, have long been used as fine soft toilet paper or sanitary or baby wipes in woodland emergencies, and taking care to handle them in a manner of handling filth, one should not be poisoned by them. Fly agarics are thought to kill flies and mosquitoes.
If there is a "Caesar's Mushroom," Shakespeare was British of course, but the characters in his play Romeo and Juliet were quite appropriately Roman, and Julius Caesar's famous words "Et tu, Brute!" tell us that this mushroom is named for its treason, not for its desirability as an edible. There are bell peppers with no heat, and salad bar mushrooms with no poison, but fungi do not always breed true to named species, and there is no way to tell the presence or absence of a mushroom gene that encodes deadly toxins merely by visual identification of species that happen to have been named in the pseudo-Latin Linnaeus system.
Death cap
Destroying angel
Fly agaric
References
- ↑ ‘Mushroom murderer’ given three life sentences for killing lunch guests (CNN)
- ↑ Juliana Garcia et al. Amanita phalloides poisoning: Mechanisms of toxicity and treatment. Food Chem Toxicol. 2015 Dec.
- ↑ Nikhil Mehta, Pulkit Girdhar, Yogender S Bansal, Navneet Sharma 1, Senthil Kumar, Shikha Gupta. Clinicopathological Aspects of Death due to Wild Mushroom Poisoning: An Autopsy Report Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2022 Jan 31;12(1):64–66.
