10 Most Poisonous Mushroom

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

#1

The fly agaric is the iconic toadstool of children’s fairy tales.
Instantly recognisable with its bright red cap and white spots
you would have to be an idiot to eat one of these! Or a child or
pet. Whilst you can imagine why a kid may eat one of these it
is less clear why dogs (and occasionally cats) seem to have a
taste for them. Unfortunately fly agaric is even more poisonous
to these animals and invariably lethal.

The main toxic agents in Amanita muscaria are muscimol and
ibotenic acid. These act on the central nervous system caus-
ing loss of coordination, alternating agitation and sleep, nau-
sea and in some cases hallucinations. The effects kick in after
around one hour but are rarely fatal. One of the biggest risks is
due to the crazy behaviour exhibited when intoxicated. Some-
thing that didn’t escape the ancients who used these in rituals.

Angel Wing
(Pleurocybella porrigens)

#2

Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere angel wing gets its
name firstly from how it looks and secondly because eating it
gives a good chance of sending you heaven-bound.

The angel wing was at one time considered edible and it seems
that for many years there were no reported poisonings from
eating it. That changed in 2004 when nearly 60 people became
ill after eating them across Japan. Out of these 17 died during
the following six weeks.
In a further case in 2009 a 65-year-old man died of enceph-
alopathy (brain disease) after eating angel wings. It is worth
pointing out that many of those who died had pre-existing kid-
ney or liver problems.

The mode of toxicity isn’t well understood in this fungus but a
unique amino acid has been identified that kills the brain cells
of lab animals. It is also possible that the fungus contains ele-
vated levels of cyanide.

Deadly Dapperling (Lepiota sp. )

#3

The name is a bit of a give away with this one. This small, tasty
looking mushroom and many of the Lepiota family, contain the
deadly amatoxin which is capable of destroying the liver. It is
this toxin that is responsible for 80-90% of all mushroom poi-
soning deaths. The fatality rate from ingesting amatoxins is
around 50% if untreated and still 10% with treatment. The ini-
tial symptoms are gastrointestinal-intestinal distress but death
may take some time and result from liver failure.

It is found in conifer forests throughout Europe and North
America and has been responsible for several deaths over the
years.

1Other members of the family include the equally delicious
sounding deadly parasol.

Podostroma Cornu-damae

#4

These funky looking Japanese fungi shout “Don’t eat me”!
Well to me anyway. Obviously not to the folk of Japan though.
I suppose they are already slightly fatalistic about their food,
expecting to die every time they have a bit of puffer fish. Ap-
parently this fungus looks like young Ganoderma lucidum and
is only eaten in error though.

The main toxins in these fungi are trichothecene mycotox-
ins which have particularly unpleasant effects and may cause
death within a matter of days. The symptoms are system wide
and can affect all organs, primarily liver, kidneys and brain.
There is also a depletion of blood cells, peeling of skin off the
face and hair loss making it look like the victim is suffering
from radiation poisoning (or leukemia).

Deadly Dapperling (Lepiota sp. )

#5

This mushroom is commonly found on lawns and is native to
the Pacific Northwest region of the US. Whilst it doesn’t look
immediately inviting as a snack its appearance in gardens
brings it into closer proximity with people than many other
mushrooms.

The other factor in accidental poisoning with this mushroom is
the alleged similar appearance to the Psilocybes mushroom,
also known as magic mushrooms. However, taking one of
these could lead to the mother of all bad trips.

This fungus is known to contain the particularly deadly ama-
toxin which if ingested can cause irreparable liver damage.

Deadly Webcap
(Cortinarius rubellus)

#6

Another deadly mushroom with a deadly name. The webcap is
a particularly innocuous looking mushroom similar in appear-
ance to many edible species. In fact it is incredibly poisonous
and eating it will possibly kill you; if not within weeks at a later
date when your kidneys pack in.

This is what happened in the case of The Horse Whisperer au-
thor Nicholas Evans. Along with his wife and two other guests
they ate deadly webcaps that they had collected mistaking
them for something edible. Whilst they all survived Evans was
put on kidney dialysis and all were told they would need kidney
transplants in the future.

They were lucky. The toxin orellanine is very potent, up there
with arsenic and with no known antidote. It is said that one can
be poisoned just by tasting and spitting out a small piece of
this mushroom.

Besides kidney failure other symptoms of the poisoning are
reportedly flu-like. They don’t appear for several days and can
go on for weeks.

Autumn Skullcap
(Galerina marginata)

#7

The autumn skullcap, now there is a name that shouts “Eat
me!”. They grow on dead wood and are found throughout the
world; as far north as the Arctic and as far south as Australia.

As with many other poisonous mushrooms the skullcaps look
similar to other, edible species. In this case they may be con-
fused with honey fungus, sheathed woodtuft and velvet foot
amongst others. So the message here is if you do not know
exactly what you are doing, there is a good chance you will die!

The active ingredient here is yet again the infamous amatox-
in. So if you value your liver function steer clear of the autumn
skullcap.

False Morel
(Gyromitra esculenta)

#8

With all the ridiculous names given to mushrooms and fungus
here is one that absolutely screams out for one – “The human
brain fungus“! But no, for some reason they named it false mo-
rel, which it doesn’t really look like.

Obviously something as delicious looking as a human brain is
not going to go uneaten. And it doesn’t. The false morel is a
popular delicacy in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
But isn’t it deadly poisonous? Well yes, but no. If eaten raw
there is a good chance you will die horribly. If not cooked prop-
erly there is also a chance you will die. However, cook it right
and I’m sure it tastes great.

The toxin here is gyromitrin which becomes monomethylhydra-
zine (MMH) after you eat it. This toxin will primarily affect the
liver but also the nervous system and sometimes the kidneys.
Symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting will appear within
hours and are followed by dizziness, lethargy and headache.
In the worst case this will end in a coma and death within the
week.

The false morel can be found in conifer woodlands throughout
Europe and North America.

The Destroying Angels

#9

If this mushroom had its name written on it absolutely no one
in their right mind would f**k with it! The Destroying Angel,
that just screams “Eat me and you will die!”. And this pretty
much sums up these members of the genus Amanita.

They contain lethal doses of amatoxins and are responsible
for a large proportion of all mushroom related deaths. The ini-
tial symptoms of cramps, delirium, convulsions, vomiting and
diarrhea appear with a day of ingestion. Unfortunately, by this
time the toxins may have been absorbed causing irreversible
destruction of the kidney and, particularly, liver tissue. At this
point a liver transplant may be the only option if the patient is
to survive.

Death Cap (Amanita phalloides)

#10

Related to the Destroying Angels is the similarly appealing
sounding death cap. It is this mushroom that has been respon-
sible the majority of human deaths both accidental and on pur-
pose. The death cap has a long history and is associated with
the deaths of a number of notable victims including the Roman
Emperor Claudius, a pope and a Russian tsar.

The deathcap is native to Europe where it is found in forests,
commonly under oak trees. It is similar to several edible mush-
rooms, most notably the paddy straw mushroom which is eat-
en throughout Asia. For this reason it has caught out several
unwary immigrants from Asian countries where it does not
grow.

The primary toxic agent is α-amanitin (amatoxin). As men-
tioned this causes irreversible damage to the liver and kidneys.
It is estimated that 30 grams (1oz) or approx. half a mushroom
is enough to kill an adult. It seems that many of the reported
poisoning incidents involve whole families; in 2006 a Polish
family of three ate death caps. One died and the two survivors
required liver transplants. In such cases it seems that victims
have a 50% chance of survival as was the case with four people
celebrating New Years in Australia and a more recent case in-
volving a couple in the UK.