the.com/amanita
the genus that gave us both the storybook toadstool and a fungal serial killer.
means A genus of mushrooms that includes both iconic species like the red-and-white fly agaric and some of the deadliest fungi known, such as the death cap and destroying angel.
from From Greek 'amanitai,' a term for a kind of fungus used by writers like Galen and others; its further roots are uncertain, though some link it to Mount Amanus on the border of ancient Syria and Cilicia, a region once noted for its mushrooms — an appealing story, but the connection is unproven.
- deadly star
- Death cap kills more people than all other mushrooms combined.
- no antidote
- Its toxins shrug off cooking, freezing, and drying.
- icon status
- The red-and-white fly agaric defined what cartoons call a mushroom.
- reindeer high
- Siberian shamans ate it for visions, sometimes via reindeer urine.
- slow killer
- Symptoms vanish, then organs fail days later.
amanita phalloides — death cap mushroom responsible for 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide
amanita muscaria — fly agaric with red cap and white spots, used in siberian shamanic rituals
amanita caesarea — caesar's mushroom, prized edible species found in mediterranean regions