Masters part 4: Poisonous and inedible mushrooms

Looked at poisonous mushroom and inedible varieties taking  note of its: aesthetics, symptoms, conditions and locations its grown in. Also looked at the size it  grow to, this is important if devising a character design  in knowing their size in relation to each other.

Common symptom of mushroom poisoning are:
-Liver and kidney failure  followed by death within 48 hours some mushrooms in less time.
-Before that happens people can feel or have: blood in their diarrhea, vomiting, cramps and nausea
-some can cause hallucinations which also can result in people having a high heart beat, headaches, irritation, confusion, muscle weakness and some cases death.
Most cases of poisoning pop up during autumn.
Its been reported that children and dogs are most at risk eating poisons mushrooms they find in  their garden.

Typed in the words “poisonous mushrooms” to see what comes up. The  bright and pastel  colours  with balls coming off some of the  mushrooms make them look adorable, even through they are highly poisonous.

Bleeding horn is said to have a bitter taste rendering it inedible. There’s no sign of it being toxic however people are known to vomit due to the taste alone.

(Clitocybe nebularis ) Clouded Funnel Cap

Was once considered edible however it has been reported with people having issues after consuming this mushroom.  They commonly grow and form  rings in conifer woods. The cap appears to be a  small triangular shaped dome when its young, then takes months for it to flatten out. The cap commonly grow from 6 to 20 cm with the cap edge rolling in on it self. It starts off as white then turn to a cream white colour as it matures. The stem diameter  on average  grow 2 – 3cm with the base of the stem enlarge. The length on average grow to 6- 12cm.
Upon the mushroom maturity or starts rotting it has on occasion been infected by a  rare parasite mushroom “Volvariella surrecta” that process pink gills.

(Mitrula paludosa) Bog beacon / swamp beacon
grows in wet conditions, they take their nutrients from decaying stems and leaves. Location: they grow through out mainland Europe, Asia and the uk in bogs, moss and shallow edges of lakes that has weeds.
In diameter they commonly  are 1cm in height. The stem are commonly  2-3 mm 4 cm tall. The caps appear  in yellow or orangish yellow in almost  like a jelly bean shape.

Destroying Angel (Amanita virosa)

Symptoms within  5- 24 hours of consumption:

-Intense stomach pain, diarrhoea and vomiting.
-What appears to be  a full recovery after the first 3 symptoms.
-Followed by  kidney and liver failure then death, a few days later.
Season: July – November

Location: North American. It grows on the floor in broadleaved woods in particular  near birch trees.

Treatment: no antidote

As it matures the cap appears triangular and flatten. it has  a thin looking sheet  from the top of the stem below the cap.

In conclusion  I may incorporate a character that seems to be effected, get better but then get worse in their condition or transformation.

Pleurocybella porrigens
Nickname: Angel wings
Symptoms:
-death
-it contains a amino acid that kills off brain cells.

Season: autumn time
Location: northern hemisphere. They are commonly grown in cumbia and Scottish highland however it’s a rarity everywhere else.

They grow  in damp conditions on the floor commonly where its’s covered by moss on  decaying conifer wood.  They are saprobic and normally grow in groups.

In some images they look like  flower, with the cap being in thin layers compared to other variety of fungi.

Satan’s bolete (boletus satanas)
Symptoms:
–hours of vomiting
-In rare cases it causes death.

When the flesh is bruised it turns blue.The stems appear red with the cap a grayish white colour. Cap size commonly grow to: 7- 30 cm.

Season its grown in: June till September
Location: in warmer climates   that can be found on oaks  in north America, beech in Europe and hardwood.  In the northern hemisphere.

Podostroma cornu-damae

Symptoms:
–Death,
-severe  multiple organ failure,
-acute kidney failure
-liver necrosis
-hair loss
-peeling skin just from touching it
-low blood pressure
– Stomach pains
-hallucinations
-dehydration
– effects consciousness
– speech impediments

Toxin: trichothecene mycotoxins
Location: Asia, number of deaths in Korea and japan. Found in china too.

During the early stages of growth the fungi resemble a health food “Ganoderma lucidum” there’s reports of it being so deadly a person who ingested 1g of the fungi with it soaked into a drink died.

They grow in branch like appearance on the ground with smaller stems growing off a larger stem, they are red in colour and  have no clear caps.

Deadly Dapperling (Lepiota brunneoincarnata)
Symptoms:
-Death when untreated
-Liver failure
Locations: parts of Asia and Europe

Death cap (amantia phallodies)

The toxins can survive cooking temperatures.
After 6 – 24 hours of eating it people can  have the following
symptoms:
-blood in their diarrhoea
– pain in their abdomen
– vomiting
– extreme thirst
– quick lost of fluid.
It can also cause damage to the: central nervous system, liver and kidneys.  Blood sugars can plummet and decrease in urine production. 50% who ate this has know to have a coma then die. 9/ 10 times of mushroom poisoning is due to this mushroom because they look similar to  the edible version. Worldwide this mushroom is the cause of  one of the largest amount of deadly and fatal poisonings.
Location: they grow on the floor  in the woods  near broad leaf’s litter.

Fool’s Conecap (Conocybe filaris)
Symptoms  liver failure. (it  contains amatoxins).
Season  it grows: June to October

Fool’s Funnel (Clitocybe rivulosa)
Symptoms:
-in rare cases it causes death.
-After consuming sweating and excessive salivation can occur
-stomach pain
-serve sickness
-diarrhea
-blurred vision
-difficulties breathing
Season: July to early December.
It commonly grows near  the safe and edible “scotch  bonnet”
location: grassy places, meadows and gardens.

Ivory Funnel (Clitocybe blanchi)
Nicknames: Sweating mushroom
Symptoms:
-Death is rare in people of good health
-vomiting
-Diarrhea

Fool’s Webcap (Cortinarius orellanus)
Symptoms:
-Symptoms can start after 2 or  3 days then last up to 3 weeks
-untreated can result to death
-Flu like symptoms
-renal failure ( that consists of serve  thirst,  frequent urination, kidney pain followed by lack of urination)

Deadly Webcap (Cortinarius rubellus)

Symptoms:
-Symptoms can start after 2 or  3 days then last up to 3 weeks
-untreated can result to death
-Flu like symptoms
-renal failure ( that consists of serve  thirst,  frequent urination, kidney pain followed by lack of urination )
Other info: contains poison called “orellanin” with the effects with a long  duration.
Season: August to November
Location: across Europe however it’s a rarity in the uk. They grow on the ground near bilberry and heather in spruce woods and coniferous pine.
Treatment: no known antidote exists, hospital visit is advisable.

Galerina marginata

Nickname: funeral bell or  autumn skullcap
They contain the same toxins as “Death cap” are small in size  and brown in colour.
Symptoms:
they share the same symptoms as the “death cap”
As the name suggest they can cause death but beforehand they cause you to vomit and liver failure.
Season: august- November

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Symptoms:
-coma
-Seizures
-twitchiness
-Drowsiness
– delirium
Treatment:
Gastric lavage if within hour of poisoning, activated charcoal if within 4 hours of consumption.
Season: august – November in the uk
Other info:  young mushrooms are doomed they flatten with age.
The gild and stem appear white or yellowish white when mature. They have white fragments on the top that can wash off in  the wet weather.

Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina)

 symptoms:
They contain similar effects as the common Fly Agaric .
–In some cases it can cause death.
-Intense hallucinations, the illusion of the person having increased strength.
-effects the nervous system
-Severe illness
-convulsions
Season: July to November
Location: near oak or beech in broadleaved woods.

Wrinkled Crust

Inedible

Location: on dead confier timber, broadleaf trunks or fallen branches.
Season: autumn – winter
Size:  the spores can  go from 4cm – 5 cm.
Fritbody  on average up to 10 cm a cross with a 1- 3 mm thickness.
The young mushroom are light pink then gets to a bright orange or brown with it getting light and hairy on the outer edge as it matures.  The flesh has been said to be soft with the consistency of jelly.

Pholiota squarrosa

Nickname: Shaggy Scalycap or Scaly Pholiota
In Greek the word “Pholiota” translates to scaly.
Inedible
Poison classification :
class 5 Gastrointestinal irritant

Symptoms:  short term gastrointestinal irritation  that includes
-abdominal pain
-vomiting blood
-nausea
– black stools
-ingestion
-blood In the diarrhoea.
Treatment: in rare cases a IV fluid, intake of fluids. Commonly little is needed with  the symptoms to die down after a few hours.
Season: summer till autumn.
Location: commonly grown across a majority of the uk, Usa, mainland Europe and  parts of Canada.

All “Pholiota fungi” proses  brown spores.  The cap is pale yellow and  on average grows from 4cm- 12cm. It looks round in appearance then flattens with age, the edges has a rolled over appearance to the gills. The stems on average  grows from 7- 15cm in diameter.  The gulls appear a pale yellowish grey then a brownish yellow as it ages. The surface has the appearance of bits peeling off.

The odor and tastes is said to be on the bitter taste and similar to radish.

Nickname: starfish fungi, Stinkhorn fungi

Smell: they are said to give off a powerful stench that smells of sewage or rotting meat, the stench is not as powerful as “Clathrus archeri”

“Symptoms”

It has the toxicity category of 2

Most sources have cited this mushroom is not poisons however have known to causes deaths in small dogs. They are seen as gastros-irritants meaning they can in short term cause stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhoea.

They are said to be  edible in the egg state however at the time of writing this I could  not find if its poisonous as a mature fungi, some suggest it is but with no evidence.

Location: most common in tropical locations, Hawaii  central America, south and north Carolina.

The fungi is saprobic and  are commonly grown  under shrubs and trees with fallen leaves and decaying wood.

Season: can appear  year around however in summer till early autumn in southern England

This fungi looks similar to the creatures you see in “alien vs predator”

As a young fungi they appear as a pale grey egg 3cm in diameter. As it grows and matures the stem that is pink in colour emerge out of the egg shape called “volva” that appears as broken egg  shells. As it matures  the top opens out and it pairs have tentacle arm esc  limbs spread out. Each tentacle arm is commonly grown from 3-5 cm in length.
The pale pink stem  can grow up to 5- 9sm in length with a 3cm diameter and it tends to hollow inside as it ages.  The inner top bit of the stem has a brownish slimily like substance at the top of the stem containing spores.

In conclusion: many of the poisonous mushrooms are named after: demons, angels, death, the word fool,  have the word cap or webcap in its title.  Majority of them cause:  vomiting, diarrhoea, mainly liver and kidney failure then death.  Many edible varsities have a poisonous variety lookalike or grow near them. Most fungi grow during the autumn and winter time, some are so toxic just from touching some varieties it can make your skin peel. Mushrooms can be parasites to each other, some share  the same nickname so would have to look at the scientific name to differentiate them.

The poisonous mushrooms aren’t just colourful ones, there’s plenty dull looking ones that are also poisonous however majority of the more vivid or oddly shaped mushrooms are mainly either poisonous or inedible compared to the ratio for edible mushrooms. Edible mushroom have a larger percentage of dull looking mushrooms however they too have colourfull edible mushrooms. Found out not all mushrooms process a cap and when it does while its young they appear as a plump dome that eventually flattens out and change in colour as it ages majority of the time. Therefore the shape of the cap needs to be considered when thinking about hte age of the character.

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