Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Destroying angel

Amanita verna

Description:

Some of the most beautiful, but most deadly fungi are a group of species collectively known as the death angel. A single specimen of any of these three mushrooms, Amanita bisporigera, Amanita virosa, and Amanita verna, can be deadly. All three species are pure white, with white gills that are free from the stalk. All have an annulus, or ring (which is the remnant of the partial veil, which protects the gills as they are developing) around the stalk. All three have a volva, or cup at the base, which is the remnant of the universal veil that surrounded the young fruiting body primordium. Like all Amanita species, they are mycorrhizal, which means they have a symbiotic (mutualistic) association with the host tree. In our part of the country the association is with oak (Quercus spp.) trees, but in other parts of the country the association may be with other hardwoods or conifers ( http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/... )

Habitat:

location: North America, Europe edibility: Deadly fungus colour: White to cream, Green normal size: 5-15cm cap type: Convex to shield shaped stem type: Ring on stem, Volva on stem, Bulbous base of stem spore colour: White, cream or yellowish habitat: Grows in woods, Grows on the ground Amanita phalloides (Fr.) Link in Willd. Death Cap, Amanite phalloide, Oronge ciquë vert, Grüner Knollenblätterpilz, Gyilkos galoca. Cap 6-15cm across, convex then flattened; variable in color but usually greenish or yellowish with an olivaceous disc and paler margin; also, paler and almost white caps do occur occasionally; smooth, slightly sticky when wet, with faint, radiating fibers often giving it a streaked appearance; occasionally white patches of volval remnants can be seen on cap. Gills free, close, broad; white. Stem 60-140 x 10-20mm, solid, sometimes becoming hollow, tapering slightly toward the top; white, sometimes flushed with cap color; smooth to slightly scaly; the ball-shaped basal bulb is encased in a large, white, lobed, saclike volva. Veil partial veil leaves skirt-like ring hanging near the top of the stem. Flesh firm, thicker on disc; white to pale yellowish green beneath cap cuticle. Odor sickly sweet becoming disagreeable. Spores broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, amyloid, 8-10.5 x 7-9µ. Deposit white. Habitat singly or in small groups on the ground in mixed coniferous and deciduous woods. Quite common in Europe, formerly rare in north America but seemingly spreading and becoming frequent, especially in northern California. Found in eastern North America, the Pacific Northwest, and California. Season August-November (November-January in California), Deadly poisonous. Comment This is the most deadly fungus known, and despite years of detailed research into the toxins it contains, no antidote exists against their effects on the human body. Poisoning by Amanita phalloides is characterized by a delay of between six and twenty-four hours from the time of ingestion to the onset of symptoms, during which time the cells of the liver and kidneys are attacked. However, if a gastroirritant has also been consumed-e.g., as the result of eating a mixed collection of mushrooms-gastric upset may occur without the characteristic delay, masking this vital diagnostic evidence. The next stage is one of prolonged and violent vomiting and diarrhea accompanied by severe abdominal pains, lasting for a day or more. Typically this is followed by an apparent recovery, when the victim may be released from the hospital or think his ordeal over. Yet within a few days death may result from kidney and liver failure. Although Amanita phalloides contains many poisonous compounds, it is believed that only the group known as amatoxins are responsible for human poisoning; the others (phallotoxins) are thought to be rendered harmless by being neutralized by other compounds or not being absorbed from the intestinal tract, by being present in very low concentrations, or by being so unstable as to be destroyed by cooking or digestive juices. The amatoxins, however, are fully active orally. The main constituent of this group is a-amanitin, which through its effect on nuclear RNA in liver cells causes the end of protein synthesis, leading to cell death. When filtered through the kidneys, it attacks the convoluted tubules and instead of entering the urine is reabsorbed into the bloodstream and recirculated, causing repeated liver and kidney damage. As with any hepatic disease, treatment relies on the monitoring of blood chemistries, urine output, and so on, and the maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance. In cases of amatoxin poisoning, mortality is 50 to 90 percent, and any chance of survival depends on early recognition. Amanita phalloides var. alba (Vitt.) Gilbert. differs from the type in being entirely white throughout; like Amanita phalloides, it is also deadly poisonous. ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... ) -- ( http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vroege_knol... )

Notes:

The defining features of this gorgeous mushroom are: the sacklike white volva around its base; the white ring; the white gills; the white spore print; and the smooth (rather than lined) cap margin. Cap color is not the best thing to rely on in identification, since it is fairly variable. Older specimens have a distinctive, foul smell to them, but smell is never a very objective determiner. There is a considerable amount of confusion over this species as it occurs in North America--and elsewhere. For many years, the old-school North American mushroom experts conflated Amanita brunnescens with Amanita phalloides; older mushroom books therefore document it in places where it probably didn't occur. One widely held theory maintains that the true Amanita phalloides is an import to North America, having arrived with European oak trees. More recent verified occurences do tend to involve oak trees, especially European species--but the mushroom has also been verified under several species of pine, European or not. This type of debate over where Amanita phalloides is, and where it's supposed to be, isn't limited to North America, however; I once upset a Finnish mycologist's entire world-view by finding it 200 miles north of its officially designated Scandinavian range. ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_ph... ) = amanita verna's obligated synonyms -- Amanita phalloides var. verna (Bull.) Lanzi 1916 [LEG; MB439260] Amanitina verna (Bull.) E.-J. Gilbert 1940 [LEG; MB284110] Agaricus virosus var. vernus (Bull.) Fr. 1838 [LEG; MB499996] Venenarius vernus (Bull.) Murrill 1948 [LEG; MB291961] ( http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Li... )

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

No Comments

AlexKonig
Spotted by
AlexKonig

Heerlen, Limburg, Netherlands

Spotted on Sep 27, 2011
Submitted on Feb 18, 2012

Related Spottings

Spotting Saffron Ringless Amanita Amanita Amanita parcivolvata

Nearby Spottings

earth-boring dung/scarab beetles green mold - trichoderma sp ? european hornet orange bonnet
Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team