Dangerous Death Cap Mushroom Facts That Will Completely Terrify You

A mushroom is usually referred to as a spore-bearing and edible form of a fungus that is grown and cultivated for purposes of consumption.

However, there are several types of inedible mushrooms also, which, if eaten, can prove to be deadly to humans. The death cap mushroom is one such variety of deadly mushrooms.

Known also as Amanita Phalloides, these death cap mushrooms are especially dangerous because they bear a resemblance to some edible mushroom varieties. The Amanita Phalloides or death cap mushrooms are deadly fungi. These wild mushrooms belong to the Basidiomycete genus of the Amanita Category of wild mushrooms.

Most of the funguses belonging to this species are some of the most poisonous mushrooms. The color of their caps vary but are most often green with white stripes.

Native to Europe, they have been known to have been found in various other parts of the world. With the cultivation of nonnative species in new regions, like that of Oak, Pine, and Chestnut, these mushrooms have also found new regions to call home.

Let’s look at some death cap mushroom facts. Afterward, also check are truffles mushrooms and are mushrooms decomposers?

Death Cap V Straw Mushroom

The plausibility of humans accidentally consuming the death cap mushroom continues because it bears a striking resemblance to some edible varieties of mushrooms, most commonly the straw mushroom (Volvariella Volvacea) and caesar's mushroom (Amanita Caesarea).

The straw mushroom is also known as the paddy mushroom and is most frequently seen in Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

It is cultivated and freshly available in this part of the world, whereas, in other regions, it is available in canned or dried form.

Straw mushrooms are the third most consumed mushroom variety in the world, with maximum use in Asian cuisines. The Amanita Phalloides or death cap mushroom becomes exceedingly dangerous for the fact that the similarity in its appearance to the straw mushroom increases the risk of it getting eaten accidentally.

Whether raw or cooked, this mushroom can resist changes caused in chemical and physical attributes by heat, meaning that even if it is cooked, it will still maintain its poisonous character.

Being one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world, the death cap is considered so powerful that even half of this mushroom is good enough to kill a healthy adult human being.

The reason for this is the presence of a specific kind of toxin, known as Amatoxins which are able to resist any changes that usually occur when exposed to heat. Its toxicity has been the cause of several deaths, most notably of the Roman Emperor Claudius in 54 AD and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740.

The toxins are known to cause liver failure and kidney failure, leading to the death of those who consume them.

Taxonomy And Naming

The name Amanita Phalloides is derived from Latin. Several accounts of the evolution of its name and the origin of the name death cap have come up, but the latest account settling its name to Amanita Phalloides comes from.

Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link is attributed for naming this deadly fungus as Amanita Phalloides in 1833. However, several scientists before him are also credited for naming it the same or similar. For example, a scientist named Louis Secretan named Amanita Phalloides much before Johann Link, but his categorization was rejected for not being correct in terms of intended nomenclature.

The Amanita Phalloidae is a taxonomic section, which consists of all the deadly Amanita species of mushrooms known so far. The Amanita Phalloides is a sub-group or Type species under this category.

Death Caps are the third most deadly mushrooms in the world, the Destroying Angels being at the top of the list. Destroying Angels are also a sub-species of Amanita Phalloidae.

Destroying angels are known by different names in different regions of the world, including Amanita Virosa, Amanita ocreata, and Amanita Bisporigera. The name death cap mushroom, however, has become the most commonly used and recognized in the English vernacular.

Distribution And Habitat

The death cap mushroom is usually found growing around grown oak and other trees like pine and chestnut. While they can be found year-round, they grow mostly during late summer, winter, and during times of heavy rains.

Typically the death cap is a native species of Europe. It found all of this continent and has spread to northern African countries like Algeria and Morocco as well.

In Europe, it can be found in the Mediterranean Basin, Italy, Greece, Russian countries, the Balkans, Scandinavia, and Ireland. It is even found in coastal regions like California in North America.

The death cap is an invasive species, meaning that while initial evidence suggests that it has spread throughout the world with exotic trees like oak which were carried and introduced to new regions, its recent emergence with Eucalyptus in Tanzania and Kunzea in New Zealand suggests its tendency to invade other species and call them home.

Signs And Symptoms

Responsible for about 90% of total mushroom-related fatalities, these poisonous fungi, when consumed, cause liver damage and kidney damage.

Certain symptoms appear, which would be helpful to identify the issue and, if earlier identified, can help save a person. Common symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and extreme stomach pains. The first onset of symptoms usually occurs between 6-24 hours post digestion of the mushrooms.

If these symptoms occur, it is extremely important to get checked because they tend to subside for a couple of days, putting up a front, to fool one into believing they are fine, while the toxins work in the background, damaging liver cells and in a few days, complete liver failure, leading to death.

While in some cases of death cap mushroom poisoning, a liver transplant has worked, it is not a conclusive treatment that can cure all cases.

Similarity To Edible Species

Other than the paddy straw mushroom and Caesar's mushroom, death cap mushrooms also resemble various other mushroom species. In most reported cases, it is seen that these mushrooms are largely being confused and consumed by people of Asian cultures, where straw mushrooms and other varieties are commonly eaten.

Another species is the puffballs. Puffballs are also edible fungi, commonly eaten, which death caps are often confused with. An example of a man from Canada who consumed death caps, confusing them for puffballs, comes to mind.

The A. Lanei is another form of Amanita edible mushroom, which is often confused with death cap mushroom.

In a case in North America, immigrants from Laos and people from the Hmong tribe were poisoned from death caps because they consumed it, thinking it was A. Princeps, common edible fungi of their native lands.

Clear evidence of accidental ingestion and subsequent poisoning, leading to liver failure, causing death in some, and liver transplant in other cases suggests that the death cap is a dangerous wild mushroom, more dangerous because it is easily mistaken for edible varieties.

In 2017, a group of mushroom hunters consumed wild mushrooms in California, of which three people, including an 18-month-old baby, required liver transplants because of mushroom poisoning.

A total of 14 people got sick and required treatment.

Several cases of Southeast Asian immigrants in North America and Australia have come forward who mistook death caps for straw mushrooms and consumed them, leading to death cap poisoning, gastrointestinal issues, causing them to require liver transplants, or resulting in death.

To identify, the following details can be remembered: The death cap is 4-6 in (10-15 cm) tall in height, and 2-5 in (5.0-12.7 cm) wide, they can have a white or greenish cap and white gills which are often hidden by the cap, especially in younger mushrooms.

These gills are a good way of identifying the death cap. A young death cap mushroom is covered in a 'veil,' which gives them the appearance of an egg.

This veil cracks and becomes the volva at the bottom of the mushroom as the mushroom grows.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for death cap mushroom facts, then why not take a look at how do you know when mushrooms are bad or can guinea pigs eat mushrooms?