Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the death cap. It is one of the most poisonous of all known mushrooms. 

Even very small fragments can be lethal (about 0.1 milligrams of fresh weight for every kilogram of weight of the person who ingests it), so about 7 mg for a 70 kg adult man; furthermore, the mushroom retains all its poisonous properties even after cooking, drying and freezing.

Found it today, 15 October 2023.

Okay. Okay okay okay. So. This is a HUGE discovery. Death caps and destroying angels are two of the deadliest mushrooms in the world; both are in the genus Amanita. Both species contain both amatoxins and phallotoxins, though the latter are likely not a major factor in the massive cell death that occurs in the liver and/or kidneys after consuming these mushrooms.

The most medically significant of the amatoxins is α-amanitin. When a deadly Amanita is consumed, you're likely to get the expected gastrointestinal upset that accompanies many toxic mushrooms within a few hours, and they may last for a few days. Then you start to feel better--but you can't just say "Okay, learned my lesson, I won't eat THAT one again." That's because α-amanitin has been stuck in your liver and kidneys the whole time, destroying their cells left and right, and its deleterious effects are catching up to you. So you can expect to end up in the hospital, potentially dealing with acute organ failure.

Supportive care generally includes IV fluids and electrolytes along with penicillin, oral activated charcoal, and other medications, along with hemodialysis and hemoperfusion. Some people have needed organ transplants, and numerous people have died, especially those who got medical help too late.

While compounds from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) have shown success in treating amatoxin poisoning in a small study several decades ago, there hasn't been much follow-up since. Recently, researchers studied the molecular effects of α-amanitin, and discovered that the enzyme STT3B plays a crucial role in creating N-glycans that facilitate the cell death caused by α-amanitin. Then they went looking for anything that could inhibit STT3B from a list of possible treatments approved by the FDA.

Enter indocyanine green. Developed as a dye for photography in the 1950s, it received approval for medical use a few years later, and has been used for everything from measuring cardiac performance to opthalmology. But it just so happens to also significantly reduce cell death both in vitro in human cell lines, and in vivo in mice. There haven't been any in vivo studies in humans just yet, but results are very promising.

There's one limitation--indocyanine green must be given as soon as possible after ingestion. When it was given eight or twelve hours after α-amanitin poisoning, it was no longer effective due to cell death having already occurred.

Still, the fact that we now have a potential new tool in treating acute α-amanitin poisoning is a massive hope for the future. Couple this with increasing education about safe mushroom foraging and how to identify poisonous species, and we could see a significant reduction in poisoning from those two deadly Amanita species.

Grüner Knollenblätter Pilz, Amanita Phalloides, aka ,, death cap‘‘ 11.08.23

with all characteristics

look at these mushroom pictures i took this morning!! 🍄✨🍁🍂

Death Cap

Eating random mushrooms is a totally good and well advised idea

☠️ Toxic ☠️

In death.

Ten of Swords. Art by Joseph Buckley, from The Mushroom Hunter's Tarot.

The Ten of Swords is represented by Amanita phalloides, aka the death cap. The death cap is one of the deadliest of all mushrooms. Half a mushroom is enough to kill an adult. It’s particularly dangerous in that symptoms don’t show up for 8 to 12 hours after ingestion, during which time the internal organs are irreparably damaged. Unless one receives emergency treatment immediately following ingestion, death will follow one to two weeks later.

Keywords: Betrayal, loss, destruction, rock bottom

Amanita phalloides

Death Cap Mushroom

Paul Starostra

some more mushroom drawings i forgot to post c: