Destroying angel

Last updated December 23, 2024

The name destroying angel applies to several similar, closely related species of deadly all-white mushrooms in the genus Amanita .^[1] They are Amanita virosa in Europe and A. bisporigera and A. ocreata in eastern and western North America, respectively.^[1] Another European species of Amanita referred to as the destroying angel, Amanita verna —also referred to as the "Fool's mushroom"—was first described in France in 1780.^[2]

Description

Destroying angels are characterized by having gills and white stalks. The cap can be pure white, or white at the edge and yellowish, pinkish, or tan at the center. It has a partial veil, or ring (annulus) circling the upper stalk, and the gills are "free", not attached to the stalk. Perhaps the most telltale of the features is the presence of a volva, or universal veil, so called because it is a membrane that encapsulates the entire mushroom, rather like an egg, when it is very young. This structure breaks as the young mushroom expands, leaving parts that can be found at the base of the stalk as a boot or cuplike structure, and there may be patches of removable material on the cap surface. This combination of features, all found together in the same mushroom, is the hallmark of the family. While other families may have any one or two of these features, none has them all. The cap is usually about 5–12 centimetres (2–4+1⁄2 inches) across; the stipe is usually 7.5–20 cm (3–8 in) long and about 0.5–2 cm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) thick. They are found singly or in small groups.^{[ citation needed ]}

Destroying angels can be mistaken for edible fungi such as the button mushroom, meadow mushroom, or the horse mushroom. Young destroying angels that are still enclosed in their universal veils can be mistaken for puffballs, but slicing them in half longitudinally will reveal internal mushroom structures. This is the basis for the common recommendation to slice in half all puffball-like mushrooms picked when mushroom hunting. Mushroom hunters recommend that people know how to recognize both the death cap and the destroying angel in all of their forms before collecting any white gilled mushroom for consumption.^{[ citation needed ]}

Distribution and habitat

All Amanita species form ectomycorrhizal relationships with the roots of certain trees. Thus, destroying angels grow in or near the edges of woodlands. They can also be found on lawns or grassy meadows near trees or shrubs. Several species called destroying angel are found all over the world.^[3]Amanita bisporigera is associated with oaks and conifers.^[4]

Toxicity

The destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera) and the death cap (Amanita phalloides) account for the overwhelming majority of deaths due to mushroom poisoning. The toxin responsible for this is amatoxin, which inhibits RNA polymerase II and III. Symptoms do not appear for 5 to 24 hours, by which time the toxins may already be absorbed and the damage (destruction of liver and kidney tissues) is irreversible. As little as half a mushroom cap can be fatal if the victim is not treated quickly enough. The symptoms include vomiting, cramps, delirium, convulsions, and diarrhea. In one study, people who had ingested the toxin were treated with "fluid and electrolyte replacement, oral activated charcoal and lactulose, IV penicillin, combined hemodialysis and hemoperfusion in two 8-hour sessions," some with "IV thioctic acid, others IV silibinin" and all received a "special diet." It was concluded that "...intensive combined treatment applied in these cases is effective in relieving patients with both moderate and severe amanitin poisoning."^[5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puffball</span> Fungus

Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage.

Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus and mushroom, one of many in the genus Amanita. Originating in Europe but later introduced to other parts of the world since the late twentieth century, A. phalloides forms ectomycorrhizas with various broadleaved trees. In some cases, the death cap has been introduced to new regions with the cultivation of non-native species of oak, chestnut, and pine. The large fruiting bodies (mushrooms) appear in summer and autumn; the caps are generally greenish in colour with a white stipe and gills. The cap colour is variable, including white forms, and is thus not a reliable identifier.

The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics, including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. The genus is responsible for approximately 95% of fatalities resulting from mushroom poisoning, with the death cap accounting for about 50% on its own. The most potent toxin present in these mushrooms is α-Amanitin.

α-Amanitin (alpha-Amanitin) is a cyclic peptide of eight amino acids. It is possibly the most deadly of all the amatoxins, toxins found in several species of the mushroom genus Amanita, one being the death cap as well as the destroying angel, a complex of similar species, principally A. virosa and A. bisporigera. It is also found in the mushrooms Galerina marginata, Lepiota subincarnata and Conocybe filaris. The oral LD₅₀ of amanitin is 100 μg/kg for rats.

Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by the fungus.

Amanita virosa is a species of fungus in the class Agaricomycetes. In the UK, it has the recommended English name of destroying angel and is known internationally as the European destroying angel. Basidiocarps are agaricoid (mushroom-shaped) and pure white with a ring on the stem and a sack-like volva at the base. The species is deadly poisonous. It occurs in Europe and northern Asia. Amanita virosa was formerly reported from North America, but research has shown that similar-looking American species, including Amanita bisporigera and A. ocreata, are distinct.

The Amanitaceae is a family of mushroom-forming fungi. Amanita Pers. is one of the most speciose and best-known fungal genera. The family, also commonly called the amanita family, is in order Agaricales, the gilled mushrooms. The family consists primarily of the large genus Amanita, but also includes the smaller genera Amarrendia, Catatrama, Limacella, Limacellopsis, Saproamanita, Torrendia and Zhuliangomyces. Both Amarrendia and Torrendia are considered to be synonymous with Amanita but appear quite different because they are secotioid.

Amatoxin is the collective name of a subgroup of at least nine related cyclic peptide toxins found in three genera of deadly poisonous mushrooms and one species of the genus Pholiotina. Amatoxins are very potent, as little as half a mushroom cap can cause severe liver injury if swallowed.

Amanita verna, commonly known as the fool's mushroom or the spring destroying angel, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Occurring in Europe in spring, A. verna associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The caps, stipes and gills are all white in colour.

Galerina marginata, known colloquially as funeral bell, deadly skullcap, autumn skullcap or deadly galerina, is a species of extremely poisonous mushroom-forming fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae of the order Agaricales. It contains the same deadly amatoxins found in the death cap. Ingestion in toxic amounts causes severe liver damage with vomiting, diarrhea, hypothermia, and eventual death if not treated rapidly. About ten poisonings have been attributed to the species now grouped as G. marginata over the last century.

Amanita velosa, commonly known as the springtime amanita, or bittersweet orange ringless amanita is a species of agaric found in California, as well as southern Oregon and Baja California. Although a prized edible mushroom, it bears similarities to some deadly poisonous species.

Amanita ocreata, commonly known as the death angel, destroying angel, angel of death or more precisely western North American destroying angel, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. The large fruiting bodies generally appear in spring; the cap may be white or ochre and often develops a brownish centre, while the stipe, ring, gill and volva are all white. A. ocreata resembles several edible species commonly consumed by humans, increasing the risk of accidental poisoning. Mature fruiting bodies can be confused with the edible A. velosa, A. lanei or Volvopluteus gloiocephalus, while immature specimens may be difficult to distinguish from edible Agaricus mushrooms or puffballs.

β-Amanitin (beta-Amanitin) is a cyclic peptide comprising eight amino acids. It is part of a group of toxins called amatoxins, which can be found in several mushrooms belonging to the genus Amanita. Some examples are the death cap and members of the destroying angel complex, which includes A. virosa and A. bisporigera. Due to the presence of α-Amanitin, β-Amanitin, γ-Amanitin and epsilon-Amanitin these mushrooms are highly lethal to human beings.

γ-Amanitin (gamma-Amanitin) is a cyclic peptide of eight amino acids. It is an amatoxin, a group of toxins isolated from and found in several members of the mushroom genus Amanita, one being the death cap as well as the destroying angel, a complex of similar species, principally A. virosa and A. bisporigera. The compound is highly toxic, inhibits RNA polymerase II, disrupts synthesis of mRNA, and can be fatal.

Galerina sulciceps is a dangerously toxic species of fungus in the family Strophariaceae, of the order Agaricales. It is distributed in tropical Indonesia and India, but has reportedly been found fruiting in European greenhouses on occasion. More toxic than the deathcap, G. sulciceps has been shown to contain the toxins alpha- (α-), beta- (β-) and gamma- (γ-) amanitin; a series of poisonings in Indonesia in the 1930s resulted in 14 deaths from the consumption of this species. It has a typical "little brown mushroom" appearance, with few obvious external characteristics to help distinguish it from many other similar nondescript brown species. The fruit bodies of the fungus are tawny to ochre, deepening to reddish-brown at the base of the stem. The gills are well-separated, and there is no ring present on the stem.

Amanita bisporigera is a deadly poisonous species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. It is commonly known as the eastern destroying angel amanita, the eastern North American destroying angel or just as the destroying angel, although the fungus shares this latter name with three other lethal white Amanita species, A. ocreata, A. verna and A. virosa. The mushroom has a smooth white cap that can reach up to 10 centimetres across and a stipe up to 14 cm tall with a white skirt-like ring near the top. The bulbous stipe base is covered with a membranous sac-like volva. The white gills are free from attachment to the stalk and crowded closely together. As the species name suggests, A. bisporigera typically bears two spores on the basidia, although this characteristic is not immutable. A. bisporigera closely resembles a few other white amanitas, including the equally deadly A. virosa and A. verna.

Amanita exitialis, also known as the Guangzhou destroying angel, is a mushroom of the large genus Amanita. It is distributed in eastern Asia, and probably also in India where it has been misidentified as A. verna. Deadly poisonous, it is a member of section Phalloideae and related to the death cap A. phalloides. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) are white, small to medium-sized with caps up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter, a somewhat friable ring and a firm volva. Unlike most agaric mushrooms which typically have four-spored basidia, the basidia of A. exitialis are almost entirely two-spored. Eight people were fatally poisoned in China after consuming the mushroom in 2000, and another 20 have been fatally poisoned since that incident. Molecular analysis shows that the species has a close phylogenetic relationship with three other toxic white Amanitas: A. subjunquillea var. alba, A. virosa and A. bisporigera.

Amanita sphaerobulbosa, commonly known as the Asian abrupt-bulbed Lepidella, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Amanitaceae. First described by mycologist Tsuguo Hongo in 1969, it is found in Southern Asia.

Amanita fuliginea, commonly known as the east Asian brown death cap, is a species of deadly poisonous mushroom in the family Amanitaceae. The fruit bodies have convex, dark gray to blackish caps measuring 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 in) in diameter. The gills, largely free from attachment to the stipe, are white and have short gills (lamellulae) interspersed. The spores are roughly spherical, amyloid, and typically measure 8–11 by 7–9.5 μm. The species was described as new to science by Japanese mycologist Tsuguo Hongo in 1953. A. fuliginea is classified in Amanita section Phalloideae, which contains the infamous destroying angel.

Amanita hygroscopia, also known as the pink-gilled destroying angel is a deadly poisonous fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita.

References

1 2 3 Hallen, H. E.; Luo, H.; Scott-Craig, J. S.; Walton, J. D. (2007). "Gene family encoding the major toxins of lethal Amanita mushrooms". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 104 (48): 19097–19101. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0707340104 . PMC 2141914 . PMID 18025465.
↑ Bulliard JBF. (1780). Herbier de la France. Vol 1 (in French). Vol. 97–144. Paris, France: P.F. Didot. pp. 97–144, plate 108.
↑ Durand, François; Valla, Dominique (2013), "Mushroom Poisoning", Drug-Induced Liver Disease, Elsevier, pp. 621–629, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-387817-5.00034-0, ISBN 978-0-12-387817-5 , retrieved 2022-06-21
↑ Sturgeon, Walt (2018). Appalachian mushrooms : a field guide. Athens, Ohio. p. 10. ISBN 9780821423257.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Sabeel, A.I.; Kurkus J.; Lindholm T. (September 1995). "Intensive hemodialysis and hemoperfusion treatment of Amanita mushroom poisoning". Mycopathologia . 131 (2): 107–114. doi:10.1007/BF01102888. PMID 8532053. S2CID 23001126.

External links

Amanita bisporigera: the destroying angel
Experience: I nearly died after eating wild mushrooms The Guardian 13 November 2010
I survived the “Destroying Angel” Cornell Mushroom Blog 22 November, 2006

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[AmanitaGenus-1] 1 2 3 Hallen, H. E.; Luo, H.; Scott-Craig, J. S.; Walton, J. D. (2007). "Gene family encoding the major toxins of lethal Amanita mushrooms". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 104 (48): 19097–19101. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0707340104 . PMC 2141914 . PMID 18025465.

[Bulliard_1780-2] Bulliard JBF. (1780). Herbier de la France. Vol 1 (in French). Vol. 97–144. Paris, France: P.F. Didot. pp. 97–144, plate 108.

[3] Durand, François; Valla, Dominique (2013), "Mushroom Poisoning", Drug-Induced Liver Disease, Elsevier, pp. 621–629, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-387817-5.00034-0, ISBN 978-0-12-387817-5 , retrieved 2022-06-21

[4] Sturgeon, Walt (2018). Appalachian mushrooms : a field guide. Athens, Ohio. p. 10. ISBN 9780821423257.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[5] Sabeel, A.I.; Kurkus J.; Lindholm T. (September 1995). "Intensive hemodialysis and hemoperfusion treatment of Amanita mushroom poisoning". Mycopathologia . 131 (2): 107–114. doi:10.1007/BF01102888. PMID 8532053. S2CID 23001126.

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