Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, and usually red mushroom.
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.
Ibotenic acid or (S)-2-amino-2-(3-hydroxyisoxazol-5-yl)acetic acid, also referred to as ibotenate, is a chemical compound and psychoactive drug which occurs naturally in Amanita muscaria and related species of mushrooms typically found in the temperate and boreal regions of the northern hemisphere. It is a prodrug of muscimol, broken down by the liver to that much more stable compound. It is a conformationally-restricted analogue of the neurotransmitter glutamate, and due to its structural similarity to this neurotransmitter, acts as a non-selective glutamate receptor agonist. Because of this, ibotenic acid can be a powerful neurotoxin in high doses, and is employed as a "brain-lesioning agent" through cranial injections in scientific research. The neurotoxic effects appear to be dose-related and risks are unclear through consumption of ibotenic-acid containing fungi, although thought to be negligible in small doses.
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.
Ethnomycology is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany or ethnobiology. Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes as tinder, medicine and food, it is often used in the context of the study of psychoactive mushrooms such as psilocybin mushrooms, the Amanita muscaria mushroom, and the ergot fungus.
Amanita xanthocephala, known as the vermilion grisette, pretty grisette or vermilion amanita is a colourful mushroom of the genus Amanita. It is found in Australia in association with Eucalyptus and may be toxic to humans.
Orson Knapp Miller Jr. was an American mycologist. He published numerous papers in mycology and was responsible for the naming of many taxa, as well as being one of the authors erecting the genus Chroogomphus. He described Omphalotus olivascens, several species of Amanita, and the ghoul fungus Hebeloma aminophilum.
Leucopaxillus gentianeus is a bitter-tasting, inedible mushroom commonly known as the bitter false funnelcap, or the bitter brown leucopaxillus. A common synonym is Leucopaxillus amarus. The bitter taste is caused by a triterpene called cucurbitacin B. The species was first described in 1873 as Clitocybe gentianea by French mycologist Lucien Quélet. František Kotlaba transferred it to Leucopaxillus in 1966.
Alexander Hanchett Smith was an American mycologist known for his extensive contributions to the taxonomy and phylogeny of the higher fungi, especially the agarics.
Auricularia is a genus of fungi in the family Auriculariaceae. Basidiocarps are typically gelatinous and ear-shaped, with a slightly downy to conspicuously hirsute upper surface and an under surface that is smooth, wrinkled or veined. All species grow on wood. Several Auricularia species are edible and commercially cultivated on a large scale in China and East Asia.
Amanita regalis, commonly known as the royal fly agaric or the king of Sweden Amanita, is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. A. regalis has a scabby liver-brown cap and a stem which is yellow-ochre at the base, with patches or rings of patches. The fruit bodies somewhat resemble the smaller A. muscaria, which it was formerly regarded as a variety of.
Amanita rubrovolvata, commonly known as the red volva amanita, is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. The fungus produces small to medium-sized mushrooms, with reddish-orange caps up to 6.5 centimetres wide. The stems are up to 10 cm (4 in) tall, cream-coloured above the ring and cream to yellowish below it. The stem ends in a roughly spherical bulb at the base, which is covered with bright orange patches.
Amanita ceciliae, commonly called snakeskin grisette, strangulated amanita, and the Cecilia's ringless amanita, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus Amanita. First described in 1854 by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Christopher Edmund Broome, it was given its current name by Cornelis Bas in 1984. It is characterized by bearing a large fruit body with a brown cap 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) across. The cap has charcoal-grey patches, which are easily removable. The stipe is 7–18 cm (2.8–7.1 in) long, white in colour, and there is no ring on it. It is slightly tapered to the top and has irregular cottony bands girdling the base. The universal veil is grey. Spores are white, spherical in shape, non-amyloid, and measure 10.2–11.7 micrometres. The mushrooms are considered edible, but field guides typically advise caution in selecting them for consumption, due to risks of confusion with similar toxic species. A. ceciliae is found in woods throughout Europe and North America, where it fruits during summer and autumn.
Louis Charles Christopher Krieger was an American mycologist and botanical illustrator who was considered the finest painter of North American fungi.
Auricularia auricula-judae, commonly known as wood ear, jelly ear, or more historically, Jew's ear, is a species of fungus in the order Auriculariales. Basidiocarps are brown, gelatinous, and have a noticeably ear-like shape. They grow on wood, especially elder. The specific epithet is derived from the belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder tree.
Human interactions with fungi include both beneficial uses, whether practical or symbolic, and harmful interactions such as when fungi damage crops, timber, food, or are pathogenic to animals.
Amanita chrysoblema, with the common name American fly agaric, white variant, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Amanita. Although named chrysoblema, it is traditionally thought to be an Amanita muscaria variant, a group of fungi commonly known as fly agarics.
Vera Meyer is a German biotechnologist and professor at Technische Universität Berlin. She is head of the department for Applied and Molecular Microbiology. Her main scientific field is the research of fungi and their potential use for a sustainable circular economy. Meyer also works as a visual artist, combining her scientific knowledge in microbiology with artistic creation.
Fungi are a common theme and working material in art. Fungi appear in nearly all art forms, including literature, paintings, and graphic arts; and more recently, contemporary art, music, photography, comic books, sculptures, video games, dance, cuisine, architecture, fashion, and design. There are some exhibitions dedicated to fungi, as well as an entire museum.
