The death cap mushrooms are not safe for eating because they have toxins that could endanger our health and may even lead to death. However, because these mushrooms are one of the common causes of mushroom poisoning, it is beneficial for us to know them well. This post will give you the necessary details regarding the death cap mushrooms, hoping you can protect yourself and the people around you against them.
How Can You Identify Death Cap Mushrooms?
The death cap mushroom, whose scientific name is Amanita phalloides, is a poisonous fungus that is sometimes misidentified as an edible mushroom. This large fungus, dubbed the Deathcap for a good reason, is responsible for more than 90% of fungus-related poisoning deaths in Europe. Amanita phalloides is widespread in most of the United Kingdom and Ireland. These poisonous mushrooms can cause serious disease and even death if consumed by humans, particularly youngsters.
The fact that the death cap mushrooms are toxic compels you to know what it looks like to avoid accidentally consuming them. Here are some simple steps to undertake for determining whether or not the mushroom before you is a death cap:
Step one: Inspect the cap's color.
Sift through the mushroom's cap. A death cap mushroom's color can change depending on its growth circumstances. In general, the caps are off-white with olive green, light green, or yellow tints.
Death cap mushrooms that have been around for so long would possess brown mushroom caps. Mature mushroom caps of the death cap frequently have 1 or 2 big cracks running across them.
Step two: Measure the cap's diameter.
To avoid killing the plant, measure the cap while it grows in the ground without uprooting it. To determine its diameter, use a standard home ruler. If you're dealing with a death cap mushroom, the cap will have a diameter of 3-6 inches (7.6–15.2 cm).
Step three: Check for the mushroom's gills.
Another prominent feature of the death cap would be its gills which are found underneath.
The underside of the cap of the death cap mushroom (and other amanita mushrooms) has thin white gills. These tiny gills are tightly packed on the mushroom's cap's outer borders and are finely linked to the stem. So, turn the mushroom cap upside down (you may need to squat down to the ground) and search for gills on the underside.
Step four: Inspect an immature's rounded cap.
It would be best if you also inspected a younger death cap mushroom since it could fool you into thinking it is safe for eating. Here you would need to tilt the mushroom's cap back and forth.
The cap of immature mushrooms is quite rounded and bowl-shaped. These caps are sometimes so spherical that they curl around and almost touch the mushroom stalk. However, when the mushrooms mature, their convex form flattens out. You are dealing with a mature death cap if the cap is flat.
Step five: Examine the mushroom's stalk color.
After eye-inspecting the mushroom cap, you should also do the same for the stalk.
For this step, you can brush away the dirt surrounding the mushroom's base or carefully dig it out of the soil. Use a standard ruler to measure the mushroom's height.
One of the death cap's most distinguishing features is its long, thick, white, or yellowish stalk that raises the cap above the forest floor. The stalks of death caps are frequently coated with a light covering of tiny scales.
Step six: Look for a cup-like structure situated at the stalk's base.
For this step, you would need to uproot the mushroom since you need to examine its volva, which is a cup-like structure at the base of its stalk. If it is a death cap mushroom, the volva will have a relatively large diameter of about 4 centimeters (1.6 inches).
Step seven: Observe the mushroom's top stalk for a loose skirt-like membrane. Note that the "skirt" of the mushroom under consideration is characterized by a thin membrane that encircles the stalk way beneath the cap. The top 2-3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) of the stem will appear to be lightly covered by this white membrane.
Step eight: Smell the mushroom. A death cap mushroom has a distinct aroma in the mushroom world that is somewhat reminiscent of ammonia or other household chemicals. The proper way of smelling the mushroom is by holding it around 3 inches (7.6 cm) away from your nose. If you are unsure if the mushroom is a death cap or another type based on its outward look, do this test.
Where Do Death Cap Mushrooms usually Grow?
The death cap mushrooms are native to Europe and commonly found along southern coastal regions in the north, to Ireland in the West, east to Poland, and western parts of Russia. Sightings of the death cap are found in west Asia up to the forests of northern Iran. Over the past centuries, Amanita phalloides have reached many regions around the globe. This is attributed to the cultivation of non-native oak, chestnut, and pine species.
To date, the death cap often thrives in urban areas beneath a variety of imported trees, including beech, hornbeam, chestnut, and English oak. More recently, it has been shown to coexist alongside native Garry Oak trees. The presence of death cap mushrooms is detected both in urban and rural settings.
What Toxins are Present in Death Cap Mushrooms?
Most fatal incidents of mushroom poisoning in humans worldwide involve Amanita phalloides, popularly known as "death cap," one of the most deadly mushrooms. Amatoxins, phallotoxins, and verotoxins are the three main categories of toxins found in this species. The harmful effects on humans are caused mainly by amatoxins, particularly alpha-amanitin.
Although different processes may also be at play, it is known that -amanitin inhibits RNA polymerase II, leading to a protein shortage and, ultimately, cell death. The kidneys are particularly impacted, but the liver is the primary organ that is harmed by poisoning. A latent period typically precedes the onset of intoxication symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems, jaundice, convulsions, and coma before death.
Is Touching Death Cap Mushrooms Dangerous?
Touching death cap mushrooms cannot cause poisoning because the toxins of this mushroom are transferred to the human body through ingestion. Nevertheless, it is still advisable to err on the side of caution, which means avoiding touching the death cap mushroom.
Always remember that the death cap mushrooms might sprout at any time. The death cap mushroom contains poison in every portion. You can die if you consume even a tiny portion of a death cap mushroom. Even after being cooked, death cap mushrooms still threaten life.
What will happen if Death Cap Mushrooms are Ingested?
Up to 30% of those who consume death cap mushrooms will die, making the illness they cause exceedingly dangerous. Upon ingesting the mushroom, the effects often take 10 to 16 hours (or even longer) before they become noticeable.
The timing indicated above is an estimate because a lot relies on the person's general health and how much they've eaten. For instance, symptoms may appear six hours after consuming a substantial amount of death caps.
Stomach aches, vomiting, and diarrhea are the initial signs and symptoms. These could last for one or two days, but then there is usually a reduction in symptoms and a noticeable improvement.
Two or three days may pass during the "recovery" phase. After that, the final phase, which lasts for three to five days, begins with the return of stomach aches, vomiting, and diarrhea, along with jaundice.
Failure of the liver, frequently followed by renal failure, results in death. One to two weeks after eating the mushroom, coma and death strike without efficient, prompt medical attention may happen to a patient.
How to Treat Death Cap Mushroom Poisoning?
The toxins of the death cap mushrooms have no known cure. Suppose a person accidentally ingests death cap mushrooms; the most practical thing to do is to seek immediate medical attention and bring some mushroom samples for testing purposes. I also advise that you have emergency numbers saved in your mobile phone because you might need this in times of emergency.
If a mushroom sample is obtained, either uneaten or from the patient's emesis, it can be examined by a mycologist. Species identification can help determine a patient's specific course of treatment if they have consumed an unidentifiable mushroom. However, as a skilled mycologist is rarely accessible for rapid consultation, the management of patients who fall ill after eating mushrooms is typically determined by their symptoms.
According to toxinz.com, in treating poisoning caused by the death cap mushrooms, the admitted patient will undergo initial health management procedures such as active monitoring and replacement of expected fluid losses. This approach is taken since the patient has been dehydrated due to frequent vomiting and diarrhea.
Aside from the step mentioned above, the patient will receive a single dose of activated charcoal up to 12 hours following digestion. Chemicals are captured in the pores of activated charcoal. It is typically administered orally to treat some poisons that have been ingested. It aids in preventing the body from absorbing the toxin from the stomach. To treat severe poisoning, activated charcoal may occasionally be administered in multiple doses.
Who Are at Risk of Consuming Death Cap Mushrooms?
Below are the individuals who are at risk of ingesting the toxic death cap mushrooms:
Young children
In Australia, between 60% to 70 % of calls regarding mushroom poisoning involve children below five years of age. Toddlers naturally put items in their mouths and consume plant stuff at this age. Most young children who consume deadly mushrooms do so in their backyard gardens.
Cooking aficionados
In many regions of the world, foraging for wild food is becoming increasingly popular, and chefs actively promote it in the media and on cooking shows on television. But people who collect wild mushrooms may unintentionally bring in poisonous varieties since they cannot tell the difference between an edible and toxic fungus.
Visiting individuals
These people come from different countries and visit nations where death cap mushrooms are prevalent. In their culture, mushroom foraging is expected, and they might practice the same in countries where death cap mushrooms seasonally grow. What they thought was an edible mushroom might be a death cap; thus, they ended up consuming its life-threatening toxins.
Pet animals
There have been numerous reports of dogs being poisoned and passing away from severe liver failure after eating toxic mushrooms in backyards and while out for walks in regions where death cap mushrooms are frequently spotted. Even though cats tend to be pickier eaters, they are nevertheless vulnerable, inquisitive kittens that might ingest a poisonous species.
How to stop death cap mushrooms from growing on my property?
If you find out that there are death cap mushrooms in your backyard, your next course of action is to get rid of them immediately to avoid any accidental ingestion. But you still have to follow some general rules to prevent any kind of poisoning. Here I give you the following steps:
Alter your yard conditions
In general, damp, shady terrain is preferred by mushrooms. Death caps are no different, and the likelihood of the mushrooms thriving is increased if trees provide your yard's shade.
Under trees and close to tree roots, death caps are found. The simplest solution to remove them permanently may be removing that tree if you notice a lot of them growing next to it.
Frequent mowing
It goes without saying that not everyone has the means to have a tree completely uprooted. Add to this that trees in our backyards help us relieve our daily stress. Here, one can mow the lawn where death cap mushrooms frequently grow. This step must be done after removing the mushrooms physically. Simply keeping them mowed down is one method to keep the death caps under control while preventing their total eradication.
When you notice a few death caps beginning to emerge, set your mower's blade to the lowest setting and go over the area. As a result, the mushrooms' capacity to spread will be constrained because they won't be able to create spores.
Physically remove the death cap mushrooms
- When taking them off, put on rubber gloves and thoroughly wash your hands.
- Place the mushrooms in the trash can after disposal. Never compost or put food waste in the recycling bin! To prevent local spread, remove the mushrooms before mowing the lawn.
- The mushrooms' bulbous base must also be removed while removing them.
- Avoid watering your grass until necessary to save water and prevent death caps from producing fruit too early.
