DOCSLIB.ORG

The Real Story Behind Increased Amanita Poisonings in North America

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Real Story Behind Increased Amanita Poisonings in North America Britt A. Bunyard especially true for recent immigrants he Amanitas are likely the most to North America. There is no doubt infamous group of mushrooms. Author’s Note: No one should ever that many North American mushrooms To even the most mycologically collect any wild mushrooms and eat resemble different mushrooms from Tundereducated, all Amanitas are them without being absolutely sure other parts of the world. In some cases assumed toxic. “Better safe than of the mushroom’s identity. Death the lookalikes can be toxic. Since the sorry” is a good policy when it comes from eating poisonous mushrooms 1970s, Hmong immigrants to North to Amanitas, as something on the is a very real possibility. There is no America seem to be victims of Amanita order of 90% of mushroom-related “rule of thumb” or easy way to know mushroom poisoning at a much higher deaths in Europe (where records have if a mushroom is a safe edible based rate than other ethnic groups. been kept for a long time) have been simply on color, smell, taste, where it Key Words: Amanita, Amanita attributed to Amanita species from occurs (soil, wood, etc.), other animals hemibapha, Amanita phalloides, Section Phalloideae. These mushrooms seen to consume it, the mushroom Amanita princeps, amatoxin, Caesar produce substances that are highly toxic did/did not turn a silver spoon/coin Amanita, destroying angel, hêdt khai to mammals and collectively called black, etc. The only way to be certain han, hêdt khai lauŋ, hêdt loŋoc, hêdt amatoxins (or amanitins). In describing is from precise identification. This is khai kaew, Hmong, Laos. the incredible toxicity of amatoxins, 6 FUNGI Volume 8:3 Fall 2015 mycologist Nicholas P. Money wrote East Coasts) and “destroying angels” (A. during mushroom season and you would in his book Mushroom (2011)—I’m ocreata and A. bisporigera and probably expect to find Caesar’s Amanitas among paraphrasing here—“The toxicity of other as-yet unnamed species that look other wild-foraged mushrooms. one of the amatoxins called alpha- very similar). Destroying angels are And here is where two worlds amanitin is extraordinary. Although a white (but may yellow a bit with age), collide… sometimes with catastrophic single mushroom cap contains a few with white gills, ring, and saccate volva results. There have been innumerable thousandths of a gram, it is enough to (the membranous cup at the base of the cases of immigrants coming to North kill the fittest of musicians. One gram stem); death caps have similar features America and made ill (or worse) as a of the [purified] toxin, the weight of but color is typically yellowish-green and result of consuming wild mushrooms a sweetener packet, would silence an even brownish, but may be very pale to that were collected because they looked entire symphony orchestra.” cream color (see images). like the ones routinely picked back in For mushroom poisoning statistics in Of course, not all Amanitas are toxic— “the old country.” Southeast Asians seem North America (where records have not not by a long shot. Many species (mostly to be reported at a disproportionately been kept for nearly so long as Europe), from the nontoxic Section Caesareae) high rate in poisoning cases, with one the story is much the same. A 30-year are highly prized as safe and choice group in particular affected: Hmong study compiled by the North American edibles in many parts of the world. To people. The Hmong are immigrants from Mycological Association (NAMA) found some North American mycophiles this Laos who came to the USA (mostly to 16 of 17 mushroom-related deaths were information would come as a surprise. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and northern due to amatoxins (Beug et al., 2006). The But to mushroom hunters in Europe and California) following the long and brutal usual suspects of amatoxin poisoning Asia, this is common knowledge. Enter war in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. are “death caps” (Amanita phalloides, any decent fresh market or roadside That so many Southeast Asian (and a species not native to North America produce stands in Europe or Asia (and to especially Laotian) people have fallen but now widespread along the West and some extent Central America and Africa) victim to Amanitas in North America is Beautiful but deadly: death caps (Amanita phalloides - page 6) and western destroying angels (Amanita ocreata - below) should never be confused with safe, edible mushrooms. Photos courtesy M. G. Wood. Amanita hemibapha. Photo courtesy B. Bunyard. due to that mushroom’s resemblance to look at the morning market first thing some other edible species back home in the morning; if there were edible (Hudler, 1998). Many internet websites mushrooms to be found in the forest, and book authors have concluded that they were certain to be for sale in the the lookalike must be the popular paddy market. At dawn the next morning, I straw mushroom, Volvariella volvacea hit the sprawling market in the center (Money, 2011; Marley, 2010; Hudler, of town and began asking around for 1998; Benjamin, 1995). The paddy mushrooms. And oh yes, everyone straw mushroom is indeed popular in knew about edible “white egg” and Thailand and China and resembles an “yellow egg” mushrooms (Caesar Amanita with its pronounced volva, Amanitas). The yellow Caesar of but the pink gills of mature specimens Southeast Asia—(Lao name: hêdt khai tell you it’s no Amanita (not that an han; Thai name: hêdt khai lauŋ)—is inexperienced or hasty forager would known to mycologists as Amanita notice). But the paddy straw mushroom hemibapha and the white Caesar—(Lao is cultivated and unlikely to be found in name: hêdt loŋoc; Thai name: hêdt markets in Laos where all mushrooms khai kaew)—is Amanita princeps. I and many herbs, fruits, and much of was completely thrilled as I could see the meat is collected from the wild. I with my own eyes a mushroom that had heard a report a few years back that no doubt Southeast Asian immigrants the lookalike mushroom of Laos was were seeking in North America, actually an edible species of Amanita, but confusing with our own toxic and that although safe, was a “dead Phalloideae Amanitas. And you can ringer” (no pun intended) for the see the resemblance in the images: a dangerous destroying angels and death big white to cream colored mushroom, caps of North America. with white gills, arising from an In the summer of 2014 I attended an underground “egg,” a robust saccate international mycological conference volva, and white ring on the stem. An in Thailand and made a trip to Laos angelic mushroom, and thankfully not once the conference finished. I arrived destroying angels. Yes I did eat them in the ancient jungle city of Luang and they were heavenly! Prabang, perched on the steamy banks References Cited of the mighty Mekong River, eager Benjamin, D.R. 1995. Mushrooms: for what might lie in wait amid the Poisons and Panaceas. W.H. Freeman dripping jungle trees on the other and Company, New York. 422 pp. side of the river, just a short ferry boat Beug, M.W., M. Shaw, and K.W. ride away. The clerk at the check-in Cochran. 2006. Thirty plus years of desk of my hotel suggested I take a Amanita princeps. Photos courtesy B. Bunyard. mushroom poisoning: summary of the approximately 2,000 reports in the NAMA Case Registry. McIlvainea 16(2): 47-68. Hudler, G.W. 1998. Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds Princeton University Press, New Jersey. 248 pp. Marley, G.A. 2010. Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont. 255 pp. Money, N.P. 2011. Mushroom. Oxford University Press, New York. 201 pp. FUNGI Volume 8:3 Fall 2015 9.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Phylogeny of the Pluteaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota): Taxonomy and Character Evolution
    AperTO - Archivio Istituzionale Open Access dell'Università di Torino Phylogeny of the Pluteaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota): taxonomy and character evolution This is the author's manuscript Original Citation: Availability: This version is available http://hdl.handle.net/2318/74776 since 2016-10-06T16:59:44Z Published version: DOI:10.1016/j.funbio.2010.09.012 Terms of use: Open Access Anyone can freely access the full text of works made available as "Open Access". Works made available under a Creative Commons license can be used according to the terms and conditions of said license. Use of all other works requires consent of the right holder (author or publisher) if not exempted from copyright protection by the applicable law. (Article begins on next page) 23 September 2021 This Accepted Author Manuscript (AAM) is copyrighted and published by Elsevier. It is posted here by agreement between Elsevier and the University of Turin. Changes resulting from the publishing process - such as editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms - may not be reflected in this version of the text. The definitive version of the text was subsequently published in FUNGAL BIOLOGY, 115(1), 2011, 10.1016/j.funbio.2010.09.012. You may download, copy and otherwise use the AAM for non-commercial purposes provided that your license is limited by the following restrictions: (1) You may use this AAM for non-commercial purposes only under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license. (2) The integrity of the work and identification of the author, copyright owner, and publisher must be preserved in any copy.
    [Show full text]
  • Development of the Basidiome of Volvariella Bombycina
    Mycol. Res. 94 (3): 327-337 (1990) Printed in Great Brituin 327 Development of the basidiome of Volvariella bombycina SIU WAI CHIU* AND DAVID MOORE Microbiology Research Group, Department of Cell and Structural Biology, Stopford Building, The University, Manchester M13 9PT Development of the basidiome of Volvariella bombycina. Mycological Research 94 (3): 327-337 (1990). Basidiorne development of Volvariella bomb~cinawas examined with optical and scanning electron microscopy. Primary gills arose as ridges on the lower surface of the cap, projecting into a preformed annular cavity. Secondary and tertiary gills were added whenever space became available by bifurcation of an existing gill either horn one side or at the free edge, or by folding of the palisade layer near or at the roots of existing gills. These processes gave rise to sinuous, labyrinthiform hymenophores as a normal transitional stage to the mature regularly radial gill pattern. Although many cystidia spanned the gill space at the early stages, their tips causing depressions in the opposing hymenium, cryo-SEM examination showed that marginal and facial cystidia of mature gills bore droplets, suggesting that these cells are more likely to act as secretory elements than as structural members. Transformation of the convoluted gills into regularly radial ones is probably accomplished by cell inflation in the gill trama. Marking experiments and consideration of cystidial distribution suggest that V. bombycina gills grow at their root, not at their margin. Key words: Hymenophore development, Morphogenesis, Gill pattern, Cystidium, Volvariella bombycina. Volvariella bombycina (Schaeff. : Fr.) Sing., the silver-silk straw from expression of a series of essentially self-contained mushroom, is an edible fungus which fruits readily in culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Four Patients with Amanita Phalloides Poisoning CASE SERIE
    CASE SERIE 353 Four patients with Amanita Phalloides poisoning S. Vanooteghem1, J. Arts2, S. Decock2, P. Pieraerts3, W. Meersseman4, C. Verslype1, Ph. Van Hootegem2 (1) Department of hepatology, UZ Leuven ; (2) Department of gastroenterology, AZ St-Lucas, Brugge ; (3) General Practitioner, Zedelgem ; (4) Department of internal medicine, UZ Leuven. Abstract because they developed stage 2 hepatic encephalopathy. With maximal supportive therapy, all patients gradually Mushroom poisoning by Amanita phalloides is a rare but poten- improved from day 3 and recovered without the need for tially fatal disease. The initial symptoms of nausea, vomiting, ab- dominal pain and diarrhea, which are typical for the intoxication, liver transplantation. They were discharged from the can be interpreted as a common gastro-enteritis. The intoxication hospital between 6 to 10 days after admission. can progress to acute liver and renal failure and eventually death. Recognizing the clinical syndrome is extremely important. In this case report, 4 patients with amatoxin intoxication who showed the Discussion typical clinical syndrome are described. The current therapy of amatoxin intoxication is based on small case series, and no ran- Among mushroom intoxications, amatoxin intoxica- domised controlled trials are available. The therapy of amatoxin intoxication consists of supportive care and medical therapy with tion accounts for 90% of all fatalities. Amatoxin poison- silibinin and N-acetylcysteine. Patients who develop acute liver fail- ing is caused by mushroom species belonging to the gen- ure should be considered for liver transplantation. (Acta gastro- era Amanita, Galerina and Lepiota. Amanita phalloides, enterol. belg., 2014, 77, 353-356). commonly known as the “death cap”, causes the majority Key words : amanita phalloides, mushroom poisoning, acute liver of fatal cases.
    [Show full text]
  • Major Clades of Agaricales: a Multilocus Phylogenetic Overview
    Mycologia, 98(6), 2006, pp. 982–995. # 2006 by The Mycological Society of America, Lawrence, KS 66044-8897 Major clades of Agaricales: a multilocus phylogenetic overview P. Brandon Matheny1 Duur K. Aanen Judd M. Curtis Laboratory of Genetics, Arboretumlaan 4, 6703 BD, Biology Department, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Wageningen, The Netherlands Worcester, Massachusetts, 01610 Matthew DeNitis Vale´rie Hofstetter 127 Harrington Way, Worcester, Massachusetts 01604 Department of Biology, Box 90338, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 Graciela M. Daniele Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologı´a Vegetal, M. Catherine Aime CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Co´rdoba, Casilla USDA-ARS, Systematic Botany and Mycology de Correo 495, 5000 Co´rdoba, Argentina Laboratory, Room 304, Building 011A, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350 Dennis E. Desjardin Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, Jean-Marc Moncalvo San Francisco, California 94132 Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum and Department of Botany, University Bradley R. Kropp of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C6 Canada Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322 Zai-Wei Ge Zhu-Liang Yang Lorelei L. Norvell Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Pacific Northwest Mycology Service, 6720 NW Skyline Sciences, Kunming 650204, P.R. China Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97229-1309 Jason C. Slot Andrew Parker Biology Department, Clark University, 950 Main Street, 127 Raven Way, Metaline Falls, Washington 99153- Worcester, Massachusetts, 01609 9720 Joseph F. Ammirati Else C. Vellinga University of Washington, Biology Department, Box Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 355325, Seattle, Washington 98195 Koshland Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3102 Timothy J.
    [Show full text]
  • Bur¯Aq Depicted As Amanita Muscaria in a 15Th Century Timurid-Illuminated Manuscript?
    ORIGINAL ARTICLE Journal of Psychedelic Studies 3(2), pp. 133–141 (2019) DOI: 10.1556/2054.2019.023 First published online September 24, 2019 Bur¯aq depicted as Amanita muscaria in a 15th century Timurid-illuminated manuscript? ALAN PIPER* Independent Scholar, Newham, London, UK (Received: May 8, 2019; accepted: August 2, 2019) A series of illustrations in a 15th century Timurid manuscript record the mi’raj, the ascent through the seven heavens by Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam. Several of the illustrations depict Bur¯aq, the fabulous creature by means of which Mohammed achieves his ascent, with distinctive features of the Amanita muscaria mushroom. A. muscaria or “fly agaric” is a psychoactive mushroom used by Siberian shamans to enter the spirit world for the purposes of conversing with spirits or diagnosing and curing disease. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the author explores the routes by which Bur¯aq could have come to be depicted in this manuscript with the characteristics of a psychoactive fungus, when any suggestion that the Prophet might have had recourse to a drug to accomplish his spirit journey would be anathema to orthodox Islam. There is no suggestion that Mohammad’s night journey (isra) or ascent (mi’raj) was accomplished under the influence of a psychoactive mushroom or plant. Keywords: Mi’raj, Timurid, Central Asia, shamanism, Siberia, Amanita muscaria CULTURAL CONTEXT Bur¯aq depicted as Amanita muscaria in the mi’raj manscript The mi’raj manuscript In the Muslim tradition, the mi’raj was preceded by the isra or “Night Journey” during which Mohammed traveled An illustrated manuscript depicting, in a series of miniatures, overnight from Mecca to Jerusalem by means of a fabulous thesuccessivestagesofthemi’raj, the miraculous ascent of beast called Bur¯aq.
    [Show full text]
  • Field Guide to Common Macrofungi in Eastern Forests and Their Ecosystem Functions
    United States Department of Field Guide to Agriculture Common Macrofungi Forest Service in Eastern Forests Northern Research Station and Their Ecosystem General Technical Report NRS-79 Functions Michael E. Ostry Neil A. Anderson Joseph G. O’Brien Cover Photos Front: Morel, Morchella esculenta. Photo by Neil A. Anderson, University of Minnesota. Back: Bear’s Head Tooth, Hericium coralloides. Photo by Michael E. Ostry, U.S. Forest Service. The Authors MICHAEL E. OSTRY, research plant pathologist, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, MN NEIL A. ANDERSON, professor emeritus, University of Minnesota, Department of Plant Pathology, St. Paul, MN JOSEPH G. O’BRIEN, plant pathologist, U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, St. Paul, MN Manuscript received for publication 23 April 2010 Published by: For additional copies: U.S. FOREST SERVICE U.S. Forest Service 11 CAMPUS BLVD SUITE 200 Publications Distribution NEWTOWN SQUARE PA 19073 359 Main Road Delaware, OH 43015-8640 April 2011 Fax: (740)368-0152 Visit our homepage at: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/ CONTENTS Introduction: About this Guide 1 Mushroom Basics 2 Aspen-Birch Ecosystem Mycorrhizal On the ground associated with tree roots Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria 8 Destroying Angel Amanita virosa, A. verna, A. bisporigera 9 The Omnipresent Laccaria Laccaria bicolor 10 Aspen Bolete Leccinum aurantiacum, L. insigne 11 Birch Bolete Leccinum scabrum 12 Saprophytic Litter and Wood Decay On wood Oyster Mushroom Pleurotus populinus (P. ostreatus) 13 Artist’s Conk Ganoderma applanatum
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity, Nutritional Composition and Medicinal Potential of Indian Mushrooms: a Review
    Vol. 13(4), pp. 523-545, 22 January, 2014 DOI: 10.5897/AJB2013.13446 ISSN 1684-5315 ©2014 Academic Journals African Journal of Biotechnology http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB Review Diversity, nutritional composition and medicinal potential of Indian mushrooms: A review Hrudayanath Thatoi* and Sameer Kumar Singdevsachan Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering and Technology, Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India. Accepted 2 January, 2014 Mushrooms are the higher fungi which have long been used for food and medicinal purposes. They have rich nutritional value with high protein content (up to 44.93%), vitamins, minerals, fibers, trace elements and low calories and lack cholesterol. There are 14,000 known species of mushrooms of which 2,000 are safe for human consumption and about 650 of these possess medicinal properties. Among the total known mushrooms, approximately 850 species are recorded from India. Many of them have been used in food and folk medicine for thousands of years. Mushrooms are also sources of bioactive substances including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anticancer, antitumour, anti-HIV and antidiabetic activities. Nutriceuticals and medicinal mushrooms have been used in human health development in India as food, medicine, minerals among others. The present review aims to update the current status of mushrooms diversity in India with their nutritional and medicinal potential as well as ethnomedicinal uses for different future prospects in pharmaceutical application. Key words: Mushroom diversity, nutritional value, therapeutic potential, bioactive compound. INTRODUCTION Mushroom is a general term used mainly for the fruiting unexamined mushrooms will be only 5%, implies that body of macrofungi (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota) there are 7,000 yet undiscovered species, which if and represents only a short reproductive stage in their life discovered will be provided with the possible benefit to cycle (Das, 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Agarics-Stature-Types.Pdf
    Gilled Mushroom Genera of Chicago Region, by stature type and spore print color. Patrick Leacock – June 2016 Pale spores = white, buff, cream, pale green to Pinkish spores Brown spores = orange, Dark spores = dark olive, pale lilac, pale pink, yellow to pale = salmon, yellowish brown, rust purplish brown, orange pinkish brown brown, cinnamon, clay chocolate brown, Stature Type brown smoky, black Amanitoid Amanita [Agaricus] Vaginatoid Amanita Volvariella, [Agaricus, Coprinus+] Volvopluteus Lepiotoid Amanita, Lepiota+, Limacella Agaricus, Coprinus+ Pluteotoid [Amanita, Lepiota+] Limacella Pluteus, Bolbitius [Agaricus], Coprinus+ [Volvariella] Armillarioid [Amanita], Armillaria, Hygrophorus, Limacella, Agrocybe, Cortinarius, Coprinus+, Hypholoma, Neolentinus, Pleurotus, Tricholoma Cyclocybe, Gymnopilus Lacrymaria, Stropharia Hebeloma, Hemipholiota, Hemistropharia, Inocybe, Pholiota Tricholomatoid Clitocybe, Hygrophorus, Laccaria, Lactarius, Entoloma Cortinarius, Hebeloma, Lyophyllum, Megacollybia, Melanoleuca, Inocybe, Pholiota Russula, Tricholoma, Tricholomopsis Naucorioid Clitocybe, Hygrophorus, Hypsizygus, Laccaria, Entoloma Agrocybe, Cortinarius, Hypholoma Lactarius, Rhodocollybia, Rugosomyces, Hebeloma, Gymnopilus, Russula, Tricholoma Pholiota, Simocybe Clitocyboid Ampulloclitocybe, Armillaria, Cantharellus, Clitopilus Paxillus, [Pholiota], Clitocybe, Hygrophoropsis, Hygrophorus, Phylloporus, Tapinella Laccaria, Lactarius, Lactifluus, Lentinus, Leucopaxillus, Lyophyllum, Omphalotus, Panus, Russula Galerinoid Galerina, Pholiotina, Coprinus+,
    [Show full text]
  • Toxicological and Pharmacological Profile of Amanita Muscaria (L.) Lam
    Pharmacia 67(4): 317–323 DOI 10.3897/pharmacia.67.e56112 Review Article Toxicological and pharmacological profile of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam. – a new rising opportunity for biomedicine Maria Voynova1, Aleksandar Shkondrov2, Magdalena Kondeva-Burdina1, Ilina Krasteva2 1 Laboratory of Drug metabolism and drug toxicity, Department “Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Toxicology”, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria 2 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria Corresponding author: Magdalena Kondeva-Burdina ([email protected]) Received 2 July 2020 ♦ Accepted 19 August 2020 ♦ Published 26 November 2020 Citation: Voynova M, Shkondrov A, Kondeva-Burdina M, Krasteva I (2020) Toxicological and pharmacological profile of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam. – a new rising opportunity for biomedicine. Pharmacia 67(4): 317–323. https://doi.org/10.3897/pharmacia.67. e56112 Abstract Amanita muscaria, commonly known as fly agaric, is a basidiomycete. Its main psychoactive constituents are ibotenic acid and mus- cimol, both involved in ‘pantherina-muscaria’ poisoning syndrome. The rising pharmacological and toxicological interest based on lots of contradictive opinions concerning the use of Amanita muscaria extracts’ neuroprotective role against some neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, its potent role in the treatment of cerebral ischaemia and other socially significant health conditions gave the basis for this review. Facts about Amanita muscaria’s morphology, chemical content, toxicological and pharmacological characteristics and usage from ancient times to present-day’s opportunities in modern medicine are presented. Keywords Amanita muscaria, muscimol, ibotenic acid Introduction rica, the genus had an ancestral origin in the Siberian-Be- ringian region in the Tertiary period (Geml et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Forest Fungi in Ireland
    FOREST FUNGI IN IRELAND PAUL DOWDING and LOUIS SMITH COFORD, National Council for Forest Research and Development Arena House Arena Road Sandyford Dublin 18 Ireland Tel: + 353 1 2130725 Fax: + 353 1 2130611 © COFORD 2008 First published in 2008 by COFORD, National Council for Forest Research and Development, Dublin, Ireland. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from COFORD. All photographs and illustrations are the copyright of the authors unless otherwise indicated. ISBN 1 902696 62 X Title: Forest fungi in Ireland. Authors: Paul Dowding and Louis Smith Citation: Dowding, P. and Smith, L. 2008. Forest fungi in Ireland. COFORD, Dublin. The views and opinions expressed in this publication belong to the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect those of COFORD. i CONTENTS Foreword..................................................................................................................v Réamhfhocal...........................................................................................................vi Preface ....................................................................................................................vii Réamhrá................................................................................................................viii Acknowledgements...............................................................................................ix
    [Show full text]
  • The Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Amanita Phalloides Was Introduced and Is
    Molecular Ecology (2009) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.04030.x TheBlackwell Publishing Ltd ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita phalloides was introduced and is expanding its range on the west coast of North America ANNE PRINGLE,* RACHEL I. ADAMS,† HUGH B. CROSS* and THOMAS D. BRUNS‡ *Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Laboratories, 16 Divinity Avenue, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, †Department of Biological Sciences, Gilbert Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA, ‡Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Abstract The deadly poisonous Amanita phalloides is common along the west coast of North America. Death cap mushrooms are especially abundant in habitats around the San Francisco Bay, California, but the species grows as far south as Los Angeles County and north to Vancouver Island, Canada. At different times, various authors have considered the species as either native or introduced, and the question of whether A. phalloides is an invasive species remains unanswered. We developed four novel loci and used these in combination with the EF1α and IGS loci to explore the phylogeography of the species. The data provide strong evidence for a European origin of North American populations. Genetic diversity is generally greater in European vs. North American populations, suggestive of a genetic bottleneck; polymorphic sites of at least two loci are only polymorphic within Europe although the number of individuals sampled from Europe was half the number sampled from North America. Endemic alleles are not a feature of North American populations, although alleles unique to different parts of Europe were common and were discovered in Scandinavian, mainland French, and Corsican individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • Foraged Mushroom Toxicity Presenting to Urgent Care with Acute Kidney Injury
    CME: This article is offered for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit.™ Visit Case Report https://www.urgentcarecme.com/bundles/jucm-cme for further details. Foraged Mushroom Toxicity Presenting to Urgent Care with Acute Kidney Injury Urgent message: Though it occurs relatively rarely, mushroom toxicity can result in irreversible organ damage and, in certain cases, death if not recognized quickly. Diagnosis can be difficult due to the facts that toxicity may present at different intervals from time of ingestion, de- pending on the species of mushroom, and initial symptoms are nonspecific and similar to those of benign gastrointestinal illnesses. Timely consultation with a poison control center may be life-saving. MICHELE L. STOWE, PA-C, MPAS and JOSHUA W. RUSSELL, MD, MSC, FAAEM, FACEP Introduction ushroom foraging is a popular activity in the U.S. MPacific Northwest (PNW). Based on cultural traditions, many Asian and European immigrants commonly forage for mushrooms, as well. A case of mush room misidentification may occur when a poisonous species in the U.S. is mistaken for an edible species in an indi- vidual’s country of origin, which occurs most commonly among species from Europe and Asia. There are also poi- sonous local native species which can be confused with edible species with similar appearances. Amanita smithi- ana is an example of a poisonous native PNW mush- room which is similar in appearance to, and grows in the same densely forested habitat as, an edible species: the pine mushroom (or matsutake as it is known in Asia), which is used in many traditional Asian dishes.1 Amanita smithiana is known to cause delayed renal failure when ingested, due to the nephrotoxic com- pound allenic norleucine.2 Gastrointestinal symptoms generally begin within 6 hours of ingestion, but renal toxicity does not manifest until 1 to 4 days after inges- ©AdobeStock.com tion; as such, it may not be evident on initial laboratory evaluation.
    [Show full text]