JoAnna Klein
The fly agaric is the quintessential mushroom of fairy tales.
Its
big, bright fruiting bodies scatter in great numbers across mossy
forests of North America and Europe. They emerge from the soil first
like white eggs, abandoned by some mysterious creature of the woods.
They can grow up to a foot tall, as warts appear on the cap. The
mushroom often blushes red in the process.
Finally, they crack open and flatten into a polka-dot disc that would make a gnome’s perfect dinner plate.
Recently mushroom hunters and nature lovers have been sharing photos of their fly agaric finds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Perhaps the most striking images came from Hungary, in a Facebook post, which included a video and a photo of a mushroom as big as a child.
For
many Eastern Europeans, mushroom hunting is a tradition. For some, it’s
also a way to earn extra cash. For Csaba Reisz, a fertilizer salesman
and soil nutrition consultant in southern Hungary, it’s escape from work
stress. “I make everything right with a little mushroom hunting and
photo shooting,” he wrote in an email.
A
few times a month, he wanders the forest looking for fungal beauty and
shows his children the best finds. Between September and November in his
area, Mr. Reisz often finds the fly agaric, scientifically known as
Amanita muscaria, like this patch discovered on Oct. 9.
“I found the fairy in the fairy-tale forest,” he wrote in a caption for the image above.
These
giant shrooms typically pop up in acidic soils near spruce, oak or
birch trees and when they get enough rain. While Mr. Reisz admires them,
he probably won’t be feeding these magical-looking mushrooms to his
children. They contain two mind-altering neurotoxins called ibotenic acid and muscimol which are known to affect humans and other animals.
They
are called the fly agaric because in some places, people lace milk with
bits of it to lure and kill flies. The insects become inebriated, crash
into walls and die, according to the blog of Tom Volk, a mycologist at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.
Strange things can happen when mammals ingest them, too. In January, news reports suggested that eating fly agaric fungi made fearless coyotes terrorize motorists in the moonlight in California. Reindeer historically have tripped on them too, and in some places fly agaric has even been associated with Christmas. Some historians even chalk the victories of Viking “Beserker Warriors” to the fearlessness induced after ingesting Amanita muscaria.
In studies using rats, muscimol was infused
into parts of the amygdala, a brain region that is known to process
emotional fear memories in humans. The drug shut down the rats’ ability
to learn about and respond to threats.
But in humans, it can also do the opposite. Its effects range from dry mouth and rapid heartbeat to euphoria, hallucinations, feeling closer to God and fear.
Incorrect doses or preparations are poisonous. In at least one case,
doctors found the fly agari in the stomach contents of a person found
in a coma. Additionally, Amanita muscaria are often confused with
relatives: deadly impostors known as the death cap and the destroying angel.
Mr.
Reisz thinks that maybe the mushrooms he found were able to get so big
and numerous because of recent weather, and that other locals, seeking
them for their psychoactive properties, had not yet picked them.
If this fairy tale now sounds like a nightmare, then look, but don’t ingest.
Ingolf Stern, Seattle
Amanita Muscaria is your Santa Claus. The red suit with white highlights comes from Amanitas color scheme. It is also the much-misunderstood Easter Egg. Children were sent into the woods to collect them and rewarded for their harvest with sweets. Amanitas are traditionally hung by the fireplace to dry so they can be eaten. Normally they are hung in small sacks or in socks over the mantle. They were also hung right on the branches of fir trees underneath which they grew. This is the source of your Christmas decorations, the bright red glass balls you hang on your tree but never knew why. You will also see Amanita in religious iconography including much Papal regalia. Properly prepared Amanita is a safe way to see what is normally unseen. Not for kids. This mushroom has been a friend of humanity for eons. Cuidado! It's yellow cousin the Pantherina and other lookalikes will kill you dead. Know before you go!
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