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]
Destroying angels are among the most toxic known mushrooms; both they and the closely related death caps (A. phalloides) contain amatoxins.[1]
Destroying angel mushrooms (Amanita virosa and Amanita bisporigera) are highly poisonous fungi that are often mistaken for edible species. They are white or pale in color and have a distinctive bulbous base, a ring around the stem, and a volva (a sheath-like structure at the base of the stem). They can resemble other edible mushrooms, such as meadow mushrooms or button mushrooms, which can make them difficult to identify.
I tolerate mushrooms on food from restaurants but I would never just eat one from the wild unless I was extremely desperate, the risk/reward is just insane.
I was you two years ago. Then I took a photo of a strange mushroom and posted it online, only to be told it was a choice lions mane and an incredibly valuable and delicious find. Cue four hours consuming all the resources I could to make sure this thing wouldn’t kill me, before eating the tiniest nibble and waiting 24 hours. Yep, it was delicious alright, and because I survived the night, I ate more. I fried it in garlic butter and threw it in soups, I dehydrated it and used it as a thickener. I found more and ate more. Then I learned about chicken of the woods - very distinct with no dangerous lookalikes. Another delicious experience. And so I bought some books. And went on more hikes. Turns out, what I had thought of as danger was just lack of knowledge. I know not to walk in front of a moving car, despite them being all around. Learn what not to eat, learn the ones that can be confused, learn the ones you can’t really fuck up IDing, and it’s not as scary as it seems.
But you would eat a blueberry right? And that’s my point. No one eats a random mushroom from the ground but to say I will not eat any mushroom at all because there is too much risk it a crazy take.
I mean are there fruits that will kill me if I eat one that look like apples? And generally I wouldn’t eat any random fruit I found in the wild either unless I really had to.
I mean are there fruits that will kill me if I eat one that look like apples?
Yes, there are, they are called Manchineel. But that’s beside the point.
You can pick mushrooms your whole life and never be in any risk, you stick to the beginner friendly species and I would bet you need to be drunk and/or legally blind to make a mistake.
You don’t have to shit in the bathroom though. But we all do our own risk/benefit assessment and it can be very different in different places. Here in Finland it’s easy to pick good mushrooms and it’s a common pastime, I think that’s not the case everywhere.
I’ve no idea whether it would be useful for specifically mushroom identification, but I have before wondered before whether maybe future cell phones could incorporate some kind of hyperspectral imaging camera and light to permit for identifying things that look identical to humans.
Foliage that looks fairly-indistinguishable to human eyes can look different if you can sample at more points on the spectrum than the three that human eyes can check for; this has been used to find marijuana plantations with hyperspectral imaging from the air. But if you can get right up next to something and can control the light that it’s exposed to, I would guess that it’d be an even easier task to identify something. Doesn’t have to just be plants, either.
A spore print is an easy test anyone can do that will keep you from mixing up Amanita (destroying angel) and Agaricus (meadow mushroom). If the spores are cold brown like dark chocolate it’s an Agaricus, if they’re pinkish white it’s an Amanita.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroying_angel
https://mushroomexam.com/destroying_angel_mushroom_look_alikes.html
I tolerate mushrooms on food from restaurants but I would never just eat one from the wild unless I was extremely desperate, the risk/reward is just insane.
I was you two years ago. Then I took a photo of a strange mushroom and posted it online, only to be told it was a choice lions mane and an incredibly valuable and delicious find. Cue four hours consuming all the resources I could to make sure this thing wouldn’t kill me, before eating the tiniest nibble and waiting 24 hours. Yep, it was delicious alright, and because I survived the night, I ate more. I fried it in garlic butter and threw it in soups, I dehydrated it and used it as a thickener. I found more and ate more. Then I learned about chicken of the woods - very distinct with no dangerous lookalikes. Another delicious experience. And so I bought some books. And went on more hikes. Turns out, what I had thought of as danger was just lack of knowledge. I know not to walk in front of a moving car, despite them being all around. Learn what not to eat, learn the ones that can be confused, learn the ones you can’t really fuck up IDing, and it’s not as scary as it seems.
I mean I don’t really spend much time outside or cook in general, like even ignoring the risk part I wouldn’t cook random stuff I find.
I would never eat one even if I were extremely desperate, unless I had a mushroom identification book with me.
I find this take ridiculous, there are poisonous fruits and vegetables would you never eat an apple just because there are poisonous fruits out there?
I mean, I’m not going to pluck a random red berry of a bush and eat it.
But you would eat a blueberry right? And that’s my point. No one eats a random mushroom from the ground but to say I will not eat any mushroom at all because there is too much risk it a crazy take.
I wouldn’t trust a wild blueberry too much ngl.
I mean are there fruits that will kill me if I eat one that look like apples? And generally I wouldn’t eat any random fruit I found in the wild either unless I really had to.
Yes, there are, they are called Manchineel. But that’s beside the point.
You can pick mushrooms your whole life and never be in any risk, you stick to the beginner friendly species and I would bet you need to be drunk and/or legally blind to make a mistake.
Best way to learn is to tag along with a seasoned mushroom picker and just go with the easier ones that don’t have deathly look-alikes.
Mushrooms are delicious as all hell. Golden chanterelle for example is damn good and easy to recognize.
They could be the best tasting thing in the world and it wouldn’t be worth it
You can trip, fall and die just walking to the bathroom. But more chanterelle for me then heh
Yeah if I don’t shit I’ll also die though lol. More power to you if that’s what you enjoy though
You don’t have to shit in the bathroom though. But we all do our own risk/benefit assessment and it can be very different in different places. Here in Finland it’s easy to pick good mushrooms and it’s a common pastime, I think that’s not the case everywhere.
Lol You’d think we’d have some sort of easy test strips or something for these, but ig not
I’ve no idea whether it would be useful for specifically mushroom identification, but I have before wondered before whether maybe future cell phones could incorporate some kind of hyperspectral imaging camera and light to permit for identifying things that look identical to humans.
Foliage that looks fairly-indistinguishable to human eyes can look different if you can sample at more points on the spectrum than the three that human eyes can check for; this has been used to find marijuana plantations with hyperspectral imaging from the air. But if you can get right up next to something and can control the light that it’s exposed to, I would guess that it’d be an even easier task to identify something. Doesn’t have to just be plants, either.
That’s a fucking badass idea, but I got stuck on this:
I hope we don’t have trouble identifying things that look identical to humans!
Such applications already exist. iNaturalist also helps identify vertebrates and invertebrates.
Don’t those all use a normal phone camera?
Yes
A spore print is an easy test anyone can do that will keep you from mixing up Amanita (destroying angel) and Agaricus (meadow mushroom). If the spores are cold brown like dark chocolate it’s an Agaricus, if they’re pinkish white it’s an Amanita.
It’s not like they’re that similar-looking either
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255182707
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/233616138
Tf this is like the most badass name