Contents
The smelly fly agaric (Amanita virosa) is a dangerous fungus of the Amanitaceae family, order Lamellar. It has several names: fetid, snow-white or white toadstool. Its use in food is fraught with severe poisoning and death.
Description of stink bug
In order not to grab inedible specimens in the basket, you need to familiarize yourself with their description and photo.
Cap Description
The hat of the smelly fly agaric (pictured) has a wide-conical shape, reaches a diameter of 12 cm. The color is white, shiny. When it rains, the surface becomes slightly sticky. The flesh of the cap is white, it has an unpleasant aroma.
The plates under the hat are also white. Form freely, often. Spores are spherical, smooth, white in color.
Description of the leg
The leg is even, elongated up to 7 cm in length. Its diameter does not exceed 1-1,5 cm. A thickening can be seen at the base. Color – white. A delicate ring of white color is formed on the leg. It quickly disappears, leaving behind an annular girdling.
Twins and their differences
Amanita smelly has several similar species:
- spring forms a flatter hat. It grows in warm regions, differs from smelly specimens in the season of appearance. Deadly poisonous;
- ovoid differs more Volvo. Along the edges of the cap, thread-like processes and flakes are visible, by which mushroom pickers identify this particular type of fly agaric. The ring on the leg is small, creamy ocher. This species is listed in the Red Book of the Krasnodar Territory. Considered conditionally edible;
- death cap depending on the growing conditions, it may not have a greenish hat, but a whitish one, so it is sometimes confused with smelly fly agaric. The toadstool is poisonous, the mushrooms are equivalent in terms of the degree of poisoning;
- float white – This is an albino variety of gray float. The main difference is the absence of a ring, but this is an unreliable sign, since it is destroyed in adult fly agarics. The mushroom is edible, but does not have high nutritional qualities;
- woodland champignon has a whitish-cream hat, so it can be confused with smelly fly agaric. The difference is that the champignon plates darken with age, acquiring an almost black color, while the smelly fly agaric plates remain snow-white. The champignon is edible, so you should be extremely careful during the collection.
Where and how to grow
Amanita stinky chooses forests with spruces and blueberries. Distributed in the northern part of the temperate climate zone. It grows in coniferous and mixed forests, on wet sandstones.
Edible smelly fly agaric or poisonous
The smelly fly agaric contains muscarine, a toxic alkaloid that affects the human nervous system. Eating fly agarics of this species can turn into a tragic outcome.
Symptoms of stink fly agaric poisoning
The symptoms that occur after eating the smelly fly agaric resemble signs of poisoning with a pale toadstool. The danger lies in the fact that the body gives alarm signals too late, approximately 6-24 hours after eating a mushroom dish. During this time, irreversible changes occur: the liver is destroyed and a person cannot survive without a transplant of this organ.
The main symptoms of poisoning:
- unbearable pain in the abdomen;
- weakness bordering on a semi-conscious state;
- incessant vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- strong thirst;
- disruption of the heart is manifested in a decrease in blood pressure to critical values, tachycardia is noted;
- blood glucose levels decrease (hypoglycemia);
- in severe cases, a delusional state occurs.
After 1-2 days, the symptoms subside, but the body does not recover from the illness. This is a period of “false recovery”, after which the death of the patient is possible.
First aid for white toadstool poisoning
In case of poisoning with a smelly fly agaric, one cannot do without medical assistance.
Algorithm for providing first aid:
- Before the arrival of the ambulance, the victim is given a gastric lavage. To do this, use warm water. The patient is given several glasses of liquid at once, after which vomiting occurs.
- Give activated charcoal to drink at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kg of weight.
- From dehydration, Regidron is used.
- You can drink tea, milk.
- When chills are covered, heating pads are applied to the limbs.
It contains silymarin, which effectively restores liver cells. In the scientific literature, there are separate reports regarding the effectiveness of intravenous use of silymarin in fly agaric poisoning. But without a doctor’s prescription, it is not recommended to use such methods.
In a hospital, acidosis is corrected, water and electrolyte balance is restored. With the rapid destruction of the liver, an organ transplant operation is necessary. Sometimes this is the only chance for salvation.
Conclusion
Amanita stinky is a poisonous mushroom that is easy to confuse with edible species. Poisoning in most cases ends in death. At the first sign of poisoning, urgent hospitalization is necessary. When picking mushrooms, only known specimens that are not in doubt should be taken.
