Description and photo of the fungus pale toadstool: what does it look like and how to distinguish it?

Pale grebe mushroom is one of the most dangerous poisonous representatives of the forest flora. You cannot collect these mushrooms. They can give poisoning even with short-term contact with other types of edible mushrooms. The poisons are rapidly absorbed by the caps and stems of the edible types. Therefore, it is necessary to know what the pale grebe looks like and how to distinguish it from similar edible mushrooms. All this can be learned from the proposed material.

Description of the fungus pale grebe, where it grows (with photo)

The description of the fungus pale grebe gives a general idea of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe plant. Next, you can read the description of the pale grebe with a photo and remember this mushroom.

Family: Fly agaric (Amanitaceae).

Synonyms: fly agaric green.

Cultural-historical and other interesting information

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Pale grebe is the most poisonous of our fly agarics and one of the most poisonous mushrooms in general. Statistics: if about 95% of all known fatal mushroom poisonings are caused by species of the genus Amanita, then, in turn, more than 50% of all fatal poisonings by fly agaric are accounted for by the pale grebe. Mushroom killer number 1, cleaner than the man-eating shark.

In the world, pale grebe is quite widespread. Its homeland is Europe, from where in recent decades it has penetrated into East Asia, Africa, both Americas and even Australia and New Zealand. There are many different places where the pale grebe grows, although it is not so common.

Mycorrhizal northern and mid-band European tree partners of the pale grebe are oak, linden, hazel, birch, maple, elm, beech, hornbeam, and chestnut in the southern regions. Quite rarely, but, nevertheless, successfully, the toadstool is able to form mycorrhiza with pine and spruce. It is noteworthy that in new places in the process of introduction, the pale grebe finds new, previously uncharacteristic partners for itself. For example, in coastal California, A. phalloides has mastered hemlock (coniferous tree) and virgin oak, in Iran – hazelnuts, in Tanzania and Algeria – eucalyptus, in New Zealand – various species of myrtle tree.

The following shows a pale grebe in the photo of different variations of the mushroom in the color of the cap:

At the end of the 1918th century, the famous American mycologist Charles Peck announced the discovery of the European species A. phalloides in North America. However, in 1970 these samples were tested and identified by mycologist Professor Atkinson (Cornell University) as a similar species of A. brunnescens. The question of the transcontinentality of the pale grebe seemed to have been closed, but in the 50s it suddenly became clear that the undoubted European pale grebe colonized both the eastern and western North American coasts, having moved from Europe along with seedlings of the then popular chestnuts. In general, the pale grebe, having taken a start in Europe, captured the entire Northern Hemisphere in this way – along with seedlings and industrial wood. It took her about XNUMX years to do everything. Together with oak seedlings, it penetrated into Australia and South America (green round dances around grown oak trees “pleased the eye” for a long time in Melbourne and Canberra, as well as in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, until a few years later the fungi found new mycorrhizal partners and began march across the continents). It has been reliably established that with pine seedlings, the pale grebe “jumped” to Tanzania and South Africa, where it quickly mastered local oaks and poplars.

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All this indicates a very high invasive potential of the pale grebe, which for some reason (warming? .. activity of phytodesigners? ..) has become more and more pronounced in recent years.

Since ancient times, people have been poisoned with pale toadstool, both by accident and by malicious intent. Perhaps the earliest known case of poisoning with a pale toadstool (eaten by mistake instead of a Caesar mushroom) can be considered the death of the wife and children of the great playwright of antiquity, Euripides.

History has brought us many facts and deliberate “persecution” of famous personalities with poisonous mushrooms to eliminate them from the political or even religious arena. Apparently, most of them are accounted for by the pale grebe. The most frequently mentioned “lucky ones” in this regard are the Roman Emperor Claudius and Pope Clement VII.

What do poisonous mushrooms look like pale grebe in the photo: how to distinguish them?

Consider what a pale grebe looks like: a hat from ovoid to flat-convex, prostrate with age, slimy or dry, 6-12 cm in diameter, greenish to yellowish-olive, usually with dark fibers ingrown into the skin, rarely almost white or dark – olive brown. White flaky warts are scattered on the surface of the cap at a young age, which disappear in adult fruiting bodies or after rain. The flesh is white, rather thin. The plates are wide and white. Leg 10-15 X 1,5-2 cm, cylindrical with a tuberous-widened base, white, yellowish or greenish, smooth or with scales. Volva is cup-shaped, wide, free (not adhering to the stem by the edges, as, for example, in the red fly agaric), white, usually torn into 3-4 parts (blades) at the top. The ring is white, slightly striped above, usually erect, at the top of the stem. The smell and taste (at least for young mushrooms) are very pleasant. In old mushrooms, the smell becomes sweetish-unpleasant, like crushed insects.

The following shows what a pale grebe looks like in a photo illustrating various forms:

Pale grebe by our standards is quite thermophilic and prefers deciduous and broad-leaved forests. The favorite habitat of this fungus in the European part of Our Country is lime forests and oak forests. The green fly agaric is found throughout the taiga zone, but in the south it still feels better. The most comfortable conditions for the pale grebe are the forest-steppe zone (for example, the Volga region, Ukraine, etc.). On the other hand, the heat-loving grebe leads to the fact that in our places it definitely gravitates towards forest suburbs and summer cottages, “capturing” additional crumbs of heat from cities and other human settlements.

The poisonous pale grebe bears fruit from July to early October.

In our forests, at a young age, poisonous toadstool mushrooms can be confused with edible fly agaric floaters and some champignons. There are known cases of collecting a pale grebe instead of russula with green hats or greenfinch rows, when the pale grebe was cut very high, under the very hat, which made it impossible to detect the ring and the bag when sorting mushrooms at home. It is believed that it can be confused with adult champignon and even an umbrella. How to distinguish a pale grebe from completely edible mushroom species and get this dangerous mushroom in a basket?

Consider further, but for now it is proposed to look at the poisonous pale grebe in the photo:

The pale grebe has a white (albino) form, when the entire fungus is completely white. In this case, it is very difficult to distinguish it from the deadly poisonous stink fly agaric (Amanita virosa).

In the world, a pale toadstool, with which they just do not confuse. This is explained, on the one hand, by a rather low culture of mushroom picking, mixed with great enthusiasm, and on the other hand, by the fact that the pale grebe is a young immigrant, not yet sufficiently studied by local mushroom pickers. For example, recently there have been reports of cases of fatal poisoning with pale grebe among immigrants from South and Southeast Asia who settled in Australia and on the west coast of the United States. Poor Asians confuse the fearsome fly agaric they have never seen before with their favorite straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea, widely cultivated in Asia). A few years ago, the BBC aired a story, filmed in Oregon, in which four members of a Korean family, who had been embarrassed in this way, were saved by liver transplants. Of the seven people who died of toadstool pallidum between 1991 and 1998 in Canberra, Australia, six were former citizens of Laos.

Foreign novice mushroom pickers often confuse young fruiting bodies of the pale grebe with edible raincoats that have not yet broken the common cover, and mature fruiting bodies with edible local species of fly agaric (for example, American A.lanei) or green-colored russula and rows.

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How is pale grebe used in homeopathy?

The fruit bodies of the pale grebe contain bicyclic toxic polypeptides, the basis of which is the indole ring. Under the influence of toxins of the pale toadstool, ATP synthesis is inhibited, lysosomes, microsomes and ribosomes of cells are destroyed. As a result of a violation of the biosynthesis of protein, phospholipids, glycogen, necrosis and fatty degeneration of the liver develop, leading to death. Toxins are found in all parts of the fungus, even in spores and mycelium. The following describes how pale grebe is used in homeopathy to treat some complex diseases.

A unique complex of substances was isolated from the pale grebe, which neutralizes the poisons of both the pale grebe itself and the smelly fly agaric. An antidote is currently being developed on its basis.

In the Middle Ages, cholera was treated with small doses of pale toadstool.

Currently, ultra-low doses of alcohol infusion are used in homeopathy for the following diseases: cholera; chorea; diphtheria; gastritis, severe spasmodic contractions of the stomach, vomiting; lockjaw; crumpy syndrome; tenesmus (frequent, painless); doubt, lethargy; cephalgia; vertigo; collapse; visual disturbances, damage to the muscles of the eyeball; effects of suppression of secretions; thirst with desire for cold water.

Symptoms and signs of toadstool poisoning

The mushroom is deadly poisonous, so food use is excluded. Unlike a number of other poisonous mushrooms, neither drying nor heat treatment eliminates the toxic effect of the poisons of the pale toadstool. For poisoning, it is enough for an adult to eat about 1/3 of the fruiting body of the fungus (about 100 g). Children are especially sensitive to the toxins of the pale toadstool, in which the symptoms of poisoning begin with the reduction of the jaws and convulsions. The main symptoms of pale toadstool poisoning appear after 6 hours – two days. Further, other signs of poisoning with a pale grebe join: vomiting begins, muscle pain, intestinal colic, indomitable thirst, cholera-like diarrhea (often with blood). The pulse becomes weak, thready, blood pressure drops, as a rule, there is a loss of consciousness. As a result of liver necrosis and acute cardiovascular insufficiency, death occurs in most cases.