Foraging for mushrooms, while seemingly benign, is an extremely dangerous activity due to the presence of highly toxic species that can cause severe illness or death, and the difficulty in distinguishing them from edible varieties.
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foraging for mushrooms is an extreme
sport it may not be physically tough
strolling through the forest looking for
fungi but it can be as dangerous as
jumping off a mountain in a Wings suit
make one small air of judgment and you
could be dead which mushroom will become
a delicious meal and which will end your
life let's dive into the world's deadliest
mushrooms hey I'm toss of the Amazon and
you're watching logic today we're
plucking through the list of the most
lethal mushrooms on the planet there are
currently about 14,000 known species of
mushrooms of those around 10% are
considered edible and most of the rest
are inedible the term inedible means
they can be anything from straight up
gross tasting to just giving you a mild
tummy ache the remaining 1 to 2% of
mushrooms are considered toxic that
means that they contain toxins that do a
number on the human body causing serious
damage at best and death at worst
hundreds of people a year around the
globe die from eating toxic mushrooms so
which ones are going to send you to an
early grave let's go in with a bang and
start with the most lethal of them all
this notorious mushy is responsible for
the vast majority of toxic mushroom
deaths a year amonita fides otherwise
known as death cap mushroom is the
deadliest mushroom in the whole wide
world it takes less than a half a cap of
this unassuming mushroom to spell the
end for a strapping adult the
life-ending powers of death caps have
been known to us for thousands of years
Roman Emperor Claudius by all accounts
was killed with a dose of death cap in
54 ad by his fourth wife agripina to
make way for her son Nero to ascend to
power identifying death caps can be
tough because they go through so many
changes during their short lifespans in
the autumn in their young button phase
they can be mistaken for edible
varieties they've been confused for
harmless Patty straw mushrooms and even
juvenile puff balls death caps ooze with
three different types of lethal toxins
the most deadly of the small called
amoxin causes liver failure which can
lead to death without Swift action
amoxin isn't just contained in death
caps but a number of other deadly
shrooms and is responsible for 95% of
mushroom related deaths every year
unfortunately for us humans amoxin is
heat stable so cooking these toxic fungi
won't make them any less deadly amoxin
poisoning isn't a quick death either
think slow and agonizing 6 to 12 hours
after ingestion you'll get nausea and
diarrhea you may then start feeling
better thinking that the worst is behind
you but this short reprieve is just the
amatoxin being absorbed by the lining of
your intestines and making its way to
annihilate your liver from 1 to 7 days
after ingestion these toxins scramble
the functions of liver cells on a
molecular level in addition to liver
failure you may also experience kidney
failure brain dysfunction and even death
quick treatment with activated charcoal
and IV fluids before the toxins make it
to your liver is a must a compound
called salonin which plugs up the liver
receptors that the amoxin will
eventually attack can be effective if
taken before the toxin makes it to the
liver ultimately a liver transplant may
be the only option to pull you back from
the brink of death recently an Imaging
die called indocyanine Green was found
to block the effects of amoxin so
there's at least some hope that one day
the vast majority of these mushroom
deaths will be avoidable in its ammonita
genus the death cap isn't the only
killer that packs amoxin there are a few
species in this family known as
destroying Angels due to their ethereal
white appearance and ability to kill
much like the death cap these types of
mushrooms can be easily mistaken for
edible varieties like Meadow or button
mushrooms which is really what makes
these destroying Angels so destructive
there's European native species amonita
verosa and amonita Verna amonita okata
found in Western North America and
amonita bis borera native to eastern
North America which is North America's
most lethal shroom despite what the name
suggests amonita isn't the only fungus
genus that hosts amatoxin killers there
are other Genera that are chalk full of
amatoxins too like this next amatoxin
packed mushy that stole my super villain
name the deadly dapperling also known as
lepiota Bruno and carnada can be found
in Europe and parts of Asia like other
amoxin Killers deadly dapperling is
highly dangerous for the human liver its
inconspicuous appearance leads it to
some sometimes be accidentally mistaken
for edible mushrooms like Grey Knight
and fairy ring champo gallerina
autumnalis is a tiny brown fungus that
grows on rotting wood and also packs an
amoxin punch when it's ingested it's
usually confused with the edible Aralia
gal AKA honey mushroom or flammulina
bapes otherwise known as velvet stem
mushroom this one also looks a lot like
psilocybe species AKA magic mushrooms so
that's another reason why this one
inadvertently Goes Down the Hatch
another magic mushroom dupe kosai feris
is another Demir looking lawn mushroom
native to the Pacific Northwest it has a
similar Mo as the other amatoxin
containing fungi a slow and painful
March to the Grave you would think toxic
amonita muscaria otherwise known as
flyagaric fly amonita or the super
recognizable toad stool would contain
liver destroying amoxin too but nope
this is one mushroom species that
contains different toxins that are
equally hellbent on human destruction
toad stools are overflowing with aoxo
toxins which attack the central nervous
system and can send those who eat it
into a coma while highly deadly toad
stools actually rarely kill this is
probably because they're red and white
spotted caps serve as an adequate
warning to stay the heck away no one is
going to mistake a warning light red
toad stool for a harmless mushy in
addition to being toxic to stools are
also psychoactive so while you're on
your way to to seizures coma and maybe
death you may also experience
hallucinations and delirium in the
cortinarius genus there are two species
native to Northern Europe deadly web
caps and Fool's web caps that will do
you in they look suspiciously similar to
other edible mushrooms specifically the
coveted winter Chantell so poisoning
happens more than you'd hope the toxin
in these web caps is called oralin which
can take upwards of 3 weeks to show
symptoms by the time you have a proper
diagnosis it's already too late and the
damage to the kidneys is already done
you'll likely need a kidney transplant
to survive if left untreated death will
surely come a Knockin pooma cornu is a
rare Asian fungus of the hypocrea family
that contains tresine mot toxin its
unusual appearance leads it to sometimes
being misidentified as antler Ganoderma
lucidum or even young Corps the lethal
toxin contained within this freaky
looking shroom can cause multiple organ
failure symptoms of poisoning from this
fungus are as spooky as it looks aside
from the usual stomach pain it also
causes peeling skin hair loss liver
necrosis acute kidney failure and
ultimately death if left untreated
untreated
nightmarish false morals like the
species gyromitra esculenta look a lot
like the wonderfully delicious true
morals but this fake species contains
the toxin gyromitrin which when
metabolized by the body becomes
monomethyl hydren AKA a toxic ingredient
used in Rocket Fuel while it will make
you sick as a dog death from eating the
species is extremely rare as a side note
you need to be careful when eating true
morals too since they can also make you
sick to your stomach make sure they're
thoroughly cooked before eating them and
don't eat too many all at once the fact
that mushroom poisonings occur at all
only speaks to our obsession with these
delicious and sometimes psychoactive
little fungi if you're not a fan you'll
probably insist that 100% of mushrooms
are inedible if that's you you may never
know the pleasure of a fungi pizza but
you'll also never have to worry about an
accidental mushroom dep so what should
we talk about next let me know in the
comments below and be sure to subscribe
for new videos every week bye if you
like this episode check out our episode
on Corps the fungi that can kill through
zombification I'm Tasha the Amazon and
you're watching floral logic today we're
talking about ceps a not so fun guy at
least not if you ask him it's helpless
mind controlled
victims Corps are A genus of over 500
parasitic fungi and can be found around
the world but are most predominant in
warm high humidity climates in Asia
their spores enter their victims insects
and arthropods and set up shop
immediately if bugs could scream it
would be too late some species of Corps
use their power of Mind Control to turn
their hosts into walking zombies
hellbent on doing their bidding nope
this isn't Science Fiction it's science
scary but lucky for us humans these type
of Mind controllers only pray on people
in Sci-Fi movies and video games some of
their closely related fungi cousins the
opio corps take it a step further for
opio Corps hosts the relationship with
their parasite couldn't be more toxic as
one species opio Corps unilateralis
slowly takes over it instructs the ant
to act natural tricking its Colony mates
into think everything's all right that's
here when it's ready to spread the corps
then compels the ant to climb up tall
vegetation and give the north side of a
twig or Leaf a final bite locking its
jaw in a death grip from here the Fring
body of the fungus also called the
stromata Sprouts from the back of the
Dead ant's head and begin sprinkling the
forest floor and the ant's Colony mates
below with even more zombifying spores
and so the freaky cycle of Mind Control
continues the shape of these Fring
bodies is where Corps gets its Latin
rooted name cord meaning club and seps
meaning head while most species of Corps
pray on insects and spiders in one study
20 of them were found to attack Hearts
truffles another type of fungi the
ancestors of these fungi parites were
parasites of cic and nymphs which live
in the same environments as Hearts
truffles it was just a matter matter of
time before they evolve to exploit this
new resource adding parasitic cannibal
to its list of descriptors definitely
gives Corps a leg up in the world's most
terrifying fungus
contest and these fungi have been
contestants for a long long time marks
on fossilized leaves suggest that their
mind control Behavior may have evolved
as much as 48 million years ago newer
research is starting to change how we
understand the zombification process and
we might need to find find a better word
for it scientists notice that ants
brains are left mostly unaffected but
tissue around the body is often replaced
by the fungus Mycelia this means that
the fungus might actually not take over
the mind but rather the body of the ant
and forces it to move against the ants
will they might not be making zombies
they're making live puppets in turn
humans have been using Corps for
medicinal purposes for ages for
thousands of years Corps have been used
in Chinese and Tibetan traditional
medicine opio Corp censis for example is
a medicinal species that Sprouts
exclusively from the head of ghost moth
caterpillars and is only found at high
altitudes in the Ching haai Tibetan
Plateau because of its Rarity it's
prized as one of the most valuable
ingredients in these medicinal
traditions instead of zombies this Corps
took a page from a different horror
novel and turns its victims into
mummies the resulting fungi host complex
is then used for a variety of ailments
like asthma and respiratory inflammation
over harvesting of this species has put
it on the endangered species list in
China opio Corps militaris which is much
easier to grow commercially is often
used as a cheaper
alternative one thing's for sure mind
control is not one of the side effects
of Corps at least not outside of Science
Fiction humans are also finding ways to
put Corps to good use outside of
medicine currently Corps are being
investigated as eco-friendly pest
killers for a variety of invasive
baddies so in a Way Corps are basically
Dexter Citrus crops for example are
attacked by Citrus Leaf miners while
these pests have traditionally been
effectively managed with the application
of synthetic insecticides the flip side
is that these same chemicals have a big
negative impact on predators and other
insects a lack of predators means it's
basically open season for other harmful
pests to come to the Citrus Feast
introducing Corps chanica which
parasitizes Leaf miners to the Citrus
Battlefield is one way researchers are
combating these pests naturally in the
fight against coconut root grub which
attacked the roots of coconut and other
crops spraying the ground with
insecticides isn't a healthy option for
anyone so scientists are investigating
species like Corps militaris that
naturally prey on these grubs to control
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