The most famous mushroom?
Fly agaric is one of the most beautiful and photogenic mushrooms, an iconic addition to the Super Mario Brothers games, with its iconic red cap and white spots. The cap of the Amanita muscaria starts hemispherical and then opens flat, growing up to 30 cm in height. Another key characteristic to look at is the gills of the fly agaric, which are white to cream and not joined to the stem. When hemispherical, the cap can appear more orangey-red in colour, but when flat it will be a classic bright red. The fly agaric is native to the UK and visible, between August-November, in woodlands, parks, or heaths. This fungus will often be growing next to birch, pine, or spruce trees.
Fly agaric was used as an insecticide in medieval times. It was a common trick to have a bowl of milk sitting out with fly agaric chunks floating within; flies would land in the milk and ingest the toxins... leading to intoxication and death.
The mushroom is a toxic mushroom but reports of death from consumption are rare (but of course there is still a chance!). It is highly recommended to appreciate these fungi from a distance, but when consumed the reported side effects often include a state of confusion, dizziness, tiredness, visual and auditory delusions, space distortion and time confusion. They have a solid place in history and have been used in various cultures for thousands of years. Shamans in Siberia are said to have consumed the fly agaric to enter a trance state, where they would be transported to the world of their gods and fight battles against demons in order to attain visions.
In Victorian and Edwardian times the fly agaric was featured on many Christmas cards. They were said to be a symbol of good luck and could have even inspired Santa's suit!
Vintage Christmas card (U.S. Forest Service, n.d).
Reference:
United States Department of Agriculture. (N.D). Fly agaric. [online] Available at:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/Mind_and_Spirit/flyagaric.shtml.
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