Destroying Angel
This is a short tale about the mushroom that almost gave me a heart attack.
The weather in North Idaho has been mild this fall, actually, it's been pretty dry and warm. We finally got a good douse of rain this past week and the fall mushrooms are coming up in force! I've got shaggy manes out my office window growing quickly each day and new ones are popping up all over our lawn. Some folks down south around CDA have been finding masses of chanterelles, as have some people up near Priest Lake...but I have yet to find those around Sandpoint.
What I DID find, was a beautiful white mushroom on the side of the road...with more in the button stage around it! Cool!
I left the young "buttons" as they're called, and picked the big one to take home and identify.
Okay, I know what some of you are thinking. "Anything with a ring on the stalk shouldn't be eaten." I've heard that too, in the past...but have luckily progressed past that with identification of various mycological species...
But I was unsure about this critter and looked at my books. I consulted the internet. I was confident it was Lepiota naucina or "Ma'am on a motorcycle." BUT....
By the way, "BUT" is a bad thing to EVER think when identifying shrooms...trust me. Just do this once to confirm what a Rosy Russula is:
"6.) Taste peppery (chew on a small piece of cap, the spit it out)
Edibility: Not recommended; the strong peppery taste is a deterrent."
(Note: THAT experiment had me spitting for about three hours!! But, if you wanted a peppery stew...that's the shroom for you!)
Okay, BUT, the warnings on everything I read said something like this: "be careful not to confuse it with the deadly amanita!!" Or basically something like: the species often responsible for mushroom poisoning deaths from mis-identification with a deadly species of close resemblance.
Well, the species they are all referencing has the pleasant, melodic name of "Amanita ocreata!" Unfortunately, the common name is "Destroying Angel." This particular amanita holds the title for being "responsible for 95% of all mushroom fatalities" by causing delayed liver and kidney failure. Yep, delayed...at first you are fine...eat all you want! Then, an average of 10 or a max of 24 HOURS later, you develop symptoms of the flu, diarrhea, vomiting, severe cramping, and so on. Then, you recover. For a day. Following that, you are in for it and your liver and kidneys start shutting down and blah blah blah....a liver transplant is basically the only way you'll survive. (By the way, I learned all this LATER...meaning today.)
NEVER rely on one or two mushroom books. Ever.
Well, I was confident enough to take a bite. It really wasn't bad, more bland than anything (it wasn't cooked) and honestly, raw, it wasn't anything to write home about. I considered spitting it out (a common identification method for non-lethal species is to chew on a piece of the cap and spit it out...remember the Rosy Russula) but instead I swallowed it...tough-talking myself into confidence. Well, then I was on the internet, feverishly combing through various mushroom websites, forums, and scientific PDFs. That quickly brought my anxiety, fear, and insecurity to the surface and within five minutes of the "swallow" I hustled to the bathroom to force myself to get rid of the small bit. (Yes, I'm sparing you some details.)
After that I continued to freak myself out using this "great tool" we call the internet. (You have cancer by the way...I don't care what symptoms you have....you have cancer.) Read, read, read...it has no volva...no cuplike remnant of a universal veil...(the Destroying Angel has a volva)...or did it? SHIT! So there I was, in the truck, up the road with a flashlight to find the other "buttons" that I left. Finally, in the dark with a big flashlight pinned between my kneeling legs, I gently excavated a small mushroom from the side of the road, PRAYING it didn't have a hidden volva.
.
.
.
It didn't!
But that only helped for the night. All morning I was looking through book after book, publication after publication. Same thing, I basically thought, "I'm guaranteed to die today." Stupid stupid stupid. Of course, I started to give myself symptoms thinking like that. Do I have an upset stomach? Do I need to poop? Do I feel nauseous? My plan at the time was to wait until about 5:00 p.m. (24 hours after half-ass ingestion) to see if I developed symptoms. Well, that wasn't going to happen behind a desk, so I left work and went on the move...which oddly led me to the same road and the same area I picked the little bastard in question. There were more! A lot more! I picked all I could, young and old, paying close attention to digging rather than picking so as not to disturb any volva that may be present. Again, I was home identifying...but this time...it was to an entirely more relaxed state of mind.
What I have is, I'm mostly sure, the harmless (to some people) Lepioda naucina.
Now, for reference, here's the bad one:
Okay, so now if you want more info on the poisoning potential and effects, this person has a good description:
http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/11/22/i-survived-the-destroying-angel/
So, that's my most recent adventure in foraging.
In order to justify my curious tendencies, since starting to get interested in wild mushrooms I've put up hundreds of pounds of morels (seriously) and learned that chanterelles are wonderful, boletes are almost as good as morels, lobster mushrooms are really a parasite that tastes like it's host (and is a good meat substitute), and oyster mushrooms really do have a look and texture that remind you of oysters when fried. Puffballs are okay, fairy rings are as well, and...well, Ma'am on a motorcycle is nothing I want to play with again.
I honestly don't know HOW folks mess with the funny ones. That would scare me to death!
The weather in North Idaho has been mild this fall, actually, it's been pretty dry and warm. We finally got a good douse of rain this past week and the fall mushrooms are coming up in force! I've got shaggy manes out my office window growing quickly each day and new ones are popping up all over our lawn. Some folks down south around CDA have been finding masses of chanterelles, as have some people up near Priest Lake...but I have yet to find those around Sandpoint.
What I DID find, was a beautiful white mushroom on the side of the road...with more in the button stage around it! Cool!
I left the young "buttons" as they're called, and picked the big one to take home and identify.
 |
| (The pieces are broken off from the main cap) |
Okay, I know what some of you are thinking. "Anything with a ring on the stalk shouldn't be eaten." I've heard that too, in the past...but have luckily progressed past that with identification of various mycological species...
But I was unsure about this critter and looked at my books. I consulted the internet. I was confident it was Lepiota naucina or "Ma'am on a motorcycle." BUT....
By the way, "BUT" is a bad thing to EVER think when identifying shrooms...trust me. Just do this once to confirm what a Rosy Russula is:
"6.) Taste peppery (chew on a small piece of cap, the spit it out)
Edibility: Not recommended; the strong peppery taste is a deterrent."
(Note: THAT experiment had me spitting for about three hours!! But, if you wanted a peppery stew...that's the shroom for you!)
Okay, BUT, the warnings on everything I read said something like this: "be careful not to confuse it with the deadly amanita!!" Or basically something like: the species often responsible for mushroom poisoning deaths from mis-identification with a deadly species of close resemblance.
Well, the species they are all referencing has the pleasant, melodic name of "Amanita ocreata!" Unfortunately, the common name is "Destroying Angel." This particular amanita holds the title for being "responsible for 95% of all mushroom fatalities" by causing delayed liver and kidney failure. Yep, delayed...at first you are fine...eat all you want! Then, an average of 10 or a max of 24 HOURS later, you develop symptoms of the flu, diarrhea, vomiting, severe cramping, and so on. Then, you recover. For a day. Following that, you are in for it and your liver and kidneys start shutting down and blah blah blah....a liver transplant is basically the only way you'll survive. (By the way, I learned all this LATER...meaning today.)
NEVER rely on one or two mushroom books. Ever.
Well, I was confident enough to take a bite. It really wasn't bad, more bland than anything (it wasn't cooked) and honestly, raw, it wasn't anything to write home about. I considered spitting it out (a common identification method for non-lethal species is to chew on a piece of the cap and spit it out...remember the Rosy Russula) but instead I swallowed it...tough-talking myself into confidence. Well, then I was on the internet, feverishly combing through various mushroom websites, forums, and scientific PDFs. That quickly brought my anxiety, fear, and insecurity to the surface and within five minutes of the "swallow" I hustled to the bathroom to force myself to get rid of the small bit. (Yes, I'm sparing you some details.)
After that I continued to freak myself out using this "great tool" we call the internet. (You have cancer by the way...I don't care what symptoms you have....you have cancer.) Read, read, read...it has no volva...no cuplike remnant of a universal veil...(the Destroying Angel has a volva)...or did it? SHIT! So there I was, in the truck, up the road with a flashlight to find the other "buttons" that I left. Finally, in the dark with a big flashlight pinned between my kneeling legs, I gently excavated a small mushroom from the side of the road, PRAYING it didn't have a hidden volva.
.
.
.
It didn't!
But that only helped for the night. All morning I was looking through book after book, publication after publication. Same thing, I basically thought, "I'm guaranteed to die today." Stupid stupid stupid. Of course, I started to give myself symptoms thinking like that. Do I have an upset stomach? Do I need to poop? Do I feel nauseous? My plan at the time was to wait until about 5:00 p.m. (24 hours after half-ass ingestion) to see if I developed symptoms. Well, that wasn't going to happen behind a desk, so I left work and went on the move...which oddly led me to the same road and the same area I picked the little bastard in question. There were more! A lot more! I picked all I could, young and old, paying close attention to digging rather than picking so as not to disturb any volva that may be present. Again, I was home identifying...but this time...it was to an entirely more relaxed state of mind.
What I have is, I'm mostly sure, the harmless (to some people) Lepioda naucina.
OKAY NOW, FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON AM I CLAIMING THESE FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE DEFINITELY THE SPECIES OF MUSHROOM THAT I THINK THEY ARE. THIS IS NOT A GUIDE, THIS IS AN INFORMED OPINION.
Frick, I could be wrong as far as I know...and if I am, will someone PLEASE write to tell me?!
 |
| Pretty, but notice...no volva |
 |
| Young dude |
 |
| Young and older caps |
 |
| Teenager |
 |
| I THINK this is the same species. It was in the same "area" the idea follows for the rest of these.... |
 |
| Grandpa...same thing, just in the same area... |
 |
| His nasty cap |
 |
| Young and old caps |
 |
| Just because |
 |
| Pocketknife for reference. Cute little buttons...now come on, don't they look decent to eat? |
 |
| Veil JUST released from cap
|
Now, for reference, here's the bad one:
 |
| The flimsy veil hangs like a skirt...I guess that's a common thing. Not as robust as the veil on the "Ma'am on a motorcycle" |
 |
| This shows the volva (not separated), skirt, and shaggy stem |
 |
| And, I wanted to show the volva separating at the base. The whole critter starts off as an egg-looking outfit I guess (that's where the "universal veil" or "sac" comes from. Looks like a puffball at first I guess. |
Okay, so now if you want more info on the poisoning potential and effects, this person has a good description:
http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/11/22/i-survived-the-destroying-angel/
So, that's my most recent adventure in foraging.
In order to justify my curious tendencies, since starting to get interested in wild mushrooms I've put up hundreds of pounds of morels (seriously) and learned that chanterelles are wonderful, boletes are almost as good as morels, lobster mushrooms are really a parasite that tastes like it's host (and is a good meat substitute), and oyster mushrooms really do have a look and texture that remind you of oysters when fried. Puffballs are okay, fairy rings are as well, and...well, Ma'am on a motorcycle is nothing I want to play with again.
I honestly don't know HOW folks mess with the funny ones. That would scare me to death!
posted by geotracker12 at 3:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home