Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by the fungus.
Galerina is a genus of small brown-spore saprobic fungi, with over 300 species found throughout the world from the far north to remote Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean. The genus is most noted for some extremely poisonous species which are occasionally confused with hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe. Species are typically small and hygrophanous, with a slender and brittle stem. They are often found growing on wood, and when on the ground have a preference for mossy habitats.
Inocybe is a large genus of mushroom-forming fungi with over 1400 species, including all forms and variations. Members of Inocybe are mycorrhizal, and some evidence shows that the high degree of speciation in the genus is due to adaptation to different trees and perhaps even local environments.
Galerina marginata, known colloquially as funeral bell, deadly skullcap, autumn skullcap or deadly galerina, is a species of extremely poisonous mushroom-forming fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae of the order Agaricales. It contains the same deadly amatoxins found in the death cap. Ingestion in toxic amounts causes severe liver damage with vomiting, diarrhea, hypothermia, and eventual death if not treated rapidly. About ten poisonings have been attributed to the species now grouped as G. marginata over the last century.
Conocybe rugosa is a common species of mushroom that is widely distributed and especially common in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It grows in woodchips, flowerbeds and compost. It has been found in Europe, Asia and North America. It contains the same mycotoxins as the death cap mushroom. Conocybe rugosa was originally described in the genus Pholiotina, and its morphology and a 2013 molecular phylogenetics study supported its continued classification there.
Conocybe tenera, commonly known as the brown dunce cap or common cone head, is a widely distributed member of the genus Conocybe. This mushroom is the type species for the genus Conocybe.
Pholiotina cyanopus is a species of fungus that contains psychoactive compounds including psilocybin and the uncommon aeruginascin. Originally described as Galerula cyanopus by American mycologist George Francis Atkinson in 1918. It was transferred to Conocybe by Robert Kühner in 1935 before being transferred to Pholiotina by Rolf Singer in 1950. A 2013 molecular phylogenetics study found it to belong to a group of species currently assigned to Pholiotina that are more closely related to Galerella nigeriensis than to Pholiotina or Conocybe. It is likely that it will be moved to a different genus in the future, but this has not happened yet.
Panaeolus cyanescensis a mushroom in the Bolbitiaceae family. Panaeolus cyanescens is a common psychoactive mushroom and is similar to Panaeolus tropicalis.
Conocybe apala is a basidiomycete fungus and a member of the genus Conocybe. It is a fairly common fungus, both in North America and Europe, found growing among short green grass. Until recently, the species was also commonly called Conocybe lactea or Conocybe albipes and is colloquially known as the white dunce cap or the milky conecap. Another common synonym, Bolbitius albipes G.H. Otth 1871, places the fungus in the genus Bolbitius.
Panaeolus foenisecii, commonly called the mower's mushroom, haymaker, haymaker's panaeolus, or brown hay mushroom, is a very common and widely distributed little brown mushroom often found on lawns and is not an edible mushroom. In 1963 Tyler and Smith found that this mushroom contains serotonin, 5-HTP and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. In many field guides it is listed as psychoactive; however, the mushroom does not produce any hallucinogenic effects.
In mycology, a volva is a cup-like structure at the base of a mushroom that is a remnant of the universal veil, or the remains of the peridium that encloses the immature fruit bodies of gasteroid fungi. This macrofeature is important in wild mushroom identification because it is an easily observed, taxonomically significant feature that frequently signifies a member of Amanitaceae. This has particular importance due to the disproportionately high number of deadly poisonous species contained within that family.
The Bolbitiaceae are a family of mushroom-forming basidiomycete fungi. A 2008 estimate placed 17 genera and 287 species in the family. Bolbitiaceae was circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1948.
Pholiotina is a genus of small agaric fungi. It was circumscribed by Swiss mycologist Victor Fayod in 1889 for Conocybe-like species with partial veils. The genus has since been expanded to include species lacking partial veils.
Mythicomyces is a fungal genus in the family Mythicomycetaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species Mythicomyces corneipes, first described by Elias Fries in 1861. The fungus produces fruit bodies with shiny yellowish-orange to tawny caps that are 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) in diameter. These are supported by stems measuring 2–5.7 cm (0.8–2.2 in) long and 1–2 mm thick. A rare to uncommon species, it is found in northern temperate regions of North America and Europe, where it typically fruits in groups, in wet areas of coniferous forests. There are several species with which M. corneipes might be confused due to a comparable appearance or similar range and habitat, but microscopic characteristics can be used to reliably distinguish between them.
Conocybe rickenii is a mushroom from the genus Conocybe. Its edibility is disputed, and it has the appearance of a typical little brown mushroom with a small, conical cap, and long, thin stem. In colour, it is generally a cream-brown, lighter on the stem, and it has a thin layer of flesh with no distinct smell or taste. It is a coprophilous fungus, feeding off dung and it is most common on very rich soil or growing directly from dung. It can be found in Europe, Australia and Pacific islands.
Coprophilous fungi are a type of saprobic fungi that grow on animal dung. The hardy spores of coprophilous species are unwittingly consumed by herbivores from vegetation, and are excreted along with the plant matter. The fungi then flourish in the feces, before releasing their spores to the surrounding area.
Conocybe siligineoides, also known as cone caps, Ya'nte, Ta'a'ya, or Tamu, is a species of macro-fungus in the family Bolbitiaceae. It has seldom been observed by the mycological community with all specimens having been collected in Mexico. Originally reported as a sacred mushroom, no chemical studies have been undertaken on this species although other members of the same genus have been shown to contain psilocybin, which causes strong hallucinations. They are crushed, dried, and used in tea, and consumed fresh.
Psilocybe pelliculosa is a species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, have a conical brownish cap up to 2 cm in diameter atop a slender stem up to 8 cm long. It has a white partial veil that does not leave a ring on the stem. American mycologist Alexander H. Smith first described the species in 1937 as a member of the genus known today as Psathyrella; it was transferred to Psilocybe by Rolf Singer in 1958.
Conocybe aurea is a basidiomycete fungus in the family Bolbitiaceae.
