Fairy Ring of Fly Mushrooms by lorandbartho
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Description
I was inspired by some mushroom uploads of the last week, so I decided to show you two of my Amanita muscaria (AM) photos. The cheapest drug of abuse, fly agaric contains muscimol and similar substances as main poison and only very low amounts of muscarine. This mushroom is a mind modifier, can also cause hallucinations. The panther cap (A. pantherina) causes similar symptoms. Extracts of the fly agaric were used at a time to kill flies or at least make them dizzy and easy to catch (musca (lat.) = fly). You can find a more detailed description of poisoning below the asterisks, but it may be skipped. "Fairy rings" were believed to be magic in origin. Now it is known that "mushrooms" are no separate specimens; mycelia under the soil can form fruit bodies (mushrooms) when they feel like it, and the latter produce spores. Provided that mycelia, coming from the center of the ring develop radially and they produce fruit bodies roughly at the same time, a fairy ring will be formed. All the fruit bodies of the ring (together with the mycelia) most probably belong to one specimen.
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Although muscarine has been isolated from AM and owe its name to this mushroom (probably hundreds of kilograms of AM have been used up for chemical isolation), the poisoning this mushroom causes is not of the muscarine type (because of the low amuunt, see above). Symptoms caused by muscarine (flow of saliva, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) may be present but are not the main feature of the poisoning. (Typical muscarine poisoning can be caused by small whitish funnel mushrooms = Clitocybe genus.)
Symptoms of AM (and of panther cap) poisoning:
Drunkenness-like, exstatic state, maybe a drive to move, dance etc., uncontrolled behaviour, excitation, sometimes hallucinations or at least altered perception. In serious cases epilepsy-like convulsions may appear. Body temperature may rise due to enhanced heat production (this cannot be called fever). Later on, deep sleep. A few caps can evoke these symptoms. Drying does not destroy the poisons of AM. Poisoning is rarely fatal, even if the patient receives no medical treatment.
Mechanism: muscimol excites some of the receptors for the inhibitory brain neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). AM and panther cap also contain other poisons (e.g., ibotenic acid). Some state that atropine-like substances are also present in AM, but there is no real evidence for this. There is no specific drug treatment for AM poisoning. Vital functions are supported and the patient hopefully "sleeps it out".
Comments (31)
Janiss
A gorgeous collage.. sublim!
virginiese
yes, the mushrooms season is on! Great shot !
MaraP
WOW!!! Speechless!! Love it!! Excellent presentation!! 5+
awjay
super shots
rocserum
Never seen such a ring, excellent shot, great explanation to! RS
flora-crassella
...ein Hexen-Ring! Habe ich schon ewig nicht mehr gesehen! So viele Fliegen-Pilze auf einem Platz! Schönes Fotos!!!!!
Faemike55
WOW!
durleybeachbum
Excellent pics and info!!
mizoli
Gyönyörű fotók, gratulálok!
busi2ness
Strange how nature's most beautiful plants and creatures are sometimes the most poisonous. Great collage and interesting facts.
erlandpil
Good work again erland
MrsRatbag
Oh beautiful captures! Looks like someone took a bite of one of those in the bottom shot...
Fred255
Super photos, very interesting!
MrsLubner
These are wonderful shots. The fairyring is something I haven't seen in a long time. This mushroom is so lovely.
timtripp
wondrous!
lorandbartho
Dear Denise, Excellent observation! Might have been a rabbit or deer, wild boar etc. Even among mammals there are differences in sensitivities. Maybe animals also like altered state of mind. Some "lower" species (e.g., snails) may react even more differently. You may find insect and snail bites even on death cap (Amanita phalloides), a spcies higly toxic to men (less so on pigs)... Thanks a lot to you and to all who viewed. Kind greetings Lorand
Asmoday
Great shot and information! I really love mushrooms in more than one sense... excellent!
moochagoo
Great information. Love the colors.
mermaid
great collage and very interesting to read about them...smile
jocko500
wow this is something. i never saw them. of couse I not looking for them too. real good shots of them and a lot of imformation
tetsu-pino
Very nice capture!! Splendid collage!!
gunsan
I have been an enthusiastic mushromm picker since my youth. now my back pain have made it very hard. But never during all these years I have seen a fairy ring (or witch ring) of red fly mushrooms. Splendid shot and finding!
CavalierLady
Fascinating! I have heard of fairy rings, but have never seen one. Nicely seen and captured.
npauling
Super captures of this beautiful looking mushroom though I will definately not be eating it.
tizjezzme
very interesting; this is a great collage; those are the kinds of mushrooms one would expect to see Ferries sprawled out on! :)
fairyfreak
;-) Fantastic! I stepped into a fairy ring of mushrooms once..but they weren't fly agaric. Still .. never been the same since LOL
cfulton
Well done on LWitG selection! This is a great shot, and one I am sorry I missed earlier. Cheers, Clive
kimariehere
Wow they look like fairy mushrooms like the ones you see in story's awesome capture and collage beautifully presented!!!!!!
shutterbugs
so cool!!! love these mushrooms!
vlaaitje
wow, how interesting this is, I have never seen this in real, I wish I will soon