Poisoning signs and first aid
The danger of the fungus for humans is not only when it is eaten. Inhalation of its spores causes severe damage to the tissues of the lungs and bronchi. When the fruiting body is consumed inside, the symptoms of poisoning develop within 10 minutes. A lethal dose of toxins will be obtained by eating only one mushroom cap. Even with urgent medical attention, 50% of those poisoned die. In treatment, hemodialysis and blood transfusion are used, but these methods are also not effective enough.
The clinical picture is developing rapidly. Death occurs within 30-60 minutes from the moment the first symptoms appear, which is why medical assistance is often simply not effective. The main manifestations of poisoning are the development of seizures and the release of copious foam from the mouth due to rupture of the alveoli.
There are no effective first aid methods due to the rapid absorption of toxins in the intestines. Reception of sorbents and gastric lavage do not bring results. The only thing that increases the victim's chances of survival is to call an ambulance at the first manifestations of poisoning.
(serrated umbrella)
or pinkish lepiota, incarnate
✎ Affiliation and generic features
Lepiota serrata (Latin Lepiota subincarnata), otherwise pinkish lepiota, incarnate or serrated umbrella is a species from the genus Lepiota (silverfish) (Latin Lepiota) and the mushroom family (Agaricaceae) (Latin Agaricaceae) from a fairly large order of agaric (lamellar) (lat.Agaricales).
Lepiota serrata is a deadly poisonous species and contains terrible cyanide poisons that cause fatal poisoning!
It is to this opinion that mycologists all over the world come almost unconditionally.
✎ Similar views
Lepiota serrata has many similar twins, and especially among its relatives, it differs from them mainly in the cap of a light ocher-pinkish background with dark scales located in concentric circles, connecting in the center and forming a continuous cover of wine-brown color.
The serrata lepiota can also be confused with cystoderm fungi (and especially with red cystoderm and deceptive cystoderm), suitable for human consumption (but this is already incomprehensibly dangerous), from which serrata lepiota is clearly distinguished by the same caps merging in the center and forming a powerful cover a wine-brownish tone with scales that are not found in cystoderms, and the absence of a membrane ring on the pedicle, which is immediately visible in cystoderms, and larger sizes of the fruiting body.
✎ Distribution in nature and seasonality
Lepiota serrata is okay distributed in Western Europe: France, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain, and also grows in Russia and Kazakhstan, prefers to grow as a saprophyte in copses, in meadows, among grass.
The active growth of serrata lepiota begins in the warm period, from mid-June, and continues until the end of August.
✎ Brief description and application
Lepiota serrata belongs to the section of lamellar fungi, the spores with which it reproduces are in its plates. The plates are wide, frequent, loose, cream-colored with a slightly noticeable greenish tinge. The cap is small and convex-outstretched or flat-outstretched, with a part of the edges drooping down, ocher-pink in color, completely covered with compressed scales of a wine-brown tone, dotted unevenly. The stem is medium, cylindrical, with a very characteristic, but barely pronounced fibrous ring in the middle, usually pale gray (above the ring to the cap) and dark gray (below the ring to the base). The flesh is fat, in the cap and the upper part of the leg is creamy, in the lower part of the leg with a shade like blood-flesh.
It is ultimately impossible to taste serrated lepiota, it is deadly poisonous !!!
The mushroom season is in full swing in Cyprus now.
In the forests near Platres, Platania, Kyperunda, as well as in Suni, Episkopi, Palekhori, you can find a huge amount of butter, which, by the way, are not popular with Cypriots, as well as milk mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and even those rare mushrooms for the island, like a porcini mushroom , mushroom and morel.
However, in our article we will focus on the poisonous mushrooms of Cyprus. Recall that 2 years ago, a whole family was poisoned by eating a roast from a pale toadstool for dinner. Fortunately, the victims were saved by sending a special flight to France for treatment.
So, let's start our Cypriot mushroom anti-rating.
Greenfinch (Tricholoma equestre)
Interestingly, in Russia, Asia and America, greenfinch is considered a conditionally edible mushroom and is widely collected by the population. However, several cases of poisoning have been reported in France and Poland.
Very specific symptoms of such poisoning are manifested in the form of progressive muscle weakness and muscle pain, as well as the appearance of brown urine. At the same time, despite the numerous studies being carried out, the poison alleged in greenfinches has not been identified.
Description of the structure of a dangerous mushroom
The Latin name for the mushroom is Lepiota helveola. It is also called Lepiota brick-red. It is a deadly species that belongs to the Champignon family, genus Lepiota.
The grayish-red cap of the mushroom has a diameter of 2 to 7 cm. At the beginning of the growth of the fruiting body, it is bell-shaped, later it becomes semi-rounded, and by the time of ripening it is flat or, less often, convex-outstretched. The tubercle in the center is grayish brown with a cherry tint.
Dark-colored scales are arranged in circles on the cap. By the middle, they are combined into a complete cover. The plates under the cap are thin, frequent, and free. Initially, their color is white, then it changes to yellowish green as the mushroom matures. Spores are colorless.
The cylindrical leg has a diameter of 5 to 8 mm, and a height of 2 to 4 cm. It is located centrally, at the base it may be slightly curved. The upper part is light, and the lower is brown-cherry.
The flesh is white in the area of the cap and creamy on the stem. Young mushrooms have a pleasant smell and taste. The aroma usually resembles roasted almonds. As the fruiting body matures, its smell changes and is similar to a mixture of gasoline with kerosene.
A bit of history
The mushroom has been known for a long time, but it was officially described and classified only in 1889 by the Swiss mycologist Charles-Edouard Martin and botanist and chemist Robert Hippolyte Stod.
Umbrella girl (Leucoagaricus nympharum)
Synonyms:
Leucoagaricus puellaris
A maiden's umbrella (Latin Leucoagaricus nympharum) is a mushroom of the mushroom family. In old taxonomy systems, it belonged to the genus Macrolepiota and was considered a species of blush umbrella mushroom. Edible, but since it is rare and subject to protection, it is not recommended to collect it.
Description of the girl's umbrella
The hat of a maiden's umbrella is 4-7 (10) cm in diameter, thinly fleshy, initially ovoid, then convex, bell-shaped or umbellate, with a low tubercle, the edge is thin, fringed. The surface is very light, sometimes almost white, the tubercle is brownish, bare, the rest of the surface is densely covered with large fibrous scales, at first they are white or light hazel, then darken, especially in the center of the cap.
The flesh of the cap is white, at the base of the stem it turns slightly red on the cut, with a radish smell and without a pronounced taste.
Leg 7-12 (16) cm high, 0.6-1 cm thick, cylindrical, tapering upwards, with tuberous thickening at the base, sometimes curved, hollow, fibrous. The surface of the leg is smooth, whitish, and becomes dirty brownish over time.
The plates are frequent, free, with a thin cartilaginous colarium, with a smooth edge, easily detached from the cap. Their color is initially white with a pinkish tinge, becomes darker with age, and turns brown from the touch of the plate.
The remains of the bedspread: the ring at the top of the leg is whitish, wide, mobile, with a wavy edge, covered with a flaky coating; Volvo is missing.
Spore powder is white or slightly creamy.
Ecology and distribution
The maiden's umbrella grows on soil in pine and mixed forests, in meadows, appears singly or in groups, rarely occurs. Distributed in Eurasia, known in the British Isles, France, Germany, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Ukraine, in the north of the Balkan Peninsula. In Russia, it is found in the Primorsky Territory, on Sakhalin, very rarely in the European part.
Season: August - October.
Similar species Red umbrella (Chlorophyllum rhacodes) with a darker colored cap and intensely colored pulp on the cut, larger.
View in the Red Book
In many regions of distribution, the girl's umbrella is rare and requires protection. It was listed in the Red Data Book of the USSR, now - in the Red Data Book of Russia, Belarus, in many regional Red Data Books.
Population: in all regions, populations are small and subject to significant fluctuations.
Description Lepiota brown-red
The type of brown-red lepiota (Lepiota brunneoincarnata) belongs to the Champignon family, the genus Lepiota. This mushroom is also called Silverfish, Sharp-flaked Umbrella. He got this name for his umbrella-shaped hat. In European countries, lepiota is also called the "devil's tooth" for the presence of red-brown scales on the cap, reminiscent of blood splashes. It grows mainly on the European plain. In Russia, it grows in southern latitudes.
If the mushroom is already an adult, you can notice a whitish powder on its surface. It contains lepiota spores that are carried by wind, birds or insects. The seeds enter the soil - this is how the fungus multiplies.
Another characteristic difference is the presence of a light honey-almond aroma, which emits a young lepiota. However, an adult specimen smells like petroleum products (gasoline, acetone).
A bit of history
For the first time, mushrooms of the genus Lepiota were described in 1793. The classification was compiled by the German mycologist Christian Hans Person, Associate Professor at the University of Göttingen. In 1886, the study of this kind of fruiting bodies was continued by the French biologist-mycologist Lucien Kellet.
In the Russian Federation, scaly lepiota was first discovered in Central Asia and in the Donetsk region.
Brown-red Lepiota Hat
This part of the poisonous mushroom is quite large. In the early period of maturation, it resembles a dome or an unopened umbrella. In adulthood, the umbrella opens and the hat takes on a permanent shape.
As the mushroom matures, the skin on it breaks, the formation of pyramidal scales of a reddish-brown hue occurs. The general background color is grayish. The diameter of the lepiota's cap reaches 5-7 cm.
Hymenophore of lepiota
It is located on the back (bottom) side of the cap and has a lamellar structure. The name comes from the Latin "hymenium" and translates as a thin film or shell. On the surface of the back of the cap is a spore-bearing layer - hymenium. This is where the name "hymenophore" comes from.
In Lepiota, the red-brown hymenophore is very well developed, which allows for the production of a large number of spores for reproduction.
Cut pulp
If you break or cut the scaly lepiota, you can smell an unpleasant acetone odor. When touched, the pulp of the mushroom is easily injured (crumbles). Its color is reddish brown.
Lepiota scaly leg
The stem of this type of mushroom is round or cylindrical, expanding towards the foot. You can see a white ring on it. In an adult, it disappears.
The leg is covered with gray-green scales. There is a brownish tint at the bottom.
Fly agaric
Amanita muscaria (Amanita proxima)
Amanita muscaria, although it contains a small dose of toxins, is a conditionally edible, albeit little-known mushroom.The smell and taste of the raw fruit are not pronounced, with the exception of the earthy smell characteristic of many mushrooms. In finished form, it has a specific peculiar taste due to the small content of toxic substances.
Fly agaric (Amanita proxima)
It is very similar to the ovoid fly agaric, however, it is more poisonous. Amanita muscaria never grows to such a size as ovoid fly agaric. The "obvious" fly agaric does not have white hoops around the mushroom and on the hands (when you take the mushroom in your hands), like the ovoid fly agaric. And of course - the red color of the Volvo. It sometimes remains on the hat, like all fly agarics, but sometimes it does not. Therefore, it is imperative to unscrew the mushroom from the soil and watch the Volvo.
Amanita pantherina.
Most common in the northern hemisphere, although Cypriot mycologists claim to have found panther fly agarics on the island. Has a hallucinogenic effect. Its psychoactivity is increased 4 times in comparison with the red fly agaric. Despite this, no deaths have been recorded with the use of this mushroom.
Important! If you touch a dangerous fungus, wash your hands thoroughly and treat your palms with an antiseptic. Spores are hard to kill! They are able to enter the body along with food, during touch, with other products that will be poisoned during the cooking process.
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Interesting facts about the Rough Umbrella
- The rough umbrella can grow both on nutrient-rich soil and on the remnants of rotting trees and debris.
- The toxic properties of rough lepiota are violently manifested after drinking alcohol and, if a poisoned person has a weak heart, easily leads to death.
- The species has medicinal properties that are used in the production of pharmaceuticals.
Lepiota rough refers to poisonous mushrooms, so it is important to be able to accurately distinguish it from a conditionally edible umbrella. The unpleasant smell and taste of lepiota should be the main criteria when selecting mushrooms during a quiet hunt.
Poisoning signs and first aid
When the toxin of echinoderma acutely scaly enters the body, poisoning develops only if a large amount of mushrooms is consumed or in combination with alcohol. The property of this type of lepiota to lead to poisoning after alcohol was revealed in 2011 by German doctors.
With intoxication, the patient experiences the following symptoms:
- redness of the face;
- tachycardia;
- throbbing headache;
- rapid breathing.
If symptoms of poisoning appear, an ambulance is urgently required. Self-medication is unacceptable.
The first aid for poisoning with rough lepitis is to induce vomiting and the intake of sorbents. If possible, gastric lavage is performed. It is imperative to call an ambulance. Recurrence of symptoms of poisoning is possible within 2-3 days after eating the mushroom.
Healing properties
Despite the toxic properties of the mushroom, it is medicinal. The study of its useful qualities made it possible to identify a number of valuable substances that make it possible to use these fruiting bodies in the production of medicines.
In the study, special polysaccharides were isolated from lepiota rough, which have a pronounced effect on the formation of cancer cells, inhibiting the development of a number of sarcomas. Experiments on white mice have shown the effectiveness of these components in 70% of cases.
Also, the extract of Lepiota rough has a pronounced antibacterial effect. It is effective against hay and E. coli. Research on the fungus continues and it is possible that other irreplaceable properties valuable from the point of view of medicine will be revealed.
Signs of red-brown lepiota poisoning
The first symptoms of intoxication appear within 10-15 minutes after the poisonous fungus enters the digestive tract. Further, toxic substances enter the bloodstream.Profuse vomiting begins, white foam appears on the lips. The body temperature rises sharply. The appearance of bluish spots on the skin is possible, it becomes difficult to breathe. Limbs may fail (this is a sign of central nervous system damage), cardiac arrest is possible after 30-35 minutes.
If a person has eaten this deadly poisonous mushroom, you should immediately try to provoke vomiting before toxic substances enter the bloodstream. Immediately call an ambulance and give plenty of drink before her arrival.
