Thanks Tanay for the id and the long and detailed explanation. Rest assured I had no intention of eating it ! My thanks also to Raghu, Prof. Singh & Dr. Pankaj for their inputs. As far as I remember – fungii that bear a cap & a stalk are called ‘mushrooms’. Poisonous mushrooms are called ‘Toadstools’. Regards, Neil Soares.
--- On Fri, 10/29/10, tanay bose <[email protected]> wrote: From: tanay bose <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:52291] Please identify this Toadstool To: "Gurcharan Singh" <[email protected]> Cc: "Pankaj Kumar" <[email protected]>, "raghu ananth" <[email protected]>, "Neil Soares" <[email protected]>, [email protected] Date: Friday, October 29, 2010, 8:03 AM Dear Neil Ji, I think this is Amanita pantherina commonly known as ‘panther mushroom”. This is a toxic species. The colour of the cap may vary from dark brown to nearly yellow in colour with small white to creamish warts on the upper-surface of the cap. Other two distinguishing points are volva is rolled like a collar at the base and the stipe is narrowing at the apex and broad at the base. All the character can be observer from your photos. The toxin fond in this mushroom is Muscarine. • Muscarine binds to some receptors of parasympathetic nervous system • It does not cross the blood/brain barrier and as such cannot be responsible for any effect on the central nervous system • It is heat stable • Lethal dose ranges from 40mg to 180mg Clinical Symptoms • Onset of symptoms in 5 – 30 minutes after ingestion of mushroom • Prespiration • Salivation • Lacrimation SLUDGE SYNDROME. • Urination • Defeacation • Gastrointestinal distress • Emesis • Miosis, Blurred vision • Intoxication subsides within two hours • Deaths are rare, but may result from cardiac or respiratory failure in severe cases Treatment • Administration of atropine • Inducing emesis to empty stomach of all mushroom fragments I will also like to say to Raghu Ji that POINOUS mushrooms have no feature or characters which separate them from edible species. The most common myths regarding poisonous mushrooms are • Having bright, flashy colours (some very toxic species are pure white) • Poisonous mushrooms smell and taste horrible (Some taste delicious, reported by victims) • Tarnishes silver spoons when touched (Amanita phalloides does not blacken silver) • Lack of snail or insect infestations (a mushroom might be harmless to invertebrates, but could be toxic to humans) • Any mushroom becomes safe for eating, if cooked enough (the chemical nature of some toxins are very stable, even at high temperature) THIS IS A GENERAL RECOMMENDATION …………………. • Identify every mushroom collected in the field before consumption • Strictly avoid any mushrooms which look like Amanita, little brown mushrooms and false morales. • Some people are allergic to the safest mushrooms. The first time you try a new wild mushroom, try it in a small amount and wait for a day before eating more • As with other foods, rotting mushrooms can make you ill. Eat only fresh mushrooms • Most wild mushrooms should not be eaten raw, since they are difficult to digest. They should be well cooked before consumption as it will destroy the heat labile toxins present in them. • Alcohol consumption should be avoided when eating previously untried wild mushrooms There are no simply guidelines to identify poisonous mushrooms. A common rule followed by mushroom hunters is: WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT!! Regards Tanay On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 3:21 AM, Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]> wrote: Thanks Raghu ji for interesting details. -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Pankaj Kumar <[email protected]> wrote: Beautiful pictures....TOADSTOOL, I have never heard that name before.... Thanks for sharing. Pankaj On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 11:58 PM, raghu ananth <[email protected]> wrote: Hi Neil, Nice picture set of larger mushroom kinds, Am yet to see mushrooms of that size. Toad stool are known to be poisonous and inedible, As always, I wonder, how do farmers learn/test if a wild mushroom is edible or not. 1. One practice I heard, being followed by villagers in Mysore dist. Cook mushrooms with Brinjal. If the brinjal turns black its inedible. [To be validated] 2. small mushrooms turned blue are inedible 3. Mushrooms growing under certain known trees like saalu dhoopa are consider edible. 4. The milk (latex) of certain trees are known to burn the skin. If mushrooms grow under such trees they are considered inedible. Each family in Agumbe pick go mushrooming during the season and pick upto 3 gunny bags of edible mushrooms in the forests. They then have to consume within 2 days. Regards Raghu From: Neil Soares <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 28 October, 2010 10:42:39 PM Subject: [efloraofindia:52250] Please identify this Toadstool Hi, Please identify this Toadstool photographed at my farm at Shahapur last weekend. It measured more than 5 inches in diameter. Thanks, With regards, Neil Soares. -- *********************************************** "TAXONOMISTS GETTING EXTINCT AND SPECIES DATA DEFICIENT !!" Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae) Research Associate Greater Kailash Sacred Landscape Project Department of Habitat Ecology Wildlife Institute of India Post Box # 18 Dehradun - 248001, India -- Tanay Bose Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant. Department of Botany. University of British Columbia . 3529-6270 University Blvd. Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 (Canada) Phone: 778-323-4036 (Mobile) 604-822-2019 (Lab) [email protected]
