Beautiful bright red fly agaric mushrooms are an adornment of any forest, especially in autumn, when they stand out so against the background of yellowing foliage. But you have to be careful with it – they are poisonous, and you can get poisoned by fly agaric very easily, and this poisoning can lead to fatal consequences. But kicking them is also not worth it, as many forest animals feed on them.
Interesting facts about fly agarics
- Shamans of some peoples of Siberia actively use fly agaric in their ritual practices.
- The most poisonous mushroom in the world, pale grebe, also belongs to the genus of fly agaric (interesting facts about mushrooms).
- Several types of fly agaric are edible, but collecting them is still not recommended, as they are easily confused with their poisonous cousins.
- Common red fly agaric is willingly eaten by bears, moose, squirrels and other forest animals.
- According to the results of a survey conducted in Europe, it was the red fly agaric that became the most recognizable mushroom – more than 95% of all respondents correctly identified it from a photograph.
- Among all the poisonous species of fly agaric, the red is the least poisonous, but it can easily kill a person.
- According to some sources, the polka dot fabric was invented by a designer who was inspired by fly agarics. No, he did not chew them – meaning that he was impressed by the spotted hats of these mushrooms.
- It is reliably known that the Vikings, who plundered European cities and villages more than a thousand years ago, often drank fly agaric tincture before the battle. This made them fearless and less susceptible to pain.
- In all spotted fly agarics, the maximum concentration of toxic substances is observed in white dots on the hat.
- The older this mushroom, the less poison it contains.
- Many mushroom pickers claim that worms do not eat poisonous mushrooms. However, they eat red fly agaric very willingly, despite their toxicity to humans.
- In Japan, some types of poisonous fly agaric are eaten. They are prepared in a special way to get rid of poison (interesting facts about Japan).
- Substances contained in most types of poisonous fly agaric lead to the death of the human brain.
- Very few cases of poisoning by the most common red fly agaric are recorded, since it is very difficult to confuse them with edible mushrooms, and the lethal dose for an adult and physically healthy person is very high – about one and a half dozen mushrooms.