Poisonous mushroom - panther fly agaric

Among the poisonous mushrooms, panther fly agaric is one of the first places. By poison, he is ahead of his fellow - red fly agaric. But his looks are less bright and flashy. Panther fly agaric at the beginning of its growth can be confused with edible mushrooms. But there are features that will help identify a dangerous poisonous mushroom.

Amanita panther can be found in almost any forest, it begins to grow actively when the average daily temperature is set at around 20 degrees. A distinctive feature: near this fungus you can not detect insects. Even obsessive mosquitoes and midges are completely absent in the area where this mushroom grows . They perish from one of his smells. And the smell is really very intrusive and unpleasant.

If you look at the leg, you can clearly identify the thickening below in the form of a tuber, this is a characteristic feature that should serve as a stop signal. The second distinctive feature is the presence of a ring in a young fungus. Panther fly agaric in the initial stage of growth has a dense white leg with a ring in the middle, which eventually disappears. The ring is often torn, saggy, fragile. Disappears from heavy rains, and also absent from old fungi.

As the stem grows, the leg extends to 7-11 cm, becomes thinner (only 1.5 cm in diameter), which is why it breaks easily. The surface of the entire mushroom foot is covered with thin villi. On the fly agaric, white, viscous pulp is found. At the same time, the color does not change on the cut, an unpleasant smell emanates from the pulp. The taste of a panther fly agaric is sweetish.

The color of the hat is from light olive to brown. The shape of the cap is ovate at first, grows more flat as it grows, reaches 10-12 cm in diameter. The entire surface of the brown cap is covered with white spots (or flakes), these are the remains of the original shell. Some specimens reach a truly gigantic size, while the cap becomes concave, like a large saucer. The inside is a plate-shaped cap. Plates are white, dense, freely set to each other.

Panther fly agaric (photo above) contains especially dangerous toxins inherent in all fly agarics, as well as hyoccyamine and scopolamine, characteristic of dope, bleached and nightshade. This combination acts instantly on the human body, causing blood clotting, paralysis of smooth muscles and cardiac arrest. The poisoned begin seizures, difficulty breathing, paralysis and death. Chances of recovery are almost not due to the high toxicity of substances that have entered the body.

To push upon the idea that the fungus is toxic, first of all its aggressive coloring and unpleasant odor. During a drought the panther fly agaric loses its decorativeness, dries up, crumbles around the edges, the leg breaks. But from the variability of climatic conditions, its appearance also changes: the color of the cap and the sizes vary. If you know all the signs of poisonous panther fly agaric, then it is difficult to confuse it with any other fungus. It is important not to let the poisonous representative of the mushroom brother get on the table, even in the form of a small fragment that causes acute poisoning.