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Amanita hygroscopia (/æməˈnaɪtə /ha͡ɪɡɹəskˈo͡ʊpi͡ə), also known as the pink-gilled destroying angel is a deadly poisonous fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita.
| Amanita hygroscopica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Amanitaceae |
| Genus: | Amanita |
| Species: | A. hygroscopica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Amanita hygroscopica Coker
| |
Amanita hygroscopica | |
|---|---|
 | Gills on hymenium |
 | Cap is convex or flat |
 | Hymenium is free |
 | Stipe has a ring and volva |
 | Spore print is white |
 | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
 | Edibility is deadly |
Taxonomy edit
The species was first described by William Chambers Coker in 1917.[1]
Description edit
The cap is 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) wide and hemispheric. The gills are adnate, crowded, medium broad, entire, white, unchanging.
The stem is about 30 by 5–8 millimetres (1+1⁄8 in × 1⁄4 in–3⁄8 in), narrowing upward, smooth, glabrous, white, unchanging when bruised. The ring is fixed 10 mm (3⁄8 in) from the top of the stem, very short, skirt-like, grooved by the gills above, white, persistent. The bulb is ovoid, white, 20 mm × 15 mm (3⁄4 in × 5⁄8 in). The volva is neither appressed nor widely spreading, the edge is either 3-lobed or ragged.[2] The mushroom is odorless and tasteless.
Similar species edit
A. hygroscopia resembles several edible species, most notably Agaricus campestris.
Toxicity edit
The principal toxic constituent is α-Amanitin, an elective inhibitor of RNA polymerase II and III, which causes liver and kidney failure. 15% of those poisoned will die within 10 days and those who survive are at risk of lifelong, permanent liver damage.[3]
There is no antidote for amanitin poisoning; treatment is mainly supportive (gastric lavage, activated carbon, and fluid resuscitation).
Amatoxins, the class of toxins found in these mushrooms, are thermostable: they resist changes due to heat, so their toxic effects are not reduced by cooking.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Amanita hygroscopia". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Amanita elliptosperma G.F. Atk., A. gwyniana Coker, A. hygroscopica Coker, A. parviformis (Murrill) Murrill, A. pseudoverna (Murrill) Murrill, A. verniformis (Murrill) Murrill". 2011-07-14. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ^ Benjamin, Denis R. (1995). "Amatoxin syndrome". Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas – A Handbook for Naturalists, Mycologists and Physicians. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. pp. 198–214.
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