What can you cook from squid: quick and tasty

Amanita muscaria) - poisonous mushroom psychotropic and toxic effects, which belongs to the class of agaricomycetes, the order of Agaricales, the Amanitaceae family, the genus Amanita and the subgenus Amanita.

Amanita muscaria gets its name from the ancient way it was used as a fly control. The specific name muscaria comes from the Latin word for fly (musca), and this fly agaric is called red because of the characteristic bright red color of the cap.

Amanita muscaria - description, characteristics

Hat

Young red fly agarics have a spherical cap, which over time takes the form of a flat and sometimes concave saucer. The diameter of the cap is from 8 to 20 cm, rarely reaches 25 cm. The shiny skin is usually bright orange or red in varying degrees of intensity, often covered with a sticky, slimy secretion. In North America, there are varieties of red amanita that have a white or yellow cap.

The surface of the cap is strewn with layers of warty scaly flakes white- the remnants of a blanket that protects the fruit body of young mushrooms. In old fly agarics, these characteristic growths can be washed off by rain; in young ones, they often fly around. There is also a variety of red fly agaric that does not have flakes (for example, Amanita muscaria var.aureola).

The edges of the cap can be striped (covered with ribs).

LPs

The inner surface of the cap of the red fly agaric is formed by frequent, free plates 6-12 mm wide, between which there are many intermediate plates.

In young mushrooms, the color of the plates is pure white or cream, acquires a yellowish tint with age.

Leg

The leg of the red fly agaric is white or slightly yellowish, grows from 8 to 20 cm in height, has a thickness of 1 to 3.5 cm and is distinguished by a cylindrical shape with a tuberous thickening at the base.

In young mushrooms, the leg is dense, as it grows, it becomes hollow.

Remains of the bedspread

At the top of the leg, a fibrous filmy ring-skirt with uneven edges and a ribbed surface is clearly defined, falling in a wide flounce.

In the lower part of the leg, there is an adherent multilayer vagina in the form of several rings.

Pulp

The pulp of the red fly agaric is white, under the skin of the cap it is pale orange or yellowish. Does not change color on cut. The taste is sweetish. The smell is expressionless.

Disputes and Spore Powder

Spore powder of white fruit body. Spores are smooth, colorless, ellipsoidal, 10-12 x 6-7 microns in size.

Where does the red fly agaric grow?

Amanita muscaria and its varieties can be symbiotic with birches, spruces, oaks, poplars, willows; they grow widely on damp acidic soils. The poisonous mushroom grows in abundance in coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests, along the edges of meadows and fields, and is often found in city parks and squares. Usually appears in the middle or late summer and bears fruit until October; in productive years, the first bright caps of red fly agaric begin to delight the eye in June. The range of the red fly agaric includes the countries of Europe and Asia, North and South America, the territory of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Similar species

Caesar Mushroom (Edible Caesar Amanita) ( Amanita caesarea)

Inexperienced mushroom pickers can sometimes confuse the red fly agaric with the edible Caesar mushroom found in the Caucasus, Crimea, Transcarpathia and the Mediterranean countries. The Caesar mushroom, or as it is often called the Cesarean fly agaric, differs from the red mushroom by the absence of characteristic flakes on the cap, as well as by the leg and plates painted in a golden yellow color.

Varieties of red fly agaric, photos and names

Mycologists distinguish several varieties of red fly agaric, which differ in their color and places of growth:

• Amanita muscaria var. muscaria

by this name, some foreign authors designate fly agarics, the range of which covers Eurasia and the western part of Alaska. Mushrooms of this variety have a traditional appearance for a red fly agaric: a red cap covered with characteristic white flakes.

• Amanita yellow-orange ( Amanita muscaria var. formosa)

a subspecies of red fly agaric, the cap of which has a yellow or light orange color and is covered with a characteristic flocculent bloom - the remnants of a protective blanket. Young fly agarics have a spherical cap, and over time it straightens to almost flat. The inner surface of the cap is formed by frequent, freely sitting white or cream-colored plates. The pulp of poisonous mushrooms is dense, always white. The leg is straight, in the form of a cylinder, its surface and ring in the upper part are white, at the base there are also remains of a white blanket. Amanita grows in summer and autumn in coniferous and deciduous forests North America.

• Amanita muscaria var. alba

a rare variety of red fly agaric, distinguished by a white hat, strewn with layers of white flakes. Caps of young mushrooms have the shape of a dome; later, the surface of the cap is completely straightened. A smooth white ring is located on the leg of poisonous fly agaric. Under the ring, the surface of the stem is fibrous; above the ring, the stem is smooth. The plates under the cap are frequent and loose, the flesh is white and dense. A variety of this red fly agaric is found in summer and autumn in both coniferous and deciduous forests.

• Fly agaric golden (Amanita muscaria var. aureola, Agaricus aureolus)

a variety of red fly agaric that looks very similar to the edible Caesar mushroom. Distinctive feature a poisonous mushroom is a smooth, glossy skin orange free from the characteristic white flakes. Initially, the cap of the golden fly agaric has a rounded shape, over time it becomes similar to a saucer; in some mushrooms, residues of the bedspread may be observed on the surface. The diameter of the cap usually does not exceed 3-8 cm; frequent white plates grow on its lower surface. The height of the leg is from 6 to 12 cm, the diameter is from 0.9 to 1.2 cm. The surface of the leg is white, at the base there is a short volva (remnants of a protective blanket). At the top of the leg there is a ring, white on top and yellowish below. Amanita pulp can be white or yellowish. The mushroom bears fruit in summer, found in both deciduous and coniferous forests.

• Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata

a variety of red fly agaric, the range of growth of which stretches from the south of Alaska through Central America to Columbia. Fruiting in summer and autumn, but occasionally occurs in California in winter. At the beginning of growth, the cap of the red fly agaric has the shape of a dome, then completely flattens. The diameter of the cap is 5-25 cm. The skin is bright red, with corrugated edges, covered with layers of white or yellowish flakes. The lower surface of the cap is formed by frequent, free white plates, between which intermediate plates are located. The length of the leg reaches 5-18 cm, the thickness is 1-3 cm. The upper part of the leg is girded with a ring, the surface above the ring is smooth, fibrous below. The pulp of the red fly agaric is dense, white, with a weak taste and aroma.

• Amanita muscaria var. guessowii

a variety of red fly agaric native to northeastern North America. According to some mycologists, this fly agaric is an independent species, while others consider it a synonym for Amanita muscaria var. formosa. The cap of young mushrooms has the shape of a dome, becoming almost flat with age. The surface of the cap is yellow or orange, but the center is always darker - orange or reddish. Typical for most fly agarics, white flakes acquire a dirty tint over time. The diameter of the cap is from 4.5 to 18 cm, its lower surface is formed by especially frequent, free white plates. The leg is 6-15 cm high and 0.6 to 2.1 cm in diameter, it is white or yellowish, expands downward. At the top there is a white ring resembling a skirt. Above the ring, the surface of the leg is smooth, below it is fibrous. The flesh of red fly agarics is white, dense. The color of the Volvo is white or yellowish, often the Volvo is completely invisible and is located almost underground. This variety of red fly agaric grows in coniferous and deciduous forests in summer and autumn.

• Amanita muscaria var. persicina

a variety of red fly agaric, which, according to researchers, can be isolated in the future as an independent species. The diameter of the cap of the fruiting body is from 4 to 13 cm. At first, the cap has a convex surface in the shape of a hemisphere; in mature mushrooms, it becomes flat. The hat is distinguished by a peach or orange-peach shade, unusual for fly agarics, with a darker, often reddish center. The edges of the cap are at first even, in adulthood they are covered with grooves. The surface of the cap is dotted with pale yellow flakes. The underside of the cap of the red fly agaric consists of loose plates with slightly shaggy edges, painted in a creamy color with a slight pinkish tinge. The height of the leg reaches 4-10 cm, and its thickness is about 1-2 cm. The upper part of the leg is yellowish, and brightens noticeably towards the bottom. In some fly agarics, the leg tapers towards the cap. The ring under the cap of the fly agaric is very small and almost invisible, in some mushrooms it is completely absent. The surface of the ring, like most fly agarics, is yellowish below, pure white above. At the base of the leg there are rings of irregular shape, which are the remnants of a protective blanket; in some fly agarics, they may be completely absent. The pulp of the mushroom is white; if damaged, it does not change color. The poisonous fly agaric grows under the pines and oaks of North America (in the southeastern United States, from Texas to Georgia and north to New Jersey). Fruiting usually in autumn, but sometimes occurs in spring and summer.

• Amanita muscaria var. inzengae

a variety of red fly agaric with an orange-red cap, the center of which has a darker shade. In young mushrooms, the cap is domed; as the fruiting body develops, it becomes prostrate. In old and young red fly agarics, the skin is covered with characteristic white or yellowish flakes. The lower surface of the cap is represented by frequent, wide, free plates. Amanita pulp is white, without pronounced taste and aroma. The leg of these fly agarics is rather high, widened at the base, and practically at the very bottom contains the remains of the bedspread, transformed into grooved rings. There is a noticeable wide white ring at the top of the stem; in some mushrooms, the edges of the ring are surrounded by a yellow border. In the lower half of the leg is a volva formed by overlapping yellowish rings.

• Amanita muscaria var. fuligineoverrucosa

a poisonous variety of red fly agaric with a red-orange skin on a cap covered with white flakes. Representatives of this variety form mycorrhiza exclusively with willow and poplar.

Properties of the red fly agaric

Dangerous toxic compounds with a pronounced psychotropic and toxic effect were found in the pulp of a red fly agaric:

• ibotenic acid is a psychoactive and neurotoxic substance that has a hallucinogenic effect and causes damage and death of brain cells;
• muscimol is a powerful psychoactive substance with a pronounced hypnotic effect, the highest concentration of which is found under the skin of the cap;
• muscarine - an alkaloid that causes poisoning with characteristic symptoms: from decreased blood pressure, nausea and vomiting to suffocation and death;
• Muskazone is a psychoactive toxin that causes memory loss, disorientation and loss of vision.

Due to its remarkable appearance, serious poisoning with a red fly agaric occurs extremely rarely, since everyone knows that a red fly agaric is a poisonous mushroom. If this mushroom accidentally gets into food together with edible mushrooms, the concentration of poisons and toxins is relatively small. The lethal dose for adults is about 15 hats, a child will need much less, so it is necessary to acquaint children with a beautiful, but very dangerous mushroom from early childhood.

Amanita muscaria: use among different peoples

Much more often, red fly agaric poisoning occurs deliberately, during ritual ceremonies or as an unconventional treatment. V folk medicine tinctures of red fly agaric are trying to treat oncology, joint diseases, colds and expel worms. It is important to keep in mind that there is no reliable scientific evidence for the effectiveness of such treatment, and self-medication can be very frustrating.

Many literary sources indicate that the peoples of the north and east of Siberia used the red fly agaric as an intoxicating agent, causing a sensation similar to severe intoxication, during which auditory and visual hallucinations appear, and then fainting, lethargic sleep and subsequent memory loss occur.

It is interesting that soma, a sacred drink in ancient Indian rituals, according to experts, was also prepared from a red fly agaric, shamans of ethnic tribes used mushrooms to enter a trance, the Finno-Ugric peoples revered the red fly agaric as food for gods and spirits.

Symptoms of red fly agaric poisoning

Symptoms of red fly agaric poisoning can appear immediately after eating fresh or processed mushrooms, and using alcoholic tinctures has a cumulative effect when signs of poisoning appear over time. In any case, ibotenic acid and muscimol, ingested with the pulp of poisonous mushrooms, provoke a number of dangerous symptoms. A person has:

• nausea, repeated vomiting, increased salivation;
• excessive sweating;
• lowering blood pressure;
• increased heart rate;
• difficulty breathing up to suffocation;
• convulsions;
• loss of consciousness.

In case of especially severe poisoning and the absence of timely assistance from qualified doctors, death will inevitably occur.

• The toxic effect of red fly agaric on insects has been actively used since the Middle Ages, when chopped mushroom pulp was placed in a container with water, and then placed in the kitchen and in other rooms with a large accumulation of flies. At the same time, it was believed that insects die due to the effects of substances contained in red fly agaric. But actually it is not. The cap of a mature red fly agaric growing in the forest collects moisture on its surface, in which alkaloids dissolve, and insects, having drunk this liquid, simply fall asleep and drown. The same thing happens in a plate with pieces of red fly agaric: if you take out the sleepy fly and put it next to it, after 10-12 hours the insect will sleep through and calmly fly away.
• Some forest mammals (deer, elk, bears and squirrels) enjoy eating red fly agarics, but the significance of mushrooms for the animal's body has not yet been established.

• Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
• Subdivision: Agaricomycotina
• Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
• Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
• Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
• Family: Amanitaceae
• Genus: Amanita (Amanita)
• View: Amanita rubescens (Amanita muscaria)

Other names for the mushroom:

Other names:

• Amanita pink

• Amanita pearl

Amanita muscaria forms mycorrhiza with deciduous and conifers, especially with birch and pine. Grows on soils of any type, throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Amanita muscaria bears fruit singly or in small groups, is common. The season is from spring to late autumn, most often from July to October.

Hat ∅ 6-20 cm, usually no more than 15 cm. Initially semi-spherical or ovoid, then convex, in old mushrooms flat-lying, without noticeable tubercle. The skin is most often grayish-pink or red-brown, to meat-red, shiny, slightly sticky.

Pulp white, fleshy or finely fleshy, with a weak taste, without a special smell. When damaged, it gradually turns into light pink, then into a characteristic intense wine-pink color.

The leg is 3-10 × 1.5-3 cm (sometimes up to 20 cm high), cylindrical, at first solid, then it becomes hollow. The color is white or pinkish, the surface is lumpy. At the base it has a tuberous thickening, which, even in young mushrooms, is often damaged by insects and its pulp is penetrated with colored passages.
The plates are white, very frequent, wide, free. When touched, they turn red, like the flesh of the cap and legs.
The remains of the bedspread. The ring is wide, filmy, hanging, at first white, then turns pink. It has clearly visible grooves on the upper surface. Volvo is weakly expressed, in the form of one or two rings on the tuberous base of the stem. The flakes on the cap are warty or in the form of small filmy scraps, from white to brownish or dirty pink. The spore powder is whitish. Spores 8.5 × 6.5 μm, ellipsoidal.

Video about the mushroom Amanita blushing:

POISONOUS

MUKHOMOR RED
It is a tall massive mushroom with a bright red cap. On the outer surface, there are white spots that are formed by the layering of scales. The color of the cap can range from bright orange to blood red. As it grows from a ball, it gradually turns into a flat saucer. At elevated level humidity of the surrounding air, the surface can be covered with mucous secretions, which are very stringy and sticky.
The diameter of the cap of an adult mushroom can reach gigantic sizes - up to 30 cm. The inner side is formed from often spaced white plates, which acquire a creamy shade with increasing age of the mushroom. On the outside, the laminae have a characteristic widening and an uneven toothed edge. At the break, the cap has a pleasant yellowish cut in the flesh.
The stem is dense and reaches a height of up to 20 cm. The diameter can reach 4 cm. The ring on the stem is determined with sufficient clarity only in young specimens. As it grows, it wilts and practically merges with the fibrous pulp. The mushroom red fly agaric is a rare exception among poisonous species. It has a pleasant aroma and rather attractive taste. Therefore, young children often eat it while in the forest without adult supervision. Children should be warned in advance against these actions, explaining to them the danger that may threaten them. The main growing area is deciduous and coniferous forests, fields, meadows and parks. In general, the red fly agaric grows almost everywhere. The first specimens begin to please the eye in early June and continue to grow actively until the end of October.
Description by reference:
Amanita muscaria (Fr.) Hooker.
The cap is 5-18 cm in diameter, from orange-red to dark red, thick fleshy, spherical, later convex or nearly flat, from orange to dark red, with large white or yellowish warts. The plates are white, obovate. The mushroom cap forms 575 million spores. The pulp is white, under the skin of the cap with an orange or yellowish tinge, without a special smell. The plates are free, wide, frequent, white. Leg 5-18 x 1-3 cm, thickened and turning into a tuber in the lower part, white or yellowish, with a thick soft hanging ring of the same color, with a volva adherent in the form of concentric rows of white or yellowish warts. It takes about 15 days from the appearance of the fruiting body of the red fly agaric to its drying.

Amanita muscaria and its medicinal properties
In the pulp of red fly agaric, the following substances are determined in high concentrations: muscarinic poisons; cholines; bufotenine and betaine - possessing the strongest hallucinogenic effect; ibotenic acid, which irritates all mucous membranes without exception; putrescine.
The lethal dose for humans is only 5-10 grams of pure pulp. When combined with an alcohol base, the effect of the poison is increased 10-15 times.
In some cases, the medicinal properties of the red fly agaric are used for domestic purposes, due to the ibotenic acid included in its composition, this mushroom has the ability to have the strongest insecticidal effect. Kills all forms of insects, including cockroaches, bedbugs, midges, flies. But its use in residential premises also poses a danger to the health of people and pets. When dried, some hallucinogenic substances are released into the air, which can cause convulsive syndromes.

Amanita muscaria- This is a classic poisonous mushroom that warns others about the danger with its bright appearance. It is widespread throughout Russia and is often used for therapeutic purposes in folk alternative medicine. Immediately I would like to warn you about the inadmissibility of using any tinctures based on red fly agaric. The fact is that it contains potent poisons that can penetrate the skin. This causes severe poisoning with damage to the predominantly parasympathetic nervous system.

The attitude towards edible fly agarics in the world is slowly changing towards more and more positive, which cannot be said about our country. Of course, it is easier for them - they have in their asset the delicious Caesar fly agaric, which for millennia has latently formed a favorable appearance of these mushrooms in the minds of Europeans, large and tasty edible fly agarics from Asia and Latin America are massively collected and sold in the markets, etc., and etc. Even the status of the red fly agaric mushroom-fearing Europeans are now changing from "poisonous" to "edible after boiling." In our country, only the most advanced mushroom pickers know what floats (small edible fly agarics) are and collect them, and even collecting large edible fly agarics (gray-pink, thick, pineal, bristly) is out of the question. By the way, the Caesar mushroom is already growing in full in our south, and in the Far East its almost equally tasty relative, the caesar fly agaric, is found.

In this review, I want to tell you about the edible fly agaric, or, as it is more often called in our literature, gray-pink.

Amanita gray-pink - delicious edible mushroom , the collection of which is the lot of experienced mushroom pickers. Several times they tried to "save" me, seeing in the basket gray-pink fly agarics. Since not everyone dares to talk to a strange bespectacled man with fly agarics, it can be funny to catch glances at oneself perplexed (what is that, eating ?!), sympathetic (here's a fool ...) and suspicious (a drug addict, probably ...). One kind-hearted grandmother once chased me from the bus stop to the train (which is half a kilometer). She cursed touchingly at the city dunce and even tried to take away the basket ...

Although the mushroom is good for food and in fresh (and even raw) form, it is usually eaten fried after boiling. The Europeans do the same, who boil it well and drain the water before cooking. The blushing fly agaric is good pickled and salted, it is great for drying. It is from the dried, and not raw, caps of this mushroom that the most delicious soup is obtained. Young fruiting bodies with unopened caps can be grilled in the manner of sausages, or they can be eaten raw, adding to vegetable salads. It turns out very well with them either a salad with a marinade, where there is a little vinegar and sugar, or a salad, where boiled squid, quail eggs and mayonnaise. Boiled blushing fly agarics behave well in freezing, remaining until the next season. The flesh of this mushroom tastes like chicken, accompanied by a characteristic subtle fly agaric flavor that is difficult to describe for a person who has not tried it.

What does the blushing fly agaric look like and where does it grow?

Its hat is large, 8-20 cm in diameter, dirty-reddish or gray-pink (the British call the gray-pink fly agaric "Blusher", which means "blush", thus conveying the characteristic uneven pink color of the cap), less often reddish-brownish , covered with dirty gray flakes, first round-ovoid, then prostrate, mucous in damp weather. The pulp is white, without a special taste and smell, at the break and in the places of wormholes it turns pink or red. The flesh tastes a bit like white chicken meat. The plates are white, in mature mushrooms they are slightly reddened, spotted. The leg is 7-15 x 1.5-2.5 cm, hollow, tuberous-thickened at the base, white, then reddish, with a hanging white wide membranous ring, striped above, with pinkish fibers below. Volvo adhered to the base of the leg, in the form of concentric folds.

The fungus inhabits light deciduous and mixed forests. Grows on soils of any type, throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere except western North America. Since the end of the 20th century, the mushroom has spread in South Africa, where it was introduced along with the seedlings brought from Europe. The fruiting period is June-October, throughout the forest zone of Russia. The mushroom has a rare and very beautiful variety, which differs from the usual one in a bright yellow ring. Over the years, I was lucky to find such a mushroom only once. There is also an albino (white) form.

White form of blushing fly agaric

In dry weather, as well as at the very beginning of the season, the reddening of the pulp at the break may be less pronounced, so some care should be taken not to confuse the gray-pink fly agaric with light-colored panther or red fly agarics that have faded after rain. It has been noticed that often gray-pink and panther fly agarics grow in the neighborhood. Sometimes the mushroom is confused with the edible fly agaric, which, however, is not dangerous.

In the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and other countries of Central Africa, since the 30s of the last century, specialists have known the so-called Congolese form fly agaric blushing. When young, it is quite light-colored, like its northern cousin, but with age, both the cap and the leg turn orange-brown or brown-red. Despite the rather bitter taste of the pulp, local tribes shona and bemba they collect it with pleasure and eat it.

Amanita muscaria is different and medicinal properties... Betaine (a vitamin-like substance derived from choline), which has physiological activity, was found in fresh fruit bodies. Betaine is used as medicinal product, food additive... Traditionally, betaine is used as a hepatoprotective and metabolic agent. It is part of a number of drugs to improve liver function. Attempts are being made to use betaine as a remedy for obesity, but there is no serious scientific evidence on the effect of betaine on the development of overweight. Attempts to use betaine in Alzheimer's disease are being studied. There is evidence that high consumption of betaine may prevent the risk of breast cancer.

Interesting that the mushroom contains one of the so-called "non-toxic poisons"... Such poisons include either toxins that are dangerous for animals, but not for humans, or poisons that can only work if they enter the blood in their pure form (they must be injected with a syringe), and they are not absorbed by the digestive system and therefore are not dangerous. An example of such non-toxic poisons can be the phallus and virotoxins of the pale toadstool, the winter honeydew flammutoxin, the oyster mushroom pleurotolysin and the red mushroom rubescenslisin. Rubescenslisin is a hemolytic, i.e. a toxin that destroys blood. It is an acidic protein that directly destroys the cell membranes of erythrocytes and leukocytes (as well as muscle, liver and kidney cells) due to its surfactant properties. Introduced intravenously (experiments on mice and rats), it is very toxic. LD50 averages 0.25 mg / kg. Poisoning is accompanied by extensive intravascular destruction of blood, massive release of plasma due to an increase in vascular permeability, disorders of the heart and central nervous system are additionally manifested. At high doses, the death of mice occurs within 10-15 seconds and is accompanied by seizures. Doses in the region of LD50 or slightly higher kill mice in 30 seconds to 1 hour, rats in 7-15 minutes. Death occurs as a result of hemorrhagic pulmonary edema.

Fortunately, rubescenslisin, firstly, is not absorbed by our digestive system and cannot penetrate into the bloodstream, and, secondly, it is destroyed even with not very significant heating (more than 80 ° C, i.e. both during cooking and frying). With this in mind, as well as the always successful use of this mushroom in the world (not a single case of poisoning), I would consider the reputation of the gray-pink fly agaric not shaken.