Amanita muscaria

[1] Amanita muscaria

Amanita muscaria, also known as fly agarlic, is a basidiomycete fungus native to temperate and boreal regions in the Norther Hemisphere. Amanita muscaria are cosmopolitan species and associates with a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees. Easily recognizable for their iconic toadstool appearance, Amanita muscaria are poisonous and contain psychoactive constituents.

[2]Amanita muscaria phylogenic tree

Taxonomy

 Kingdom: Fungi 
     Phylum: Basidiomycota
        Class: Agaricomycetes
           Order: Agaricales
              family: Amanitaceae

Overview

Amanita muscaria has many variations in regional subspecies which can be distinguished by their environment and physiology.

Amanita muscaria subspecies

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Description
[3]	Amanita muscaria var. muscaria	Euro-Asian fly agaric	Bright red fly agaric from northern Europe and Asia. Cap might be orange or yellow due to slow development of the purple pigment.
[4]	Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata	American fly agaric	red, with yellow to yellowish-white warts. It is found from southern Alaska down through the Rocky Mountains, through Central America, all the way to Andean Colombia.
[5]	Amanita muscaria var. guessowii	American fly agaric (yellow variant)	has a yellow to orange cap, with the centre more orange or perhaps even reddish orange.
[6]	Amanita muscaria var. inzengae	Inzenga's fly agaric	it has a pale yellow to orange-yellow cap with yellowish warts and stem which may be tan.

Ecology

Fly agarlic has been used historically as a pesticide by combining the mushroom with milk and spraying on plants. The practice of using amanita muscaria for pest management in Germanic and Slavic speaking parts of Europe lead to the fungus claiming the common name "fly agarlic" for its ability to kill flies.[2]

[7] Digitalis purpurea

[8] Digitalis purpea illustration.

Medicinal Use

[5]

References

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2. Wasson, R. Gordon. Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973.

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