The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Amanita'' contains about 600

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...

s, including some of the most

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

known

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species (and many species of unknown edibility). The genus is responsible for approximately 95% of fatalities resulting from

mushroom poisoning Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxicity, toxic substances. Signs and symptoms, Symptoms can vary from slight Gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mus ...

, with the

death cap ''Amanita phalloides'' ( ), commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus and mushroom, one of many in the genus ''Amanita''. Originating in Europe but later introduced to other parts of the world since the late ...

accounting for about 50% on its own. The most potent toxin present in these mushrooms is . The genus also contains many edible mushrooms, but mycologists discourage mushroom hunters, other than experts, from selecting any of these for human consumption. Nonetheless, in some cultures, the larger local edible species of ''Amanita'' are mainstays of the markets in the local growing season. Samples of this are '' Amanita zambiana'' and other fleshy species in central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, '' A. basii'' and similar species in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, '' A. caesarea'' and the "Blusher" '' A. rubescens'' in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and '' A. chepangiana'' in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Other species are used for colouring sauces, such as the red '' A. jacksonii'', with a range from eastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to eastern Mexico.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Amanita'' was first published with its current meaning by

Christian Hendrik Persoon Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (31 December 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycology, mycological Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in Cape Colony at ...

in 1797. Under the ''International Code of Botanical Nomenclature'', Persoon's concept of ''Amanita'', with ''

Amanita muscaria ''Amanita muscaria'', commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus ''Amanita''. It is a large white-lamella (mycology), gilled, white-spotted mushroom typically featuring a bright red cap covered with ...

'' (L.) Pers. as the type species, has been officially conserved against the older ''Amanita'' Boehm (1760), which is considered a synonym of ''

Agaricus ''Agaricus'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom ...

'' L.

Etymology

The name is possibly derived from Amanus (), a mountain in

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, or from

Amantia Amantia (; ) was an ancient city and the main settlement of the Amantes, traditionally located in southern Illyria in classical antiquity. In Hellenistic times the city was either part of Illyrian kingdom, Illyria or Epirus (ancient state), E ...

, an ancient city in the transboundary region between Epirus or southern Illyria in antiquity.

Toxicity

Several members of the section ''Phalloidieae'' are notable for their toxicity, containing toxins known as

amatoxin Amatoxins are a subgroup of at least nine related cyclic peptide toxins found in three genera of deadly poisonous mushrooms (''Amanita'', '' Galerina'' and '' Lepiota'') and one species of the genus '' Pholiotina''. Amatoxins are very potent, as li ...

s, which can cause liver failure and death. These include the death cap '' A. phalloides''; species known as

destroying angel The name destroying angel applies to several similar, closely related species of deadly all-white mushrooms in the genus ''Amanita''. They are '' Amanita virosa'' in Europe and '' A. bisporigera'' and '' A. ocreata'' in eastern and western North ...

s, including '' A. virosa'', '' A. bisporigera'' and '' A. ocreata''; and the fool's mushroom, '' A. verna''. More recently, a series in the subgenus ''Lepidella'' has been found to cause acute kidney failure, including '' A. smithiana'' of northwestern North America, '' A. pseudoporphyria'' of Japan, and '' A. proxima'' of southern Europe.

Edibility

Although many species of ''Amanita'' are edible, including all of ''sect. Caesareae'' and ''sect. Vaginatae'' (together comprising hundreds of species), many fungi experts advise against eating a member of ''Amanita'' unless the species is known with absolute certainty. Because so many species within this

are so deadly toxic, if a specimen is identified incorrectly, consumption may cause extreme sickness and possibly death.

Edible

Edible species of ''Amanita'' include '' Amanita fulva'', '' A. vaginata'' (grisette), '' A. calyptrata'' (coccoli), '' A. crocea'', '' A. rubescens'' (blusher), '' A. caesarea'' (Caesar's mushroom), and '' A. jacksonii'' (American Caesar's mushroom).

Inedible

Inedible species of ''Amanita'' include '' Amanita albocreata'' (ringless panther), '' A. atkinsoniana'', '' A. citrina'' (false death cap), '' A. excelsa'', ''A. flavorubescens'', '' A. franchetii'', '' A. longipes'', '' A. onusta'', '' A. rhopalopus'', ''A. silvicola'', '' A. sinicoflava'', '' A. spreta'', and '' A. volvata''.

Poisonous

Poisonous species include '' Amanita brunnescens'', '' A. cokeri'' (Coker's amanita), '' A. crenulata'', '' A. farinosa'' (eastern American floury amanita), '' A. frostiana'', '' A. muscaria'' (fly agaric), '' A. pantherina'' (panther cap), and '' A. porphyria'', but not '' A. ceciliae''.

Deadly poisonous

Deadly poisonous species include '' Amanita abrupta'', '' A. arocheae'', '' A. bisporigera'' (eastern NA destroying angel), '' A. exitialis'' (Guangzhou destroying angel), '' A. magnivelaris'', '' A. ocreata'' (western NA destroying angel), '' A. phalloides'' (death cap), '' A. proxima'', '' A. smithiana'', '' A. subjunquillea'' (East Asian death cap), '' A. verna'' (fool's mushroom), and '' A. virosa'' (European destroying angel).

Psychoactive species

''Amanita muscaria''

'' was widely used as an

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancie ...

by many of the

indigenous peoples of Siberia Siberia is a vast region spanning the North Asia, northern part of the Asian continent and forming the Asiatic portion of Russia. As a result of the Russian conquest of Siberia (16th to 19th centuries) and of the subsequent Special settlements in ...

. Its use was known among almost all of the

Uralic The Uralic languages ( ), sometimes called the Uralian languages ( ), are spoken predominantly in Europe and North Asia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. Other languages with speakers abo ...

-speaking peoples of western Siberia and the Paleosiberian-speaking peoples of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. There are only isolated reports of ''A. muscaria'' use among the Tungusic and

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

of central Siberia and it is believed that on the whole entheogenic use of ''A. muscaria'' was not practiced by these peoples.

''Amanita pantherina''

'' Amanita pantherina'' contains the psychoactive compound muscimol, but is used as an

much less often than its much more distinguishable relative ''A. muscaria''.

Others

Other species identified as containing psychoactive substances include: * '' Amanita citrina'' * '' Amanita gemmata'' * '' Amanita porphyria'' * '' Amanita regalis'' * '' Amanita strobiliformis''

References

Sources

External links

Rodham E. Tulloss and Zhu-liang Yang's ''Amanita'' site
– Comprehensive listing of the nearly 600 named ''Amanita'' species with photos and/or technical details on over 510 species.

by Michael Kuo, ''MushroomExpert.Com'', March 2005. {{Authority control Agaricales genera Hepatotoxins Taxa described in 1794 Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon