Poisonous mushrooms of the planet. The most poisonous and deadly mushrooms in Russia and the world

- bitter gall fungus. We give a description of poisonous and mushrooms.

The largest number poisonous species falls on agaric mushrooms. Of the tubular mushrooms, only one is considered poisonous. This - satanic mushroom. It is extremely rare in our forests. There are about 30 species of poisonous agaric mushrooms, and they all grow in the forests of the Dnieper region. It should also be noted that any edible, but flabby or untreated mushroom may cause severe poisoning . Therefore, only suitable for food young, fresh, strong mushrooms.

Description of poisonous mushrooms - Pale grebe

The most poisonous and dangerous mushroom - death cap. All its parts are poisonous: a leg, a hat and even disputes. Neutralize the toxic substances contained in this most dangerous mushroom no processing possible.

Pale grebe, it is also called fly agaric green, grows both singly and in groups from July to October in deciduous and pine forests, often found on the edges. The cap of a pale grebe is first bell-shaped, then slightly convex, smooth, silky, without fly agaric flakes characteristic of the genus, white or slightly greenish in color, 4 to 11 centimeters in diameter. The plates are frequent and always white. The leg is white, slightly greenish at the base, 7–12 centimeters high, has a club-shaped thickening surrounded by a white rim. The pulp is white, has no smell. We do not recommend taste testing..

Pale grebe poisoning affects after a long time (up to two days), when irreversible biochemical processes occur in the body. Medicine has drugs that can prevent death after poisoning with a pale toadstool, but only after the diagnosis of the fungus, which is not always possible after two days.

If the pale grebe is a small mushroom, not very attractive and often found, then satanic mushroom- its complete opposite.

It is large and beautiful mushroom, which can not be found even after several years of intensive mushroom hunting. Nevertheless, satanic mushroom is also found in our forests.

Here is a description of this poisonous mushroom. The hat of the satanic mushroom is convex, gray or olive gray, diameter up to 25 centimeters. The spore-bearing layer is spongy, yellow, turns red-olive with age, and turns blue when touched. The leg is thick, yellow-red. The flesh is white, turns red when cut, then turns blue, has a pleasant smell. Satanic mushroom grows from July to September in an oak or mixed (with the presence of oak) forest.

For those who have visited at least once autumn forest, certainly caught the eye of bright and elegant, like Christmas decorations, mushrooms. This fly agaric. They can rightly be called the decoration of the forest. But these beauties are very dangerous. Their poison works almost immediately., causing dyspnoea, convulsions, nausea. Fly agaric poisoning for a person with poor health can be fatal.

All types of fly agaric that grow in our forests, classified as poisonous mushrooms. Their characteristic feature is: a club-shaped thickening and a cover in the lower part of the leg, white frequent plates, always a white straight leg with a membranous ring and snow-white flesh that does not change color on a break. The fly agaric hat can be painted greenish, pure white ( smelly fly agaric and pale grebe), to gray, greenish-brown or gray-brown ( fly agaric panther), pale yellow ( fly agaric), red ( fly agaric red). Hat diameter - from 6 to 20 centimeters. Sometimes there are white flakes on the surface of the cap.

In the old days, fly agarics were used as a means of combating various kinds of insects, as well as in folk medicine as a remedy for diseases of the nervous system. They are today used in homeopathy.

Poisonous mushroom fiber Patouillard

In addition to the previously described poisonous mushrooms: fly agaric, pale grebe and false mushrooms, (more:) in our forests you can meet several more species of very unattractive and, moreover, poisonous agaric mushrooms. They have thin legs and caps that contain almost no pulp. In the specialized literature on mushrooms, they are called inocybe and clitocybe(although among the latter there are edible ones). Such mushrooms grow in deciduous, coniferous forests, as well as in plantings, they appear in May.

Among these species, the most poisonous - fiber Patuillard, which can sometimes be mistaken for champignon. The cap of this agaric fungus is cone-shaped, with a tubercle in the center, with wavy cracked edges, white, pinkish, orange, red, red-brown with age, three to nine centimeters in diameter. The plates are thin, thick, whitish, beige, brown with age, of different shades. Leg with a diameter of up to one and a half centimeters, cylindrical, sometimes curved, smooth, matching the color of the cap. The pulp is pale white, does not darken or slightly turns pink on the cut, has a pleasant fruity smell. It occurs from May to August in deciduous forests, plantings and parks.

Inedible mushrooms should also include the common pepper mushroom. It looks like a small butter dish or flywheel. But if you look closely at it, you can find obvious differences. The pepper mushroom has a convex hat of brown or reddish color. The spore-bearing layer is tubular, yellowish-red or brown (in butterflies - white or light yellow, in mossiness - yellowish-greenish). The pulp of the pepper mushroom is yellowish, sometimes it turns red at the break (it is white, it turns blue in the moss fly). And, finally, the taste of the pepper mushroom, as you can easily guess from its name, is burning-bitter, peppery. Although black pepper may seem like a delicacy in comparison. Pepper mushroom grows singly, in the same places as butter mushrooms.

Harmless mushrooms, "elite" white, dubious "cow lips" and definitely poisonous fly agaric. But is the edibility of mushrooms always obvious? Let's see which mushrooms are the most poisonous.

The most poisonous mushrooms in Russia

IN Russian forests great mushroom variety. Mushroom pickers tend to know most edible mushrooms, but of the poisonous ones, only two species are known to them - fly agaric and pale grebe.

Fly agaric - the most famous poisonous mushroom Russian forests. The red fly agaric has been familiar to everyone since childhood, but he has many brothers who are much more dangerous than himself. The poisonous subspecies include the shell fly agaric, the smelly fly agaric and the pale toadstool. Amanita muscaria is poisonous, but deaths poisoning is rare. It contains small amounts of the poison muscarine.


Timely application for medical care leads to recovery. Tincture of red fly agaric is even used for medicinal purposes. And if you believe the Scandinavian legends, then the soldiers were given a small piece of fly agaric before the battle. Those who ate such a “vitamin” became insensitive to pain. This is because the fly agaric contains an alkaloid - bufotetin, which is a strong psychotropic and hallucinogenic substance. The red fly agaric is ubiquitous. Its ripening period is from late June to late autumn. Its bright colors warn of danger and protect the mushroom from encroachment.


The smelly fly agaric is closest to the pale grebe in terms of the content of toxins and toxic substances. But these mushrooms are poisoned very rarely. The unpleasant smell of rotten potatoes does not make you want to try them. It grows from June to October in mixed and coniferous forests. Pale grebe is the most dangerous mushroom growing in Russian forests. A quarter of a hat is enough to poison an adult. At the same time, people who survived the poisoning claim that the mushroom is very tasty. Pale grebe contains amanitotoxin - a terrible poison that is not destroyed by heat treatment. Poisoning with this mushroom is dangerous, primarily because the symptoms do not appear immediately, but a day or even three after eating the mushroom. The chances of survival depend on how healthy the person is and how much toadstool they have eaten. The first symptoms of poisoning - headache, nausea, weakness. Then there is severe vomiting and diarrhea, the pulse becomes thready, often the liver is enlarged. The cause of death is toxic hepatitis or acute heart failure.


Pale grebe is easy to confuse with russula, greenfinches, champignons. Basic hallmark toadstool - a tuberous thickening at the bottom of the leg, the so-called Volvo calyx, from where the mushroom grows. The ring is clearly visible on the leg white color.

What other signs can distinguish a poisonous mushroom from an edible one?

So that mushroom hunting does not end in failure, you need to collect only well famous mushrooms, unfamiliar or mushrooms that are in doubt, it is better not to touch. Unfortunately, there are no recommendations that will help with 100% certainty to distinguish edible from poisonous mushrooms.


The main sign of a poisonous mushroom is the content of deadly substances in it, and not the external "otherness" to " good mushrooms". Often characteristics poisonous mushrooms are generally absent; flakes on a fly agaric hat, for example, can be washed away by rain.

There are many misconceptions that supposedly allow you to distinguish a poisonous mushroom from an edible one. Here are the most common ones.

Poisonous mushrooms have a bitter taste and an unpleasant smell. But the same pale toadstool practically does not smell, and some claim that its smell is similar to the smell of champignon.


The belief that worms and snails do not eat poisonous mushrooms is also false. They gnaw them no less than edible mushrooms. The opinion that a silver spoon will turn black in a decoction of poisonous mushrooms is also incorrect. The spoon darkens on contact with the sulfur contained in mushrooms, regardless of their toxicity.

Onions and garlic turn blue when touched due to the presence of the tyrosinase enzyme in it, and not toxic substances. So which mushrooms can be safely put in a basket, which ones should be avoided, and what are conditionally edible mushrooms?

Conditionally edible and poisonous mushrooms

Edible mushrooms are porcini, boletus, boletus, etc. well known to experienced mushroom pickers. They do not contain toxins, have no bitterness and bad smell. Immediately after harvesting, they can be boiled or fried and eaten.

There is also a group of inedible mushrooms. They do not contain harmful substances, but have a bitter taste and an unpleasant odor. Eating them does not cause poisoning, but may cause mild stomach upset. Inedible mushrooms include, for example, mustard or gall fungus, false chanterelles, vomiting russula, etc.


Mushrooms are poisonous and contain toxins that cause poisoning. Such mushrooms retain their qualities after any type of processing: boiling, soaking, salting, drying, etc. Approximately 25 types of mushrooms are considered the most dangerous. Among them are smelly and panther fly agarics, pale grebe, Patuillard fiber, some types of umbrellas and talkers. These mushrooms, of course, need to be known by sight in order to prevent dangerous mistakes when collecting.

What is the most poisonous mushroom in the world?

In some sources, the most poisonous mushroom on the planet is called the bloody tooth fungus. They say that even breathing next to him is dangerous, and to go to another world, just touch him with your tongue. There is no evidence for this yet, according to other sources, it may even be useful to mankind, because it contains blood-thinning substances and has an antibacterial effect.


Rumors about his super poisonousness are caused in many ways by his unusual view. Another name for this mushroom is strawberries with cream. Indeed, at first glance, it is very similar to this dessert, and even the aroma resembles a delicious treat. The surface of the mushroom is velvety, white, strewn with scarlet drops. These drops are secreted by the fungus itself - in this way it lures the insects that it feeds on. With age, the mushroom loses its beauty and becomes an inconspicuous brown color. Also, with age, sharp outgrowths appear along the edges of the cap, in which spores ripen. Hence the word "tooth" in the title.

Until recently, this mushroom was found in forests. North America, Australia and Europe. But the facts of its growth are already known in Russian forests, for example, in the Komi Republic.

Picking mushrooms is an interesting and exciting activity, but you need to approach it with all seriousness in order to avoid sad consequences.

By the way, mushrooms are among the largest creatures in the world because of the huge myceliums. According to the site, even the largest tree in the world, the sequoia, is inferior to them in size.
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Poisonous mushrooms are mushrooms that contain toxins. Toxic Substances in them can lead to serious poisoning, and in some cases - to coma or death.

Let's see what are the signs of poisonous mushrooms, what are the symptoms of this type of poisoning? What to do in order not to harm your health? You will find answers to these questions in this article.

dangerous species

Poisonous mushrooms can be divided into 3 types:

  • mushrooms that provoke food intoxication;
  • fungi that affect the central nervous system;
  • mushrooms, the use of which leads to death.

The last one needs to be especially careful. When its representatives only enter the body, the action of toxic toxins at first does not manifest itself in any way. Only over time, they begin to affect the vital organs, causing terrible torment in a person.

Symptoms

The first signs of the described poisoning do not differ much from the symptoms of other food intoxications:

  • diarrhea;
  • temperature;
  • vomit;
  • weakness.

In some cases, this all ends, but it happens that all of the listed signs are followed by severe damage to the kidneys, liver and pancreas. Therefore, in no case do not self-medicate and when the first symptoms of mushroom poisoning appear, immediately consult a doctor!

First aid

While waiting for the arrival of professional doctors, drink 4-5 glasses of boiled water in small sips, in which you can dilute a little soda. Then you should induce vomiting by pressing on the root of the tongue with two fingers or the handle of a spoon. This is necessary in order to cleanse the stomach of poisonous products.

Each person should study the list of poisonous mushrooms, consisting of the 5 most dangerous and most common species.

Is the most toxic of all existing mushrooms. Cases of pale toadstool poisoning do not occur so often, but in 90% of all precedents everything ends in death.

This mushroom has a white color of all parts: a leg 15 centimeters long, a bag-shaped Volvo, a strong ring (in some cases erect or hanging), plates (loose, wide, lanceolate, frequent) and spores. Younger grebes have an egg-shaped body hidden under the film. At this stage of development, the cap may have remnants of a flocculent veil.

Toadstools are often confused with russula, rows and floats. But there is still a difference: young floats have pink plates, which become lilac as they grow. In grebes, they always remain white. Also, grebes have a Volvo and a ring on a leg, which russula and ordinary people do not have.

Many people mistakenly believe that absolutely all fly agarics are poisonous. In fact, this is not so: the fly agaric genus has more than 600 species, and some of them are not poisonous mushrooms. We will focus on the most dangerous and common representatives and start with the red fly agaric.

A mature red fly agaric can reach 20 centimeters, and a younger one - 8 centimeters. It has a thick and fleshy leg 1-2 centimeters wide. The color of the cap is red and saturated, covered with white "warts" (in older representatives, the color can be washed off by rain). Mature fly agarics have a hollow white or yellow leg, on top of which there is a hanging membranous ring. Red fly agarics grow on acidic soils in temperate zones northern hemisphere, under birches and firs.

white fly agaric

The cap of this mushroom is 3.5–10 centimeters in diameter, at first it has a rounded conical shape, which becomes half-spread as it grows. The leg is hollow, fibrous, has the shape of a cylinder and is covered with flaky scales. Its length can reach 12 centimeters, width - from 0.7 to 2.5 centimeters. It has pinkish, white, frequent and loose plates and white spore powder. Volvo cup-shaped and free. Grows in moist conifers and mixed forests during the summer period.

It differs from the previous brown or grayish-olive color of the hat, covered with the same pimples. It grows mainly under beeches and oaks.

Hat size - 12 centimeters. The hat itself is slightly sticky and has a conical shape. The size of the legs is 7 centimeters long, 1-1.5 centimeters wide. It is white, even, thickened at the base and has a white ring. It grows in coniferous and mixed damp forests on sandy soils from mid-summer to early autumn.

What should be done to avoid poisoning?

If you have concerns that deadly poisonous mushrooms have ended up in the basket, the best solution is to get rid of them. There is an opinion that after heat treatment, the poison can be neutralized, but this is true more in relation to the so-called conditionally edible mushrooms - poisonous in their raw form, but edible after cooking. These, for example, include morels, pink wave, black breast. In this case:

  1. Boil harvested mushrooms for 15-30 minutes, then pour out the broth and rinse the cooked products well. To further protect yourself, repeat the procedure. In this case toxic substances go into decoction.
  2. Dry the mushrooms in a warm and well-ventilated area, stringing them on a thread (drying on a battery and on a stove should be abandoned). This method will help to evaporate toxic substances.

But! Both of these methods are absolutely useless with pale grebe! There is no antidote for this fungus.

We hope this information helped you. Remember one thing important rule: If you have doubts about the edibility of a mushroom, then it is better not to put it in your basket.

2017-07-12 Igor Novitsky


Those who studied well at school remember that mushrooms are a separate group of living organisms that do not belong to either plants or animals. Although there are many varieties of mushrooms, ordinary person the term "mushrooms" refers almost exclusively to wild mushrooms. Among them there are many edible species, which make up important part Russian culinary tradition.

Nutritional value of edible mushrooms

Mushrooms are not plants or animals, and therefore their taste has nothing to do with plant foods or meat. Edible mushrooms have their own no matter what similar taste, which is called "mushroom". By nutritional value they are closer to meat than to plants. Mushrooms are rich in protein, carbohydrates and various trace elements. They also contain special enzymes that promote digestion and better absorption of nutrients.

If we do not take into account the general taxonomic classification of all mushrooms in general, then there is no unified world classification of edible mushrooms. This is due not only to differences in culinary traditions among different peoples, but also with climatic features individual countries that affect the species composition of fungi in a particular region. In addition, the names of edible mushrooms usually combine several certain types with different external characteristics which also complicates the classification.

In Russia, they mainly use the Soviet scale of nutritional value for edible mushrooms, according to which all types are divided into four categories:

  1. The first category includes types of edible mushrooms that have the maximum value and rich rich taste. For example, boletus, yellow mushroom, real camelina.
  2. The second category includes slightly less delicious mushrooms with significantly lower nutritional value - boletus, boletus, champignons.
  3. The third category includes edible mushrooms of Russia with a mediocre taste and mediocre nutritional value - green flywheel, russula, honey agarics.
  4. The fourth category is mushrooms with minimal nutritional value and dubious palatability. This, for example, motley flywheel, raincoat, oyster mushroom.
  • Edible mushrooms. They do not require mandatory heat treatment and are theoretically suitable for consumption even raw without any risk.
  • Conditionally edible mushrooms. This category includes mushrooms that are not suitable for eating raw due to toxins or an unpleasant taste, but are edible after special processing (boiling, soaking, drying, etc.) Also included here are mushrooms that are edible only in young age, or capable of causing poisoning in combination with other products (for example, dung beetle mushroom should not be consumed with alcohol).
  • inedible mushrooms. They are completely safe for the human body, but due to bad taste, hard pulp, or for other reasons, they are not of culinary interest. Often in other countries they have a description of edible mushrooms or conditionally edible.
  • Poison mushrooms. This group includes those types of fungi from which it is impossible to remove toxins in living conditions and therefore their consumption is extremely dangerous.

For Russians, mushrooms are not only tasty dish, always up-to-date holiday table, as well as in weekdays. mushroom hunting It is also a favorite form of leisure for many fresh air. Unfortunately, most townspeople and even many villagers have forgotten the centuries-old experience of their ancestors and are completely unable to determine which mushrooms are edible and which are not. That is why every year dozens and even hundreds of inexperienced mushroom pickers all over Russia die, poisoned by poisonous mushrooms, mistakenly mistaking them for edible ones.

It should be noted right away that there are no single universal rules for how to distinguish edible mushrooms from their toxic doppelgangers. Each type of mushroom has its own patterns, which are often not applicable to other species. For this reason, one should follow general rules behavior recommended by experts.

So, if looking at the fly agaric, you are not quite sure whether the mushroom is edible in front of you, then before you go to " quiet hunting”, heed the following recommendations:

  • If possible, take an experienced mushroom picker with you to supervise the mushroom picking process. Alternatively, "trophies" can be shown to him for control already upon returning from the forest.
  • Study as carefully as possible one or two (no more!) Types of edible mushrooms most common in your region. Moreover, it is desirable to find out what edible mushrooms look like by seeing them with your own eyes, and not on the monitor screen. Well memorize their differences from all possible twins. Going to the forest, collect only these mushrooms you know and no others.
  • Do not take mushrooms that cause you the slightest doubt about their species.
  • Having found a "family" of mushrooms, look at the largest specimens. Firstly, it is easier to determine the species from them, and secondly, if they are wormy, then the mushrooms are edible. There are no worms in deadly poisonous mushrooms. True, they can easily end up in falsely edible mushrooms of an average level of toxicity.
  • Until you gain experience, collect only tubular mushrooms - porcini, boletus, boletus, boletus. There are very few poisonous mushrooms in this group, which cannot be said about lamellar varieties of edible mushrooms.
  • Never try raw mushrooms to taste. He will not tell you anything, but if a poisonous mushroom comes across, then you can easily get poisoned.

The most common edible and non-edible mushrooms

White mushroom, or boletus, is the best representative of the group of unconditionally edible mushrooms of the first category of nutritional value. Although it has a fairly characteristic appearance, by which it is easy to recognize it, the mushroom has an inedible twin - the gall fungus or mustard. Edible porcini mushrooms can be identified by their thick cylindrical stalk and reddish-brown cap. The flesh of the boletus always remains white, while the gall fungus differs in that at the break, its flesh acquires a pink tint, and the mushroom itself is very bitter.

Red boletus - also very popular edible among Russians Forest mushrooms. They have a dense brown-red hat. They are easy to distinguish from other mushrooms by the flesh, which quickly turns blue at the cut point. Despite the name, they can grow not only next to aspens, but also with others. deciduous trees(never next to conifers). But for safety, it is better to collect such mushrooms only under aspens and poplars. However, the boletus is quite difficult to confuse with other mushrooms, since false twins he does not have.

Butterfish are very loved and popular in Russia. They are recognizable by their yellow stems, and the cap is covered with a sticky brown skin that can be easily removed with a knife. Under the cap is a characteristic tubular structure. As a rule, when they talk about edible tubular mushrooms, they mean oil. Mature mushrooms are almost always wormy, which is also a good sign.

Chanterelles have a rather unusual appearance, by which they are easily identified among other edible mushrooms in the forest. However, they have a very similar double, which you identify by a more saturated orange tint(the edible mushroom is lighter), a hollow stem (in a real one it is dense and whole) and white secretions on the broken cap.

Honey mushrooms are edible mushrooms known for their characteristic rich taste. Since in fact several types of mushrooms are called honey mushrooms at once, it is sometimes difficult to give them a single description. For safety, it is recommended to collect only those mushrooms that grow exclusively in roots, on stumps and on fallen trunks. They have caps of ocher color with scales on it and a white ring on the stem. False mushrooms are also several types of mushrooms. Honey mushrooms should be avoided if they grow on the ground, their hat has a yellow or brown-red tint and is devoid of scales. While real honey mushrooms have whitish plates, false mushrooms have olive, dark gray or brownish ones. Also, there is no ringlet on the leg of the false feather.

Russula - widespread edible mushrooms middle lane. This name is used for several species at once, the differences of which from inedible relatives are the presence of an easily removable skin on the caps.

Earlier, we have already noted that for safety, a novice mushroom picker should limit himself to a detailed study of one or two edible mushrooms, for which he goes into the forest. But information about edible mushrooms is not all you need to know. You should also familiarize yourself with the description of the main most common poisonous mushrooms, which, for sure, will be encountered during the “silent hunt”.

Of the one and a half hundred poisonous mushrooms found on the territory of Russia, only a few species are deadly poisonous. The rest call either food poisoning, or lead to disorders of the nervous system. But since this can hardly be considered a mitigating circumstance, every mushroom picker should know how to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones. And this is impossible without a good knowledge of the actually poisonous mushrooms.

As statistics show, most often Russians are poisoned by pale toadstool. This is one of the most poisonous and at the same time the most common mushrooms in the country. Inexperienced mushroom pickers mistake it for champignons, russula and other edible agaric mushrooms. The toadstool can be recognized by the yellow-brown, dirty green, light olive and often snow-white (young mushrooms) color of the caps. Usually a little darker in the center of the cap and lighter at the edge. On the underside of the cap are white soft plates. There is a ring on the leg.

False honey agaric can be found on the roots and stumps of trees, which is why beginners confuse it with real honey agaric and other edible mushrooms on trees. The fungus causes food poisoning, and therefore is not as dangerous as the toadstool. It can be distinguished from real mushrooms by color (not brown, but light orange or yellowish) and the absence of a ring on the leg (real mushrooms have it right under the hat).

Amanitas in our minds are synonymous with poisonous mushrooms. At the same time, an ordinary citizen imagines a typical picture - a large fleshy mushroom with a bright red cap with white specks and a white leg. In fact, only one of more than 600 species of fly agaric looks like this. By the way, the pale grebe formally also refers to the fly agaric. So, in addition to the well-known red fly agaric and grebe, one should also be wary of green fly agaric, smelly fly agaric, panther fly agaric and white fly agaric. Outwardly, some of them are very similar to edible mushrooms in September. The probability of meeting them in the forest is quite high.

Satanic mushroom is found mainly in the south and in Primorye. It is toxic, although it rarely leads to death. The mushroom is quite large irregular shape a hat and a massive leg. The leg may have various shades red. The color of the cap also varies: mushrooms with a white, dirty gray or olive cap are most often found. Sometimes it can look very much like some edible mushrooms in Primorsky Krai, in particular, a boletus.

The thin pig is a harmful, although not deadly, mushroom. For a long time the experts didn't have consensus regarding whether the pig is an edible mushroom or not. It was only about 30 years ago that it was finally removed from the list of edibles, as it was proven that it destroys the kidneys and causes food poisoning. It can be recognized by its fleshy, flattened hat with a curved edge. Young individuals are distinguished by an olive color of the hat, older ones are gray-brown or rusty-brown. The stalk is olive or gray-yellow and slightly lighter than the cap, or close to it in color.

Many people know the differences between poisonous and edible mushrooms, but there are conditionally poisonous mushrooms. Even, at first glance, an experienced mushroom picker needs this information in order to prevent sad consequences.

Mushrooms - valuable representatives plant communities meadows and forests. Many of us know how to distinguish poisonous mushrooms from non-poisonous ones, this is especially important for mushroom pickers. But their toxicity is not always obvious, there are many mushrooms that look like non-poisonous ones, but are very dangerous, and poisoning with them should be feared.

Many different types of mushrooms grow in the forests of Russia. Among the edibles, there are many known to us early years: white, mushrooms, boletus, champignons, chanterelles, and many others. And among the inedible, deadly poisonous mushrooms are often found, the appearance of which, as a rule, is familiar to us firsthand. These are grebes, fly agarics, false chanterelles and false mushrooms.

Fly agaric is one of the most famous mushrooms in general and the most famous of the poisonous. However, among his relatives there are more toxic ones. :

  • fly agaric;
  • smelly fly agaric;
  • fly agaric red;
  • (fly agaric green).


Fly agaric red

The most common poisonous mushroom is the red fly agaric. Its appearance seems to be familiar to every inhabitant of our country. Fly agaric is poisonous, but cases of fatal intoxication are extremely rare. Timely first aid measures and treatment to medical institutions will ensure full recovery and recovery.

A tincture of the pulp of the red fly agaric is even used in some folk recipes for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. From Scandinavian legends, we can also learn that some warriors (berserkers) were given a piece of fly agaric before the battle. They went into a fighting rage and felt no pain when they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The analgesic effect is due to the content of bufotetin, an alkaloid that has a psychotropic and hallucinogenic effect.

The red fly agaric is distributed almost everywhere. The ripening period is from late June to mid-November. It has a characteristic protective bright color, warning of the poisonous properties of the fungus.

Poisoning with this mushroom is most often caused by the desire of people to cure all their diseases. healing tincture from fly agaric. However, improper preparation or an error in dosing the ingredients often causes intoxication.

The active substances of the fungus adversely affect the central nervous system. The use of fly agaric can lead to falling into a lethargic sleep, the appearance of hallucinations. The fly agaric contains the following active substances:

  1. Muscimol. Destroys the cells of the brain and spinal cord.
  2. Muscarine. It causes general intoxication of the body.
  3. Muscason. A substance that stimulates the nervous system.


However, these compounds are extremely small in a particular fruiting body. A lethal outcome will occur only with the use of 10-12 mushrooms or exposure to a weakened body, or in an increased personal susceptibility to these substances.

Due to the characteristic bright color of the poisoning with the red fly agaric, it occurs rather through the negligence of people who specifically use it as a medicine or psychotropic substance. Fly agaric is almost impossible to confuse with an edible mushroom. However, if a person nevertheless consumed a certain amount of the toxin, then the poisoning will manifest itself with the following symptoms, which will appear in just a few hours:

  • general weakness and malaise;
  • nausea and vomiting;
  • profuse salivation;
  • dizziness and headache;
  • bradycardia;

At high doses:

  • delirium, hallucinations;
  • muscle cramps, loss of consciousness;
  • a sharp decrease in visual acuity;
  • if help is not provided, motor excitation develops, followed by apathy after 6-8 hours;
  • decrease in body temperature to 34-35 degrees;
  • liver failure develops, manifested in yellowing of the sclera of the eyes and mucous membranes, yellowness of the skin.

Death in case of fly agaric poisoning occurs due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles, as a result of which a collapse occurs, and the person suffocates.

Assistance should be started even before the arrival of the ambulance team, the call of which, by the way, is the first step (even if you have doubts about the source of the poisoning). If you have a certain skill, start gastric lavage with saline or warm water. Rinsing is carried out until the outgoing waters are clear.


Adsorbents should be used. For example, activated carbon, enterosgel. Read the instructions carefully to choose the correct dose. These drugs will prevent further absorption of the toxin into the blood capillaries and therefore into the bloodstream.

Arriving doctors will administer an antidote to the patient. The most common is atropine. After that, the patient will be taken to a hospital, where doctors will carry out a set of measures aimed at removing the toxin from the body, combating the consequences of intoxication, and starting supportive and restorative therapy. In particular, they will prescribe glucocorticoids, replenish fluid loss and restore electrolyte balance. Other drugs are prescribed according to the identified symptoms.

Fly agaric smelly

Representatives of this species are closest in terms of poisonous properties to the pale grebe. However, cases of intoxication with this fungus are extremely rare. It's all about the unpleasant smell of decaying potatoes, which exudes fly agaric, for which, by the way, it got its name. The ripening period is from early June to mid-October.

Forms mycorrhiza with various types of trees in mixed and coniferous forests. More often chooses sandy soils in spruce and pine forests with high humidity, blueberries. Also found in fully deciduous forests. Distributed in the temperate zones of Eurasia (from Northern France to Siberia and the Far East), in the mountains of Central and Southern Europe.

Mushroom pickers with little experience can confuse this mushroom with champignon, which can lead to the use of a dangerous fly agaric in food and, as a result, fatal intoxication. Champignons are easy to distinguish from the poisonous fly agaric by the absence of a volva (“skirt” at the base of the mushroom leg) and colored plates of mature fruiting bodies. However, the fly agaric Volvo may well be hidden by earth or moss. The symptoms of fly agaric poisoning are similar to those of the pale grebe. They will be described below.

Toadstool pale

Pale grebe is the most poisonous mushroom in Russian forests. For poisoning, which will lead to death, it will be enough for an adult man to use only half of the cap of the fruiting body. Surprisingly, those who have suffered severe poisoning with pale toadstool claim that the mushroom is amazingly tasty. Despite its appearance, it also belongs to the fly agaric.

The mushroom contains amanitotoxin - the strongest poison. Its danger also lies in the fact that it is not destroyed during heat treatment. Another danger is in the delayed manifestation of symptoms, the first of which may appear only a few days after the use of a poisonous mushroom. The chances of survival depend on the general condition of the body and the dose of poison that has got into it, in which there are two types of toxins:

  1. Phalloidins. Fast-acting, less toxic than amanitins. Not destroyed by heat treatment.
  2. Amanitines. More toxic than phalloidins. They act slowly.

Both toxins are not subject to enzymatic cleavage in the stomach and intestines, therefore, when absorbed into the blood, they retain their original form and enter the liver in full combat readiness. It is this organ that suffers most from poisoning with a pale toadstool.

Plus, poisons cause acute inflammation of the stomach and small intestine, destroy hepatocytes, after which they are replaced by adipose tissue (toxins trigger fat involution), violate the integrity of the capillaries of the small intestine and other hollow organs. Poisons greatly reduce general level blood glucose, adversely affecting metabolism, which primarily affects the central nervous system.

Clinicians distinguish 4 periods of the course of the disease in case of poisoning with toxins contained in the pale toadstool. Symptoms depend on the degree of poisoning, which is determined by the dose of poison and the general functional state of the body. So, 4 periods of poisoning:

  • Latent period. It is characterized by the absence of external manifestations. It lasts 8-40 hours, the average length is 12-14 hours. This distinguishing feature poisons of the toadstool pale, which allows you to differentiate the poisoning. The same trait determines the severity of the manifestation of the disease, since this time the poison managed to get into the blood and spread throughout all organs and tissues;
  • period of primary injury. It lasts 24-48 hours, occasionally it can last up to one week. It is characterized by the appearance of frequent and violent diarrhea with yellow-green or clay-colored feces, which after a few hours becomes almost transparent, resembling mucus. It may contain traces of blood.


Strong indomitable vomiting, hellish thirst that cannot be quenched, because the intake of water again leads to the implementation of the gag reflex. There are intestinal colic of terrible strength, abdominal pain, spasms;

As a result of dehydration of the body, blood pressure decreases, pallor of the skin is noted, and the pulse becomes thready. Perhaps the appearance of cluster headaches and dizziness, reduced visual acuity. Due to the loss of electrolytes by the body, muscle cramps develop (calf muscles are especially affected). Practically no urine is excreted.

  • Pseudo-recovery period. Another characteristic feature of poisoning pale grebes. Duration - no more than 24 hours. At this time, there is an improvement in the general well-being of the patient. However, all this is an illusion, if we do a biochemical blood test during this period, we will see a clear violation of liver function. With severe intoxication, after 12-14 hours, against the background of a semi-conscious state, collapse occurs, followed by respiratory arrest, which can lead to death. This is the crisis of the disease, which most often occurs on the third day;
  • The period of damage to internal organs. It is characterized by yellowing of the sclera and mucous membranes, yellowness of the skin of the poisoned person. There is pain in the right hypochondrium. Diarrhea and intestinal colic reappear. Toxic inflammation of the liver develops, the kidneys become inflamed. Often, heart failure is added to them, as a result of which death most often occurs.

The time from the entry of the toxin into the body until its death is approximately 10 days. It all depends on the dose and the functional state of the cardiovascular system of the poisoned person. With a mild severity of intoxication and timely measures taken, recovery occurs quite quickly. With moderate and severe severity, in the case of a favorable outcome of the disease, a long course of rehabilitation will be required - an average of 2-4 months. Usually internal organs restore their functions to their former extent.

Poisonous mushrooms of the world

Among the deadly forest mushrooms The most poisonous mushroom in the world is the bloody tooth. It is believed that it even poisons the air around it. For fatal poisoning with a bloody tooth, only 10 mg of the toxin contained in the fungus is enough.

The rumor about its supertoxicity is caused by an eccentric appearance. For your understanding, it is also called strawberries and cream. Its appearance is very similar to this delicacy, there is something similar in the thinning aroma. The bloody tooth has a velvety white surface, generously strewn with red drops. These drops are secreted by the fungus itself to lure the insects that it feeds on. That is, strawberries with cream are a predatory mushroom.

With age, the mushroom loses its attractive appearance. The color of the cap becomes brown, spiny outgrowths appear along its edge. Spores ripen in them - a means of reproduction of fungi. It is the appearance of these outgrowths that determines the name "tooth".

The fungus grows in the forests of North America, Australia and Southern Europe. However, there are references to a bloody tooth in the forests of Russia, in particular, in the Komi Republic.