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Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly Amanita, is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally conveyed to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large imposing white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Though generally considered poisonous, Amanita muscaria is otherwise famed for its hallucinogenic properties with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom has had a religious significance in Siberian culture and possibly also in ancient Indian and Scandinavian cultures.
The common name in English is thought to have been derived from its European use as an insecticide, sprinkled in milk.Atkinson GF. (1901) Studies of American Fungi: mushrooms : edible, poisonous, etc. 2nd edn. Andrus & Church, Ithaca, NY. ISBN 0028406001 The fly-killing agent is now known to be ibotenic acid.Nilson S & Persson O (1977). Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi. Penguin. ISBN 0140630066. Another compound isolated from the fungus is 1,3-diolein which is an insect attractor. Muto T, Sugawara R. (1970). Contribution in: Insect Behaviour of Natural Products (Paper Seminar) 1968: 189. An alternative derivation proposes that the term fly- refers not to insects as such but rather the delirium resulting from consumption of the fungus. This is based on the medieval belief that flies could enter a person\'s head and cause mental illness.Michelot D, Menendez-Howell LM. (2003). Amanita muscaria: chemistry, biology, toxicology, and ethnomycology. Mycological Research 107 (2): 131–146 doi:10.1017/S0953756203007305
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Similar to its English common name, the German, Fliegenpilz, Dutch Vliegenzwam, Swedish Röd flugsvamp, Danish Rød fluesvamp, Finnish punakärpässieni, Polish muchomór, Slovak muchotrávka, Hungarian légyölő galóca and French Amanite tue-mouches, are derived from its use in Europe as an insecticide, sprinkled in milk. This practice has been recorded from Germanic- (bar England) and Slavic-speaking parts of Europe, as well as the bilingual Vosges region and pockets elsewhere in France, and Romania.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 198 Albertus Magnus was the first to record it in his work De vegetabilibus sometime before 1256,Albertus Magnus (1256). "Book II, Chap. 6:87, Book VI, Chap. 7:345", De vegetabilibus. commenting:
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The 16th century Flemish botanist Charles de l\'Écluse localised the practice to Frankfurt in Germany,Charles de l\'Écluse (1601). "Genus XII of the Pernicious Mushrooms", Rariorum plantarum historia. while the father of taxonomy Linnaeus reported it from Småland in southern Sweden where he had lived as a child.(Latin) Linnaeus, C (1745). Flora svecica [suecica] exhibens plantas per regnum Sueciae crescentes systematice cum differentiis specierum, synonymis autorum, nominibus incolarum, solo locorum, usu pharmacopæorum. Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii).. He officially described it in Volume Two of his Species Plantarum in 1753, giving it the name Agaricus muscarius,(Latin) Linnaeus, C (1753). Species Plantarum: Tomus II. Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii)., p. 1172. the specific epithet deriving from Latin musca meaning "fly".Simpson, D.P. (1979). Cassell\'s Latin Dictionary, 5, London: Cassell Ltd., 883. ISBN 0-304-52257-0. It gained its current name in 1783, when placed in the genus Amanita by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and sanctioned by Elias Magnus Fries. English mycologist John Ramsbottom reported it was used for getting rid of bugs in England and Sweden, and bug agaric was an old alternate name. French mycologist Pierre Bulliard tried to replicate its fly-killing properties without success in his work Histoire des plantes vénéneuses et suspectes de la France, and proposed a new binomial name Agaricus pseudo-aurantiacus because of this.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 200
An alternative derivation proposes that the term fly- refers not to insects as such but rather the delirium resulting from consumption of the fungus. This is based on the medieval belief that flies could enter a person\'s head and cause mental illness.Michelot D, Menendez-Howell LM. (2003). Amanita muscaria: chemistry, biology, toxicology, and ethnomycology. Mycological Research 107 (2): 131–146 doi:10.1017/S0953756203007305 Several regional names appear to be linked with this connotation, meaning either \'mad- or \'fool\'s Amanita caesarea. Hence there is oriol foll \'mad oriol\' in Catalan, mujolo folo from Toulouse, concourlo fouolo from the Aveyron department in Southern France, ovolo matto from the Province of Trento in Italy. A local dialect name in Fribourg in Switzerland is tsapi de diablhou \'Devil\'s hat\'.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 194
The word toadstool in English does not refer to any particular species, yet it has a more definite specific connotation with A. muscaria in continental Europe. Yet another name is crapaudin in many parts of France, and a Basque term from Guipúzcoa and Biscay is amoroto, all alluding to toads.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 187 Finally, a common name from China is ha-ma chün \'toad mushroom\' (蛤蟆菌). Interestingly, the toad lacks the negative connotations in chinese culture and symbolism.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 189
Wasson proposed this was due to its being a shamanic and also taboo object and hence unable to be named specifically in ancient Celtic culture.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 190-91 He speculates that the power of this taboo may have perpetuated its malign reputation while other lethal fungi such as the death cap (A. phalloides) have had little cultural connotations throughout European history.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 192
Ethnobotanist and ethnomycologist Giorgio Samorini has proposed a symbiotic relationship between toads, flies and the fly agaric. After a lick of A. muscaria, flies become inebriated and delirious prey for hungry toads that may have learned this, therefore hanging out around toadstools. This relationship within nature illuminates an etymological keystone and example of zoopharmacognosy. This would also provide further biosemiotic insight into the ancient mystery of toads, flies and mushrooms appearing together in popular mythology and fairy lore.Samorini, G (2000). Animals and Psychedelics: The Natural World and the Instinct to Alter Consciousness. Park Street Press. ISBN 0892819863. However it is more commonly thought that toads are associated with the mushroom because they symbolise toxicity and chthonic forces in the same way that serpents do.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 190
Amanita muscaria is the type species of the genus Amanita. By extension, it is also the type species of Amanita subgenus Amanita, as well as section Amanita within this subgenus. Amanita subgenus Amanita includes all Amanita with inamyloid spores. Amanita section Amanita includes those species with patchy universal veil remnants, including a volva that is reduced to a series of concentric rings and the veil remnants on the pileus being a series of patches or warts. Most species in this group also have a bulbous base.Singer R. (1986). The Agaricales in modern taxonomy (4th ed). ISBN 3874292541 Jenkins DT. (1986). Amanita of North America. ISBN 0-916422-55-0
Amanita section Amanita consists of A. muscaria and its close relatives, including A. pantherina (the panther cap), Amanita gemmata, A. farinosa, and A. xanthocephala.Tulloss RE. (2007). "Amanita sect. Amanita" (webpage). Modern fungal taxonomists have classified Amanita muscaria and its allies this way based on gross morphology and spore inamyloidy. Two recent molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed this classification as natural.Moncalvo J-M, Drehmel D, & Vilgalys R. (2000). Variation in modes and rates of evolution in nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal DNA in the mushroom genus Amanita (Agaricales, Basidiomycota): phylogenetic implications. Molecular Phylogenetic and Evolution 16:48_63. doi:10.1006/mpev.2000.0782 Drehmel D, Moncalvo J-M, & Vilgalys R. (1999). Molecular phylogeny of Amanita based on large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and character evolution. Mycologia 91: 610-618. (abstract)
Amanita muscaria var. guessowii has a yellow cap surface.
Middlesex Fells, Massachusetts
Amanita muscaria varies considerably in its morphology and many authorities recognize a number of subspecies or varieties within the species. In The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy, Rolf Singer listed three subspecies, though without description: A. muscaria ssp. muscaria, A. muscaria ssp. americana, and A. muscaria ssp. flavivolvata.
Contemporary authorities recognize up to seven varieties:
A 2006 molecular phylogenetic study of different regional populations of A. muscaria by Geml, et al. found three distinct clades within this species representing, roughly, Eurasian, Eurasian "subalpine", and North American populations. (Alaska contains examples of all three clades, leading to the hypothesis that this was the center of diversification of this species.) The study also looked at four named varieties of this species; var. alba, var. flavivolvata, var. formosa (including var. guessowii), and var. regalis from both areas. All four varieties were found within both the Eurasian and North American clades, evidence that these morphological forms are simply polymorphisms found throughout the species rather than distinct subspecies or varieties.Geml J, Laursen GA, O’Neill K, Nusbaum HC, Taylor DL. (2006). Beringian origins and cryptic speciation events in the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Molecular Ecology 15:225–239. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02799.x
A mature Amanita muscaria near Tyndrum, Scotland, showing a flat pileus
A large conspicuous mushroom, Amanita muscaria is generally common and numerous where it grows, often being found in groups with basidiocarps in all stages of development. Fully grown, the bright red cap is usually around 8-20 cm (3-8 in) in diameter, though larger specimens have been found. The red colour may fade after rain and in older mushrooms. After emerging from the ground, the cap is covered with numerous small white to yellow flecks (warts) which are remnants of the universal veil, a membrane that encloses the entire mushroom when it is still very young. The gills are white, as is the spore print. The stem is white, 5-20 cm high (approximately 2-8 in), with a basal bulb that bears universal veil remnants (more or less distinct rings or ruffs), and has the slightly brittle, fibrous texture typical of many large mushrooms. Between the basal universal veil remnants and gills are remnants of the partial veil (which covers the gills during development) in the form of a white ring. It can be quite wide and flaccid with age. There is generally no associated smell other than a mild earthiness.Jordan P & Wheeler S (2001). The Ultimate Mushroom Book. Hermes House. ISBN 0831730803
Fly agaric fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like a white egg, covered in the white warty material of the universal veil. As the fungus grows, the red colour appears through the broken veil, and the cap changes from hemispherical to plate-like and flat in mature specimens.Zeitlmayr L (1976). Wild Mushrooms:An Illustrated Handbook. garden City Press, Hertfordshire. ISBN 0-584-10324-7.
spores under microscopy
Though very distinctive, the fly agaric has been mistaken for other yellow to red species in the Americas such as Armillaria cf. mellea and the edible Amanita basii, a Mexican species similar to A. caesarea of Europe. Poison control centers in the U.S. and Canada are aware that amarill is a common name of A. caesarea-like species in Mexico, not just the Spanish for \'yellow\'.
Amanita caesarea can be distinguished as it has an entire orange red cap, lacking the numerous white warty spots of the fly agaric. Furthermore the stem, gills and ring are bright yellow, not white.Haas H (1969). The Young Specialist Looks at Fungi. Burke. ISBN 0222794143. Finally the volva is a distinct white bag, not broken into scales.Krieger LCC (1967). The Mushroom Handbook. Dover. ISBN 0486218619.
In Australia, the introduced fly agaric may be confused with the native vermilion grisette (Amanita xanthocephala), which grows in association with Eucalypts. The latter species generally lacks the white warts of A. muscaria and bears no ring.Grey P (2005). Fungi Down Under:the Fungimap Guide to Australian Fungi. Melbourne: Royal Botanic Gardens, p. 21. ISBN 0-646-44674-6.
A. muscaria in a pine woodland of Pinus sylvestris.
A. muscaria is a cosmopolitan mushroom, native to birch, pine, spruce, fir and cedar woodlands throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including high elevations of warmer latitudes in regions like the Hindu Kush, the Mediterranean and Central America. Interestingly, a recent molecular study proposes an ancestral origin in the Siberian–Beringian region in the Tertiary period before radiating outwards across Asia, Europe and North America. Though generally encountered in autumn, the season can vary in different climates: fruiting occurs in summer and autumn across most of North America, but later in autumn and early winter on the Pacific coast. It is often found in similar locations to Boletus edulis, and may appear in fairy ringsBenjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 305 It has been widely transported into the southern hemisphere, including Australia,Reid DA (1980) A monograph of the Australian species of Amanita Persoon ex Hooker (Fungi). Australian Journal of Botany, Supplementary Series 8:1–96 New Zealand, South AfricaReid DA, Eicker A (1991) South African fungi: the genus Amanita. Mycological Research, 95, 80–95. and South America, where it usually occurs under introduced pine trees.
The fungal equivalent of a weed in southeastern Australia, it appears to have formed new associations with southern beech (Nothofagus) in Tasmania and Victoria and invading native rain forest, where there are concerns it may be displacing native species.Fuhrer, Bruce (2005) A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books. ISBN 1-876473-51-7 Furthermore it appears to be spreading northwards with recent reports near Port Macquarie on the New South Wales north coast.May T. (2006). News from the fungimap president. Fungimap Newsletter 29:1
When imported to a new country, A. muscaria can jump to native species (for example, Eucalyptus in Australia). It can then be exported with its new symbiont (for example, from Australia to Argentina).
Victims of Amanita muscaria poisoning are generally either young children or people ingesting it for a hallucinogenic experience. Occasionally, immature button forms have been mistaken for edible puffballs.Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 303-04 About 1 g (0.04 oz) of A. muscaria or 50-100 mg ibotenic acid is considered a toxic dose.Chilton WS. (1975). The course of an intentional poisoning. MacIlvanea 2: 17. von Theobald W, Büch O, Kunz HA, Krupp P, Stenger EG, Heimann H. (1968). Pharmacological and experimental psychological studies on 2 components of the toadstool (Amanita muscaria). Pharmakologische und experimentalpsychologische Untersuchungen mit 2 Inhaltsstoffen des Fliegenspilzes (Amanita muscaria). Arzneim Forschung 18: 311–315. Ibotenic acid, a compound present in A. muscaria, has shown to be highly neurotoxic when injected directly into the brains of mice and rats.Olpe HR, Koella WP (1978). "The action of muscimol on neurones of the substantia nigra of the rat". Experientia 34: 235.
Deaths from A. muscaria are extremely rare. A historical journal article reported two fatalities occurring in North America. Cagliari GE. (1897). Mushroom Poisoning. Medical Record 52: 298. With modern medical treatment the prognosis is generally good.Tupalska-Wilczyńska K, Ignatowicz R, Poziemski A, Wójcik H, Wilczyński G. (1996). Poisoning with spotted and red mushrooms--pathogenesis, symptoms, treatment. Wiadomości lekarskie 49: 66-71. A fatal dose has been calculated at approximately 15 fly agaric caps,Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 309 although the amount and ratio of chemical compounds per mushroom varies widely from region to region, season to season, further confusing the issue. It has been reported that spring and summer mushrooms may contain up to 10 times as much ibotenic acid and muscimol compared to fall fruitings. Many older books mistakenly list it as deadly, giving the impression that it is far more toxic than it really is.Arora, David (1986). Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi, 2nd ed., Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, p. 894. ISBN 0-89815-169-4. The vast majority of mushroom poisoning fatalities (90% or more) are from having eaten either the greenish to yellowish death cap (A. phalloides) or one of the several Amanita species known as destroying angel.Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 200
The active constituents of this species are water soluble, and boiling and then discarding the cooking water will at least partly detoxify A. muscaria. However, drying may increase potency as the process facilitates the conversion of ibotenic acid to the more potent muscimol.Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 310 According to some sources, once detoxified, the mushroom becomes edible.Rubel W. (2006). Amanita muscaria (webpage). In Sanada, Japan, fly agarics are detoxified by pickling them. Allan G. Phipps; Bennett, Bradley C.; Downum, Kelsey R. (2000). "Japanese use of Beni-tengu-dake (Amanita muscaria) and the efficacy of traditional detoxification methods". Florida International University, Miami, Florida.
Amanita muscaria contains a number of biologically active agents, at least two of which are known to be psychoactive. Muscimol (3hydroxy-5-aminomethy-1 isoxazole, an unsaturated cyclic hydroxamic acid) is the most significant. It is the product of the decarboxylation or drying of ibotenic acid, another important compound in the biochemistry of the fly agaric. Muscarine, discovered in 1869,Schmiedeberg O, Koppe R. (1869). Das Muscarin, das giftige Alkaloid des Fliegenpilzes. Leipzig: FCW Vogel. was long thought to be the active hallucinogenic agent in A. muscaria until the mid 20th century,Kögl F, Salemink CA, Shouten H, Jellinek F. (1957). Über Muscarin III. Recueil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas 76:109–127. Cox HC, Hardegger E, Kögl F, Liechti P, Lohse F, Salemink CA. (1958). Uber Muscarin: Uber die Synthese von racemischem Muscarin, seine Spaltung in die Antipoden und die Herstellung von (x)-Muscarin aus D-Glucosamin. Helvetica Chimica Acta 41:229–234. when researchers in England,Bowden K, Drysdale AC. (1965). A novel constituent of Amanita muscaria. Tetrahedron Letters 6: 727–728. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(01)83973-3 Japan,Takemoto T, Nakajima T. (1964). Structure of ibotenic acid. Journal of the Pharmacological Society of Japan 84: 1232–1233. and SwitzerlandEugster CH, Müller GFR, Good R. (1965). Active principles from Amanita muscaria: ibotenic acid and muscazone. Tetrahedron Letters 6: 1813–1815. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)90133-3 recognized that these effects were due mainly to ibotenic acid and muscimol.Benjamin, Denis R. (1995). Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas — a handbook for naturalists, mycologists and physicians. New York: WH Freeman and Company, pp. 306-07. ISBN 0-7167-2600-9.
Ibotenic acid and muscimol are structurally related to two major neurotransmitters of the central nervous system: glutamic acid and GABA respectively. Ibotenic acid and muscimol act like these neurotransmitters (muscimol is a potent GABAA agonist) which are involved in the control of neuronal activity. It is these interactions which are thought to cause the psychoactive effects found in intoxication. Following ingestion some of the ibotenic acid is metabolised to muscimol which would appear to be the agent responsible for the majority of the psychoactivity.Satora L, Pach D, Butryn B, Hydzik P, Balicka-Slusarczyk B. (2005). Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) poisoning, case report and review. Toxicon 45: 941-3. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2005.01.005 When muscimol is administered, it has been shown active in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum.[citation needed]
Muscazone is another compound more recently isolated from European specimens of the fly agaric. It is a product of the breakdown of ibotenic acid by ultra-violet radiation.Fritz H, Gagneux AR, Zbinden R & Eugster CH. (1965) The structure of muscazone. Tetrahedron Letters 6 2075–2076. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)90133-3 It is of minor pharmacological activity compared with the other agents.
Muscarine binds with Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor and lead to the excitation of the neurons bearing these receptors. The levels in Amanita muscaria are minute when compared with other poisonous fungi,(German) Eugster CH. (1968). "Wirkstoffe aus dem Fligenpilz" Naturwissenschaften, 55:305–13. doi:10.1007/BF00600445 such as the deadly Inocybe erubescens or small white Clitocybe species C. dealbata and C. rivulosa, and are too insignificant to play a role in the symptoms of poisoning.Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 306
Amanita muscaria growing in autumn Scottish woodland
Fly agarics are known for the unpredictability of their effects. Depending on habitat and the amount ingested per body weight, effects can range from nausea and twitching to drowsiness, cholinergic effects (low blood pressure, sweating and salivation), auditory and visual distortions, mood changes, euphoria, relaxation, and loss of equilibrium. Retrograde amnesia frequently results following recovery.Benjamin D. (1992). Mushroom poisoning in infants and children: the Amanita pantherina/muscaria group. Journal of toxicology: Clinical toxicology 30: 13-22. Buck R. (1963) Toxicity of Amanita muscaria. JAMA 185: 663-4.
In cases of serious poisoning it causes a delirium, characterized by bouts of marked agitation with confusion, hallucinations, and irritability followed by periods of central nervous system depression. Seizures and coma may also occur in severe poisonings. Effects typically appear after around 30 to 90 minutes and peak within three hours, but certain effects can last for a number of days. Brvar M, Mozina M, Bunc M. (2006). Prolonged psychosis after Amanita muscaria ingestion. Wiener klinische Wochenschrift 118: 294-7.doi:10.1007/s00508-006-0581-6 In the majority of cases recovery is complete within 12 hours. The effect is highly variable and individuals can react quite differently to the similar doses. Ott J. (1976) Hallucinogenic Plants of North America. Wingbow Press, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 0-914728-16-4 Some cases of intoxication have exhibited headaches up to ten hours afterwards.
Medical attention should be sought in cases of suspected poisoning. If the delay between ingestion and treatment is less than four hours, inducing vomiting with Syrup of ipecac is warranted. However, this should be avoided if there is a reduced level of consciousness and gastric lavage performed instead. Intravenous rehydration may required for recurrent vomiting but this is rare.Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 313
A basket of A. muscaria.
Unlike the hallucinogenic mushrooms of the Psilocybe, Amanita muscaria has been rarely consumed recreationally.Samorini G. (1992). The oldest representations of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the world (Sahara desert, 9000–7000 B.P.). Integration: Journal of Mind-Moving Plants Culture 2/3: 69–78. It is classified as an unscheduled drug in the United States. Any sales of A. muscaria for human ingestion are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Most other countries do not have laws against the use of A. muscaria, as it is currently legal and un-controlled under UN international law. However, following the outlawing of psilocybin containing mushrooms in the UK, an increased quantity of Amanita mushrooms began to be sold and consumed.European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction, Hallucinogenic mushrooms: an emerging trend case study, June 2006, p17
The active ingredient is excreted in the urine, and it has sometimes been the practice for a shaman to consume the mushrooms, and the rest of the tribe to drink his urine.Wasson RG. (1968). Soma: The Divine Mushroom of Immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovick, Inc. ISBN 0-15-683800-1 This urine, still containing active hallucinogens may actually be more potent than the A. muscaria mushrooms with fewer negative effects, such as sweating and twitching, suggesting that the initial user may act as a screening filter for other components in the mushroom.Diaz, Jaime. How Drugs Influence Behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1996. This was also a not uncommon practice in Siberia, where the poor would consume the urine of the wealthy, who could afford to buy the mushrooms. If a fly agaric is eaten, it is usually not fresh, but in its dried or cooked form, where ibotenic acid is converted to the more stable and far less poisonous muscimol.
A. muscaria was widely used as a hallucinogenic drug by many of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Its use was known among almost all of the Uralic-speaking peoples of western Siberia and the Paleosiberian-speaking peoples of eastern Siberia. However, there are only isolated reports of A. muscaria use among the Tungusic and Turkic peoples of central Siberia and it is believed that hallucinogenic use of A. muscaria was largely not a practice of these peoples.Nyberg H. (1992). Religious use of hallucinogenic fungi: A comparison between Siberian and Mesoamerican Cultures. Karstenia 32:71–80. In western Siberia, the use of A. muscaria was restricted to shamans, who used it as an alternate method of achieving a trance state. (Normally, Siberian shamans achieve a trance state by prolonged drumming and dancing.) In eastern Siberia, A. muscaria was used by both shamans and laypeople alike, and was used recreationally as well as religiously.
The Koryak of eastern Siberia have a story about the fly agaric (wapaq) which enabled Big Raven to carry a whale to its home. In the story, the deity Vahiyinin ("Existence") spat onto earth, and his spittle became the wapaq, and his saliva becomes the warts. After experiencing the power of the wapaq, Raven was so exhilarated that he told it to grow forever on earth so his children, the people, can learn from it.Ramsbottom J (1953). Mushrooms & Toadstools. Collins. ISBN 1870630092.
Beyond Siberia, there are only isolated and unconfirmed reports of the hallucinogenic use of A. muscaria. One source mentions that it was once used among the Sami people, but no firsthand accounts of this exist. Hartmut Geerken claims to have discovered a tradition of recreational use of this mushroom among a Parachi-speaking group in Afghanistan. Mochtar, S.G. & H. Geerken. (1979). The Hallucinogens Muscarine and Ibotenic Acid in the Middle Hindu Kush: A contribution on traditional medicinal mycology in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Journal 6:62-65. (Translated with additional notes by Peter G. Werner, 1997.) There are also unconfirmed reports of religious use of A. muscaria among two Subarctic Native American tribes, the OjibwayKeewaydinoquay. (1978). Puhpohwee for the people: a narrative account of some uses of fungi among the Ahnishinaubeg. Cambridge, MA: Botanical Museum of Harvard University. ISBN 1879528185 Navet E. (1988). Les Ojibway et l\'Amanite tue-mouche (Amanita muscaria). Pour une éthnomycologie des Indiens d\'Amérique du Nord. Journal de la Société des Américanistes 74:163–180. and the Dogrib.Larsen S. (1976). The Shaman\'s Doorway. New York: Station Hill Press. ISBN 0892816724
Authors of Sacred Soma Shamans Hawk and Venus have used A. muscaria as a sacrament and daily medicinal tonic since 1979. Steven Scott. "The High Shamans of Soma", Cannabis Culture, December 29 2005. Retrieved on 2007-05-18. (English)
There are also claims that A. muscaria played in important role in a number of ancient religious rites, though these claims tend to be speculative and highly controversial. The best known of these claims is R. Gordon Wasson\'s proposition that A. muscaria was the Soma talked about in Rig Veda of India, and is less often also thought to be the amrita talked about in Buddhist scriptures.Hajicek-Dobberstein S. (1995). Soma siddhas and alchemical enlightenment: psychedelic mushrooms in Buddhist tradition. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48:99–118. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(95)01292-L (For more details on this topic, see Botanical identity of Soma-Haoma.)
The notion that Nordic Vikings used A. muscaria to produce their berserker rages was first suggested by the Swedish professor Samuel Ödman in 1784.Ödman S. (1784) Försök at utur Naturens Historia förklara de nordiska gamla Kämpars Berserka-gang (An attept to Explain the Berserk-raging of Ancient Nordic Warriors through Natural History). Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens nya Handlingar 5: 240-247 (In: Wasson, 1968) Ödman based his theories on reports about the use of fly agaric among Siberian shamans. The notion has become widespread since the 19th century, but no contemporary sources mention this use or anything similar in their description of berserkers. Today, it is generally considered an urban legend or at best speculation that cannot be proven. On the whole, muscimol, the psychoactive ingredient, is a mild relaxant, but it is widely known, as with all drugs that it can create a range of reactions within a range of people http://www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/amanitas_writings3.shtml and it is possible that it could make a person incredibly angry, as well as make them "very jolly or sad, [jump] about, [dance], [sing] or [give] way to great fright". http://www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/amanitas_writings3.shtml A Site detailing various authors view on the cultural history, significance and effects of the Fly Agaric Mushroom
John Marco Allegro argues in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross that the Christian religion is derived from a sex and psychedelic mushroom cult, Allegro, John. (1970). The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-12875-5. , although his theory has found little support by scholars outside the field of ethnomycology. In Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy (formerly called Strange Fruit) Clark Heinrich interprets A. muscaria usage by Adam and Eve, Moses, Elijah and Elisha, Isiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Jesus and his disciples, and John of Patmos.Heinrich, Clark. Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy. Park Street Press, pp 64 - 134. ISBN 089281997-9. In the book Apples of Apollo the mushroom is identified in a wide range of mythological tales such as those involving Perseus, Prometheus, Heracles, Jason and the Argonauts, Jesus and the Holy Grail.Ruck, Carl; Blaise Daniel Staples, Clark Heinrich (2001). The Apples of Apollo. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 0-89089-924-X.
The classic shape, well known in popular culture. |
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The red-and-white spotted toadstool is a common image in many aspects of popular culture, especially in children\'s books, film and more recently computer games; a partly grown A. muscaria, as shown right, is clearly the fungus upon which this icon is based.
Images dating back to 3500 BC painted in caves at Tassili, Algeria, depict mushrooms, more than likely including A. muscaria mushrooms according to scholars [1], although a Psilocybe species has also been suggested.
Fly agarics have been featured in paintings since the Renaissance [2], albeit in a subtle manner. In the Victorian era they became more visible, even becoming the main topic of some fairy paintings [3], usually inspired by Shakespeare\'s A Midsummer Night\'s Dream. The waning of Romanticism and the advent of World War I reduced interest in fairies along with fly agarics, reducing them to the realm of childish fantasies.
Garden ornaments, and children\'s picture books depicting gnomes and fairies, such as the Smurfs, very often show fly agarics used as seats, or homes.Benjamin, Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas, p. 295Arora, David (1986). Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi, 2nd ed., Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, p. 282-83. ISBN 0-89815-169-4. Two of the most famous uses of the mushroom are in the video game series Super Mario Bros. and the dancing mushroom sequence in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia.Ramsbottom J (1953). Mushrooms & Toadstools. Collins. ISBN. They also have appearances in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. A picture of this type of fungi is shown on the cover of the alternative rock band Incubus\'s first public release, Fungus Amongus.
Christmas card from 1903-1904
Fly agarics appear on Christmas cards and New Year cards from around the world as a symbol of good luck.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 204 They also function as Christmas tree decorations [4], derived from their ectomycorrhizal relationship with coniferous trees. The ethnobotanist Jonathan Ott has suggested that the idea of Santa Claus and tradition of hanging stockings over the fireplace is based centrally upon the fly agaric mushroom itself.Ott J. (1976) Hallucinogenic Plants of North America. Wingbow Press, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 0-914728:16-4 With its generally red and white color scheme, he argues that Santa Claus\'s suit is related to the mushroom. He also draws parallels with flying reindeer: reindeer had been reported to consume the mushroom and prance around in an intoxicated manner afterwards.Wasson, Soma:Divine Mushroom of Immortality p. 238 Until the 20th century the red-and-white Santa suit familiar today was not firmly established, although Saint Nicholas, on which Santa Claus is partly based, was always depicted in red (see also: Origins of Santa Claus). One scholar researching possible links between religious myths and the red mushroom notes, "If Santa Claus had but one eye [like Odin], or if magic urine had been a part of his legend, his connection to the Amanita muscaria would be much easier to believe."
Ott also speculates about Santa\'s bag of toys. According to historians, ancient Siberia was one of the first civilizations to use fly agaric in practice.[citation needed] The Siberian hut, or yurt, is equipped with a smokehole at the top. Ott suggests that a shaman entered the yurt through the smokehole with a sack of mushrooms in his hand, to be placed in stockings over the fireplace where they could be dried for celebratory use.
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