fly agaric

fly agaric, (Amanita muscaria), poisonous mushroom in the family Amanitaceae (order Agaricales) found in forests, pastures, and fields throughout temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is hallucinogenic and was once used as a fly poison. The large iconic mushroom is usually bright red to orange with white “warts” and a white underside. Like most other amanitas, the fungus has white spores, a ring on the stem slightly below the cap, a veil (volva) that is torn as the cap expands, and a cup from which the stalk arises.

Ingestion of fly agaric is one of the most common causes of mushroom poisoning. It is generally consumed accidentally by children or purposefully by people seeking a hallucinogenic experience. The fungus contains muscarine, muscimol, and other toxic alkaloids, and its ingestion is soon followed by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, perspiration, watering of the eyes, slowed and difficult breathing, dilated pupils, confusion, and excitability. Illness usually begins within a few hours after eating the mushrooms, and recovery usually occurs within 12 hours. Death is rare.

Fly agaric is one of several natural sources of bufotenine, a weak hallucinogenic agent and poison; the chemical is more commonly sourced from toad poison. Structurally, bufotenine is an indole hallucinogen that is capable of blocking the action of serotonin found in normal brain tissue. Bufotenine also functions as a powerful constrictor of blood vessels, causing a rise in blood pressure. In modern medicine, bufotenine has been used only experimentally to simulate psychotic disease states for the purpose of psychiatric study.