Poisonous Fungi - The Eye
POISONOUS FUNGIByJOHN RAMSBOTTOMKeeper of Botany British Museum(Natural History)With Colour PlatesbyROSE ELLENBYThe K I N G P E N G U I N BooksPUBLISHED BY PENGUIN BOOKS LIMITEDLONDON and NEW YORK1945
THE KING PENGUIN BOOKSEditor: N. B. L. PevsnerTechnical Editor: R. B.MADE IN GREAT BRITAINR. & R. CLARK, LTD.,Set in Monotype BemboText Pages printed byEDINBURGHColour PlatesMade & Printed by JOHN SWAIN & SON, LTD.Cover design byJOY JARVISPUBLISHED BYPENGUIN BOOKS LIMITEDHARMONDSWORTH MIDDLESEXENGLANDPENGUIN BOOKSINC. 245 FIFTHAVENUE NEW YORK
POISONOUS FUNGIFor Mary (Fungi officio, 1939-1945)Doubtless so soon as man learned by experience that fungicould serve as food he found also that some werepoisonous. It is not therefore surprising that the firstmention we have of fungi refers to this; when the poetEuripides (48o-4o6 B.C.) was at Icarus a woman with twogrown-up sons and a married daughter ate fungi gatheredfrom the fields and were 'destroyed by pitiless fate in oneday'. There are repeated references to poisoning in classicalwritings, and this may give the impression that fungi wereregarded as forbidden fruit. Indeed Pliny's query, Whatgreat pleasure then can there be in partaking of a dish of sodoubtful a character as this?' has often been quoted insupport of this view: he was, however, warning againstSuillus (Boletus edulis) which was very convenientlyadapted for administering poisons, by which wholefamilies and guests had recently been removed. If fungihad not been commonly eaten, why the frequent warnings?Many rich Romans valued them so highly that theyemployed special collectors. Among these patrons wasCaesar Claudius poisoned by his wife Agrippina, who offered unto him a mushroom empoisoned knowing thathe was most greedy of such meats'. He descended intoheaven' and his stepson Nero called fungi the food of thegods' in reference to Claudius's deifications, an irregularone at Colchester and the normal one at death. Themushroom was doubtless Amanita caesarea, muchprized on the Continent but absent from this country. Tomany the very word fungus suggests somethingmysterious, something morbid. Some of the earlyherbalists seeking a derivation for the word found it infunus (a funeral) and ago (to put in motion):
John Ray while doubting its correctness considered itappropriate. Amanita caesarea is one of the fewspecies that can be recognised with certainty from theold descriptions. It was comparatively easy to describeherbs, shrubs and trees clearly enough for them to berecognised; indeed many of the old names are still used.But toadstools are for the most part short-lived andirregular in occurrence and their distinguishingcharacters are not very easy to grasp. Consequently,instead of clear descriptions of those species which wereknown to be safe and those which are dangerous,various rules were given for distinguishing the twogroups. These rules were repeated by the herbalists andmany of them have a world-wide currency even today.The primary division into edible and poisonous speciesinfluenced the classification of fungi until comparativelyrecent times.With the gradual recognition of the essential charactersfor distinguishing species a more exact knowledge of thegastronomic qualities of fungi was attained. As a resultwe know that all rule-of-thumb methods fordifferentiating between edible and poisonous species arewithout the slightest value and, further, despite popularbelief, the number of poisonous fungi is not legion but isvery small: the plates in this booklet have had to be ekedout with edible fungi! The title Poisonous Fungi' istherefore somewhat misleading except in so far that allhave been described as such sometime or other. With therealisation that most fleshy fungi are non-poisonousthere is difficulty in defining the common termsmushroom and toadstool. So long as only the FieldMushroom with, at most, one or two of its near relativeswere regarded as edible, it was easy to define amushroom as an edible fungus and a toadstool as apoisonous one, as indeed is customary. If, however,edibility is the criterion we have in this countryhundreds of mushrooms and possibly a dozentoadstools, which completely reverses the picture.According to the Oxford English Dictionary bothterms were originally applied indiscriminately to allumbrella
shaped fungi: the main definition of toadstool reads: A fungus having a round disk-like top and a slenderstalk, a mushroom'. It would be well to return to thisoriginal use of toadstool and retain mushroom, so faras possible, in its usually accepted sense as a memberof the genus Psalliota, i.e. for the Field Mushroom,Horse Mushroom and their near relatives. The wordmushroom has a long history with numerous spellings:in the fifteenth century we find musseroun andmuscheron. It is presumably the old French moisseron(mousseron) derived from mousse, moss. The wordtoadstool has an even longer history, appearing astadstole and tode stole in the fourteenth century;todyshatte is an interesting variant. The derivation isthe obvious one: we have paddocstol (paddock-stool)in the fifteenth century which recalls the modernDutch paddestoel.Although since the outbreak of war many people inthis country have reconsidered their opinions aboutedible fungi, the majority still believe that only theCultivated Mushroom is to be trusted. The Pauline Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, askingno question' is religiously adopted. Two points,however, need passing attention though they arecommon to all foods. Fungi should be eaten fresh, foras they age they may undergo change of themselvesor, more likely, be acted upon by other organismsincluding moulds and bacteria and may be renderedharmful. The practice in many London shops ofexposing mushrooms for sale so long as they retaintheir shape should be forbidden.The second point concerns personal idiosyncrasyor allergy. Just as some people cannot withoutdiscomfort partake of certain proteid-containing foodsuch as milk, butter, eggs, honey, tomatoes,strawberries, fish, so some are made ill by the smallestportion of a fungus which is perfectly harmless toothers. The idiosyncrasy varies: a particular speciesonly may cause trouble, or it may be many, or all.Occasionally a drop of mushroom ketchup has aneffect out of all proportion to the amount of fungusabsorbed. The phenomenon
is not more frequent with fungi than with severalcommon foods, but its manifestation usually createsmore alarm, particularly if perchance there is not thatpsychological sense of safety which purchase bestows.Fungi as a whole are somewhat indigestible andconsequently a certain discretion is advisable concerningthe time and the amount of the meal by those needing topay attention to such matters. There are, however, somespecies which are especially indigestible. Onenoteworthy example is the Yellow Staining Mushroom(Psalliota xanthoderma, Pl. I2). Some other speciesfigured are also very indigestible, though the gastrointestinal effects they produce in some people may bedue to definite resinoid substances which act on themucous lining of the intestine. This is certainly so withEntoloma lividum (P1. 9) where the symptoms are verysevere and may be fatal.Several species which cause purging were formerlyheld in high esteem. The most celebrated was Agarick'(Polyporus officinalis) which was regarded as apanacea and is still on sale as White, or Purging Agaric.The other poisonous species may be classified as:1. Those containing substances which after a longincubation period bring about the degeneration ofthe cells of the body: Amanita phalloides (Pl. 1),Amanita verna and Amanita virosa (Pl. 2) aredeadly. The rare Lepiota helveola (Pl. 6) belongsto this group but is much less dangerous.2. Those containing substances which paralyse thenervous system: Amanita muscaria (Pl. 4),Amanita pantherina (Pl. 5) and InocybePatouillardi (Pl. 11).3. Those containing substances which destroy the redblood corpuscles: Gyromitra esculenta (Pl. 16).For convenience of reference the details of symptoms aregiven with the descriptions of the several species.Although all British toadstools known definitely to bepoisonous are described and illustrated it should not be
assumed that the remainder can be eaten with impunity,if not always with relish, for obviously large numbershave not been sampled, even excluding those havinginsufficient substance or too much tenacity to be ofculinary interest. Indeed there is evidence that a fewother species have caused illness, but sometimes thishas followed the consumption of uncooked specimensor there is some other factor of uncertainty. Thoughabroad some toadstools are eaten raw in salads it is nota practice to follow without proper consideration, forsome fungi which are perfectly safe when cooked arediscomforting when not.If the descriptions and the accompanying plates arestudied, the poisonous species will be found to have nostructural or other character in common. Despite popularbelief to the contrary, there is only one practical way ofdistinguishing between edible and poisonous toadstools.This experimental method is sure, but the result may notprofit a man. Moreover it is unnecessary, for we have thedata from many unvolitional trials. Among those whothus contributed to our knowledge were many exaltedpersonages whose names are immortalised inmycological writings. Pope Clement VII and EmperorCharles VI are always included, though apparentlywithout warrant: the latter was so fond of fungi that heforbade their use in his States lest there should be ashortage.As with other foods the only safe method to follow isto rely on the experience of one's predecessors. There aremany toadstools which are perfectly wholesome andreadily distinguished. Indiscriminate eating of others mayrender the consumer meet for repentance or beyond it.An expression frequently used is that certaintoadstools look poisonous'. This usually refers to colour,though sometimes it is shape or structure. Bright coloursare most often supposed to be danger signals, but allcolours except white, cream or pale yellow arousesuspicion. Colour, however, is of no significance of itselfin determining whether a fungus is poisonous or not: itsimportance lies in its being one of
the main characters which distinguish one species fromanother. Similarly with shape and structure. The FieldMushroom is presumably taken as the model by whichall other species are judged, so the more a fungus differsfrom this pattern the more likely is it thought to deviatefrom perfection as food. Moreover the doctrine ofsignatures still has its hold and a fungus with a fanciedresemblance to something unpleasant is assumed to beitself objectionable. Whatever the shape or structure of atoadstool, whatever it reminds one of, are not of theslightest value in determining whether it is wholesome.Many fungi have characteristic smells which to anexperienced collector serve as an aid to identification.Smells are very difficult to define. People differ in theirsensitiveness and in their criteria of association. A scentmay be pleasing to one, intolerable to another, andundetected by a third apart from any difference in generalolfactory sensibility. We have no means of defining scentexcept by comparison, and as this is not usually madedirectly but from memory there may be considerablevariety in describing that of a given fungus.There is a great range of odours among toadstools.That of the Field Mushroom is sufficiently marked to becharacterised for purposes of comparison as a mushroomsmell, the commonest met with. Many species have theodour of new meal; a few smell of rancid meal. Severalhave the sweet smell of anise. Many species have scentsresembling that of fruits; others suggest flowers -jasmine,hyacinth, musk; many smell of garlic; several have aradishy smell. And so on-fish, crab, goat-moth, coal-gas,ammonia, prussic acid, acetylene. Several species havethe offensive smell of bed-bugs and, less commonly,stronger terms than scent, smell and odour are called for,with occasional allusions not usually considered proper.Most frequently a good sniff is needed to detect whatodour there is; sometimes, however, it is noticeableanywhere in the neighbourhood of the fungus;occasionally it is necessary
to bruise or cut a specimen for it to become manifest.Dried specimens often retain their special odour for manyyears. It might be thought that smell would give a clue toedibility, but unfortunately this is not so. None of theBritish poisonous species has an unpleasant smell and thedeadly poisonous species of Amanita are odourless.It has been a common belief from earliest times that ifthe flesh of a fungus changes colour when cut or broken,it is poisonous. Some species of Boletus, e.g. Boletusluridus, almost instantly become a vivid blue whenbroken; other fungi become reddish, yellowish orblackish and the milk' of some species of Lactariusgradually changes colour. None of these colour changesis of any significance in denoting the presence ofpoisonous substances. The bright blues are doubtlessdisconcerting when preparing a fungus for cooking butthey are not danger signals. The Field Mushroom (Psalliota campestris) and the Horse Mushroom (Psalliotaarvensis) change colour slightly, the flesh of the firstbecoming slightly reddish, that of the second yellowish:other mushrooms show a stronger coloration, red inPsalliota haernorrhoidaria, yellow in the YellowStaining Mushroom (Psalliota xarithoderma, Pl. 12).The change of colour is a chemical phenomenon.Certain substances, which because of their properties arecalled chromogens (e.g. boletol in Boletus spp.; tyrosinin Russula spp.), occur in the flesh together withoxydising exzymes (lactase, tyrosinase) which act uponthem in the presence of oxygen and moisture and as aresult the chromogens acquire a new, sometimes a vividcolour. On continued contact with air the flesh mayundergo a series of colour changes due to a gradualalteration in the chromogen.The most widely current belief is that edible fungi peel'. This relic of antiquity is relied on by many todistinguish the Field Mushroom from all other species.Whether the skin of the cap can be removed or notdepends upon a structural character. If the epidermis isformed of two different
kinds of tissue so that there are two distinct layers,the outer skin can be removed; if it is in one layer, it istoo closely applied to the underlying tissue to come awaywithout tearing. Members of the same genus may differin this respect: thus Russula emetica has a separablepellicle whereas Russula drimeia has not (Pl. 8).Whether or not a fungus will peel is a character of aspecies, but it gives no clue to edibility. The FieldMushroom peels, but so does the Death Cap. A failure torealise this led to two deaths at Ipswich last year (1944).Almost equally current is the similarly antique beliefthat a poisonous fungus is revealed in cooking if a silverspoon is turned black, though probably it is rarely tried.Silver is blackened by sulphides but presumably is notaffected by any fungus, certainly not by Amanitaphalloides. It is difficult to account for the origin of thisbelief. Possibly it is connected with the idea of manyancient authors that fungi have a natural affinity forpoisonous substances and readily absorb them:specimens which grew near serpent's holes, rusty nails,rotten rags, or even on trees bearing noxious fruits, wererendered harmful through imbibing deleterioussubstances and vapours. A poisonous fungus whencooked apparently released these and they were attractedto the silver and discoloured it. Indeed in southern Italy,where the harmful effect of neighbouring metals on afungus is still believed in, it is customary to put a piece ofmetal in the water in which fungi are cooked with thenotion that any poisonous substance attaches itself to themetal. Somewhat similar in kind are the tests whichreplace the silver spoon with onion, parsley or othervegetable; and similar in value.Connected with these ideas is the one which considersfungi harmful, if they grow in highly manured ground,regardless of the fact that manure is the normal habitat ofthe form of the Field Mushroom which gave rise to thecultivated races. Several other edible fungi favour a richsubstratum.
The taste of some fungi is intensely acrid, that ofothers very bitter, whereas that of the majority is mild.Taste, like colour and smell, is a specific character.Indeed in the large genus Russula, some classificationsmake taste a primary division. Though it is unwise to eatan acrid species uncooked, taste is no real guide to safety.None of the really dangerous fungi has a sharp taste.No reliance should be placed on the fact that a species isnibbled by some animal or other. Rabbits, for example,are not usually affected by Amanita phalloides, simplybecause their stomach contents are able to neutralise thepoison. Slugs have so different a mode of foodassimilation from ours that it is absurd to rely on them asindicators: they thrive on the deadly poisonous species ofAmanita.All other tests are similarly useless, such as that ediblefungi grow in fields and not in woods, in grass and not onor under trees, occur early in the season and so on. Toknow whether a species is edible or poisonous it isnecessary to be able to recognise it and to learn itsreputation. No rule-of-thumb method is safe. Indeed byevery one of the usual tests the deadly poisonousAmanita phalloides, Amanita verna and Amanita virosawould be considered perfectly safe, whereas the FieldMushroom would give rise to doubts.From earliest times there have been suggestions forrendering all toadstools safe to eat. Pliny says that vinegar being a nature diametrically opposed to themneutralises their dangerous qualities'. Later salt andalcohol were among the reasonable suggestions forneutralising the poison in fungi; the mixturesrecommended for curing poisoning and the mithridatesfor immunising against poisoning were often so strangeand complex that a knowledge of their constituents wouldbe sufficient to empty a normal stomach.In 1851 F. Gerard, a naturalist attached to the Jardindes Plantes, Paris, published the results of experimentsshowing that Amanita phalloides and other poisonousfungi can be rendered innocuous by cutting them up andmacerating them
in water with added vinegar and salt for two hours, thenthoroughly washing, and boiling in water. At that time thefear of poisoning was so great that only the CultivatedMushroom was allowed in Paris markets. Gerard'smethod had many advocates and for a time wasmentioned in the Instructions to French Army Officers. Itis believed that he was finally the victim of hisexperiments.Fabre in an essay included in The Life of a Fly relatesthat he had never heard of even a mild case of mushroompoisoning in the thirty years he had lived at Serignan,though the people gathered a little of everything to add totheir modest alimentary resources. The custom in thedistrict is to blanch the toadstools by bringing them to theboil in water with a little salt in it; afterwards a fewrinsings in cold water and then cooking according totaste. Though he praises the method, the only harmfulspecies Fabre mentions as having tried is Amanitapantherina. Blanching with or without the addition ofvinegar has long been practised by country people inmany parts of the world. According to Fabre fungi whichhave been blanched become much more digestible, thereis no loss of succulence and hardly any of flavour. Theprecaution is unnecessary if only species known to beedible are cooked, and these are usually far moreabundant than poisonous ones.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIESThe average size of each fungus is given in inches at thebeginning of the descriptionPLATES I TO 5AMANITAThe genus Amanita includes the three deadly speciesAmanita phalloides (Pl. 1) Amanita verna andAmanita virosa (Pl. 2), and the two poisonous speciesAmanita muscari
The KING PENGUIN Books PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN BOOKS LIMITED LONDON and NEW YORK 1945. THE KING PENGUIN BOOKS Editor: N. B. L. Pevsner Technical Editor: R. B. MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN . Euripides (48o-4o6 B.C.) was at Icarus a woman with tw
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