Mushrooms may look harmless, but some can be downright deadly. Whether found in forests, backyards, or even mistakenly picked as food, toxic fungi can cause anything from severe illness to fatal organ failure. These are twelve deadly mushrooms you never want to touch.
1. Death Cap (Amanita Phalloides)
Death Cap is an innocent-looking mushroom with deadly consequences. This mushroom contains heat-stable amatoxins that survive cooking. Within 6 to 12 hours of consumption, victims experience intense abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. It also causes damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Without medical intervention, this mushroom can be deadly.
2. Destroying Angel (Amanita Verna)
Destroying Angels might look like normal, all-white edible mushrooms, but they contain potent toxins. Symptoms typically appear 5 to 24 hours after consumption and include vomiting, delirium, convulsions, and organ failure. The Amanita bisporigera is considered North America’s most toxic mushroom.
3. Deadly Webcap (Cortinarius Rubellus)
Deadly Webcap is a brown mushroom that contains orellanine, which is a toxin with an insidiously long latency period. Clinical signs don’t appear until at least 2 days after ingestion. This mushroom causes nausea, abdominal pain, malaise, and an increased or reduced amount of urine. It also causes kidney failure and death if left untreated.
4. Deadly Dapperling (Lepiota Brunneoincarnata)
Deadly Dapperling is another innocent-looking mushroom, and although poisonings are rare, this mushroom contains amatoxins. When ingested, symptoms are initially gastrointestinal. Nausea and vomiting can occur around ten hours after consumption, followed by liver damage just a few days later.
5. Poison Fire Coral (Podostroma Cornu-Damae)
Poison Fire Coral is a rare Asian fungus that contains potent trichothecene mycotoxins. When consumed, this fungus causes multiple organ failure, with symptoms including stomach pain, peeling skin, hair loss, and liver necrosis. It also causes skin irritation when touched.
6. Autumn Skullcap (Galerina Marginata)
Autumn Skullcap, also known as the “funeral bell,” is one of North Carolina’s most poisonous mushrooms and mainly grows on decaying conifer wood. This mushroom contains amatoxins that cause severe gastrointestinal distress, organ failure, and death if not treated quickly. It’s often mistaken for hallucinogenic mushrooms.
7. Brown Roll-Rim (Paxillus Involutus)
The Brown Roll-Rim was once considered to be an edible mushroom, but it triggers a dangerous autoimmune reaction, especially in people who have eaten it repeatedly. The body attacks its own red blood cells, potentially leading to kidney failure and death.
8. Fool’s Conecap (Conocybe Filaris)
Fool’s Conecap is an innocent-looking lawn mushroom that contains the same mycotoxins as the death cap. Symptoms usually appear 6 to 24 hours after consumption and mimic food poisoning. Typically, patients may seem to recover before suffering life-threatening liver and kidney failure.
9. Yellow Knight (Tricholoma Equestre)
Yellow Knight, also known as “Man on Horseback,” is a widely eaten but arguably toxic fungus. Consumption of this mushroom can lead to rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of muscle tissue) 24-72 hours after ingestion. This condition can have a 25% mortality rate and requires aggressive treatment.
10. Clitocybe Acromelalga (Paralepistopsis Acromelalga)
Clitocybe Acromelalga, also known as “Paralepistopsis Acromelalga,” contains acromelic acid toxin. Within 24 hours of consumption, victims experience severe burning and hyperalgesia in their extremities, along with erythema and edema. While rarely fatal, it causes intense pain.
11. Angel Wing (Pleurocybella Porrigens)
Angel Wings can be found in temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere. But this beautiful species can cause delayed encephalopathy 12 to 24 hours after consumption. While rarely fatal in healthy individuals, it can be deadly for those with pre-existing kidney problems.
12. Brain Mushroom (Gyromitra Esculenta)
Brain Mushrooms, also known as “Gyromitra Esculenta,” contain gyromitrin, which converts to monomethylhydrazine (MMH) in the body. When they are consumed, they can cause gastrointestinal upset, seizures, and potentially fatal brain damage and hemolysis. Symptoms typically appear 4 to 10 hours after ingestion.
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