Deadly. A single serving can kill. Never eat a wild mushroom identified only from photos.
- Season in Mexico
- HabitatWoodlands with oaks
- FamilyAmanitaceae
What happens if someone eats Destroying angel?
Did someone eat a wild mushroom and feel sick? Call emergency services and bring a sample of the mushroom.
- Toxins
- Contains amatoxins, including alpha-amanitin, and phallotoxins such as phallacidin. Amatoxins block RNA synthesis and damage the liver and kidneys.
- When symptoms start
- The first symptoms usually appear 6-24 hours after eating it.
- What to do
- Call your poison center or emergency services immediately and seek hospital care. Act even if you still feel well; do not wait for symptoms. Take a mushroom sample for identification. Secure medical help first.
How do you identify Destroying angel?
Can you eat Destroying angel?
Deadly poisonous. Avoid eating it. Its amatoxins withstand cooking.[5][6][7]
Where and when does Destroying angel grow?
Forms mycorrhizal associations with oaks.[2]
Summer and fall in eastern North America. Fruiting months in Mexico remain unconfirmed.[2]
Distributed in eastern North America. Mexican literature records it in Sonora and Baja California Sur.[2][3]
About the name
Amanita virosa is a name of European origin that has been widely applied to white North American amanitas. Mexican literature records Amanita bisporigera, Amanita verna, and Amanita virosa in Sonora as species that cause phalloid poisoning; no poisoning cases are known in that state. These uses of the name require care when comparing records.[3][10]
