Pale toadstool mushroom. Pale toadstool - how not to be poisoned by a deadly poison Mushrooms similar to toadstools that you can eat

Death cap It is considered the most dangerous poisonous mushroom, in which all parts of the fruit contain high concentrations of phalloidin. No type of treatment makes it non-lethal.

Other names for pale toadstool: green and white fly agaric. Her appearance similar to champignons and greenish russula. The size of its cap does not exceed 14 cm in diameter. The color of the skin is yellowish-brown-olive or grayish-green tones with a silky sheen. Usually the center of the cap is darker than the edges. In young individuals, the shape of the cap is convex. As it grows, it straightens out. The wide plates are soft to the touch and the flesh of the fruiting body is white. Slightly greenish under the skin. The shade will not change at the break.

The color of the cylindrical stem does not differ from the cap. There are stains and patterns of greenish-yellow veins on the surface. It can reach a height of 20 cm. It thickens slightly at the base. At the top there is a ring that looks like flakes. Old mushrooms have an unpleasant odor.

Pale toadstool is considered the most dangerous poisonous mushroom

Where do toadstools grow

The poisonous mushroom prefers to grow in areas with a temperate climate (Eurasia, North America). The grebe is found on fertile soils in foothill areas, in light broad-leaved and deciduous forests, less often in mixed and coniferous forests with sandy soil.

Mycorrhiza of the toadstool cooperates with birch, linden and oak trees. It does not bypass park areas either. There are both single specimens and colonies of mushrooms until the autumn frosts.

Gallery: toadstool mushroom (25 photos)

Toxicity of toadstool

Poisonous toadstools are called death caps in Europe. Their venom contains very toxic compounds phalloidin and amanitin., 10 times more toxic potassium cyanide And hydrocyanic acid. Cause tissue damage to the liver, kidneys and heart muscle. One third of the mushroom is enough for an adult to die.

Because the toxic substances toadstools are able to penetrate the skin, even coming into contact with it can cause irritation or burning.

What does a pale grebe look like (video)

How to distinguish an edible mushroom from a toadstool

Young specimens of the toadstool are often confused with similar edible species. Before you go on quiet hunt, it is important to arm yourself with knowledge that will help distinguish poisonous representatives from safe mushrooms.

The main differences between the pale grebe:

• convex cap of slightly greenish or beige color;
• the leg, rounded and thickened at the base, has a film-like volva in the shape of a pot;
• the ring on the leg looks like a skirt;
• the plates, unlike the edible species, are always white, not pink.

Young specimens of toadstool are often confused with similar edible species

Beginning mushroom pickers may confuse champignons, russula and light floats with toadstools. But Knowing the differences, you can avoid toadstools:

• Champignons differ in the color of their plates. Throughout the life of a poisonous mushroom, its plates do not change color, remaining white. Main sign, by which you can distinguish champignon - a pleasant anise or almond smell.
• Russulas have brittle flesh. They are characterized by the absence of a skirt and volvo.
• Although the floats belong to the fly agaric genus, they have external differences. The cap has radially oriented notches along the edges. The size of the fruiting body is smaller than that of toadstools. The leg ring is missing.

If the toadstool is cut above the skirt, it gives the impression of a non-poisonous mushroom, so it is important to treat food products with special attention.

Although the toadstool stands out as the most toxic member of the mushroom culture, it has medicinal properties

Use of toadstool in medicine

Although the toadstool stands out as the most toxic member of the mushroom culture, it has medicinal properties. Traditional healers use it in the treatment of cancer. There is evidence that it can help stop the development of metastases. For the manufacture of medicinal drugs microparticles of the fruiting body are used. Since the fungus can be fatal, experts prohibit self-medication.

Confirmation of the medical effect in the fight against malignant tumors was carried out by German scientists. The deadly substance amanitin, contained in toadstool, negatively affects malignant cells, killing them. Toxic elements, penetrating into the cell, suppress their growth and promote tumor resorption.

Since the venom affects all cells of the body, it has been a challenge for scientists to find a method that allows the venom to be transported to cancer cells without affecting healthy ones. The solution was found in isolating antibodies from the venom, which attach to malignant cells using a protein encoded by the human gene.

How to distinguish between toadstool and russula (video)

Toadstool poisoning

Representatives of the mushroom kingdom also occupy a place in the list of food poisoning, especially toadstool, where the probability of death is 90% of cases.

Signs of poisoning

Symptoms come in several types, differing depending on the amount of toxic substances taken.

1. Latent period. Characterized by the absence of symptoms. It can last up to 2 days, but usually a little more than 12 hours.
2. The duration of the period usually does not exceed a couple of days. Diarrhea occurs, turning into mucous and watery compounds. There are blood impurities. The vomiting spasms do not stop. Ingestion of liquid causes vomiting, which causes dehydration. As a result, blood pressure drops and heart rate increases. Sharp pain in the abdominal area. Due to the loss of chlorine, cramps appear.
3. Imaginary recovery lasting less than a day. There is a feeling that the patient is on the mend, but a biochemical blood test indicates liver pathologies. In severe poisoning, death occurs. It is accepted among doctors that the third day is a crisis.
4. Violation of the activity of internal organs. The color of the eyes and mouth becomes yellow. Painful sensations are felt in the right hypochondrium, foreshadowing the development of toxic hepatitis. Kidney, liver and heart failure are fatal.

Even the spores of the toadstool are poisonous, so you need to be careful with berries collected nearby

Severe cases of poisoning lead to death within 10 days. If a mild degree of poisoning is obtained, the patient recovers fairly quickly, especially if the cardiovascular system is in good condition.

First aid for poisoning

Since when the initial symptoms of poisoning appear, toxic substances are already in the blood long time, first aid does not lead to noticeable results. As soon as poisoning is suspected, it is important to promptly administer antitoxic therapy to medical institution. If another 36 hours have not passed after poisoning, the chances of a favorable outcome increase.

Before the ambulance arrived, It is recommended to do the following:

• empty the stomach by drinking water (1 - 2 liters) and inducing vomiting;
• accept Activated carbon(1 g per 1 kg of weight).

Pale toadstool is a poisonous mushroom belonging to the fly agaric genus. This inconspicuous mushroom should be avoided as it is one of the most deadly poisonous mushrooms.

The Latin name of the mushroom is Amanita phalloides.

The fruiting body of the white toadstool is capped. Fruit body shape in at a young age ovoid, with the mushroom completely covered with a film. The diameter of the cap is 5-15 centimeters. The color of the cap is olive, gray or greenish. At first the shape of the cap is hemispherical, and as it grows it becomes flat. The edge of the cap is smooth and the surface is fibrous.

The fruit body is fleshy, pulp white, if damaged, the color remains the same. The taste and smell of the pulp are weak. The plates are loose, soft, white.

The length of the leg of the pale grebe ranges from 8 to 16 centimeters, and its diameter is 1-2.5 centimeters. The leg is cylindrical in shape with a thickened base. The color of the stem matches the cap or may be whitish. Often the leg is covered with a moire pattern.

The stem initially has a wide, fringed ring, but it disappears with age. Volva is clearly visible, 3-5 centimeters wide, bursting, free, white in color, often half underground. Most often there are no remains of the blanket on the cap, but sometimes you can see filmy, dense scraps. The spore powder is white, the spores are amyloid, almost round in shape.

Variability of the pale grebe

The color of the cap of the pale grebe can vary significantly - from white to gray-green; in older specimens the caps are more grayish. Old fruiting bodies have an unpleasant odor.

Dangerously similar

Pale toadstool can be confused with some types of russula. Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse these poisonous mushrooms with green russula, champignons, floats and greenfinches.

You should know that champignons do not have a volva, and the plates become colored with age. Russulas are recognized by the absence of a ring and volva; in addition, they are characterized by very brittle pulp. The floaters are smaller in size than the toadstools, the flesh is thinner, there is no ring, and the edges of the caps are characterized by radial grooves.
The greenfinch is recognized by its greenish plates and the absence of a volva and ring.

Places where pale toadstools grow

Pale toadstools form mycorrhizae with different breeds deciduous trees, for example, beech, hazel and oak. These mushrooms prefer fertile soils.

Pallid Grebes can be found in light-colored mixed and deciduous forests. They bear fruit in groups or singly and are quite common. Pallid grebes are widespread in temperate zone Eurasia and North America. The growing season is from late summer to autumn.

The toxicity of pale toadstools and symptoms of poisoning

When eating toadstool, poisoning occurs. The toxicity of these mushrooms is not lost during heat treatment. Severe poisoning occurs when eating ¼ of an average mushroom, that is, about 30 grams is enough. In children, such poisonings most often result in death.

1.5-2 days after poisoning, incessant vomiting, muscle pain, colic in the intestines, thirst that cannot be quenched, and bloody diarrhea appear. Jaundice may develop and the liver may become enlarged. The pulse becomes thread-like and very weak. Arterial pressure falls and loss of consciousness occurs.

Due to acute cardiovascular failure and toxic hepatitis, death occurs in most cases. The particular danger of the toadstool is that the symptoms of poisoning do not appear for a long time. The first signs can be noticed after 6-24 hours, but during this time the body is already poisoned and irreparable damage is caused.

Once symptoms appear, the risk of death is very high, and treatment often fails. The peculiarity of poisoning with toadstool is also manifested in the onset of a “period of false well-being” observed on the 3rd day. This period can last 2-4 days, but in reality during this time the process of destruction of the kidneys and liver occurs. Death most often occurs within 10 days after poisoning with toadstools.

Chemical composition of pale toadstools

The fruiting bodies of toadstools contain bicyclic toxic polypeptides. On this moment There are 2 types of toxins of the pale grebe:
Amanitins are the most poisonous toxins, and they are slow-acting. The presence of these toxins is recognized by their purple color using special reagents;
Phalloidins are fast-acting toxins, but not so poisonous. They are recognized by their blue color when using reagents.

The substance amanin, also part of the toadstool, occupies an intermediate position between the two groups of toxins, since it acts slowly, but gives a blue color.

Pale toadstools also contain a cyclic polypeptide anthamanide, which reduces the effect of phalloidin, but the content of this substance is extremely low, so the toxic effect does not change.

Amanitin and phalloidin have a detrimental effect mainly on the liver. Toxins of the toadstool lead to disruption of the biosynthesis of protein, glycogen and phospholipids, as well as the development of necrosis and fatty degeneration of the liver.

Related species

A close relative of the toadstool is white grebe or stinking fly agaric, as well as spring fly agaric.

The stinking fly agaric is also a deadly poisonous mushroom. This mushroom is completely white with a grayish tint. The diameter of the cap is 6-11 centimeters. At first, the shape of the cap is conical with a sharp tip, and then becomes convex. The skin is sticky and slimy. The height of the leg is 10-15 centimeters. The stem is cylindrical, tuberous at the base with a flocculent coating. At first there is a membranous ring on the stem, but it quickly disappears.

Amanita stinkers form mycorrhizae with various deciduous and coniferous trees. They prefer moist soils and are found in mixed, deciduous, pine and spruce forests. These mushrooms grow in Eurasia - from France to the Far East. They are also common in mountainous areas. The fruiting season is from June to October.

Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse this dangerous mushroom with champignons. As a result, severe poisoning occurs, most often fatal. Symptoms of poisoning are the same as for the pale grebe.

The spring fly agaric, like the pale toadstool and the stinking fly agaric, is a deadly poisonous mushroom. The cap of this mushroom is wide, smooth, and shaped like a curved saucer. The surface is smooth and shiny. Young mushrooms have a spherical cap shape. The color of the cap can vary from white to beige. The length of the leg reaches 5-12 centimeters, the diameter does not exceed 3 centimeters. There may be a characteristic growth at the place where the cap is attached. The same growth forms at the base.

These mushrooms appear in the spring and are common in more southern regions. They are sometimes considered a type of toadstool. Spring fly agarics grow in forests, preferring calcareous soils.

Young spring fly agarics are difficult to distinguish from champignons. Therefore, cases of poisoning are common. The stem and cap of the spring fly agaric contain strong muscarinic poisons, which, even with minimal exposure to digestive system cause death to a person. If the spring fly agaric ends up in a basket with other mushrooms, they will all have to be thrown away, because the poisonous mushroom contains a contact toxin that, when touched, penetrates into other fruiting bodies.

According to the description, the pale grebe is similar to other representatives of the mushroom kingdom, including edible ones. Therefore, when collecting varieties that have with it common features, it is necessary to remember the time of growth of the fruiting body and the place of its distribution.

Grows in temperate climate Eurasia and North America. It can be found in light broad-leaved and deciduous forests with fertile soil, and occasionally in mixed ones.

Most often, the pale toadstool is adjacent to plants such as birch, linden and oak. It occurs in park areas. It is extremely rare to find a mushroom in coniferous forests with sandy soils.

The most common cases of poisoning by this poisonous mushroom occur from July to November. This is due to the fact that it is at this time that the mycelium produces fruiting bodies.

Description of the pale grebe

Hat. The diameter of the cap of the pale grebe is up to 14 cm. More often - up to 10 cm. Its silky skin has a greenish-olive or grayish-green color. The center of the cap is often slightly darker, while the edges are lighter. The skin is usually smooth, less often scales are visible on it, which are the remains of the bedspread. Young mushrooms have a convex cap, which becomes flat-convex or prostrate as they grow. The cap plates are white. The flesh is white, greenish under the skin. There are pale toadstools of a rarer white form.

Leg. The length of the leg of the pale grebe can be up to 20 cm, thickness up to 2 cm. The color of the leg is white, greenish-yellow veins, stains or patterns are clearly visible on it. The leg is widened at the bottom. The toadstool has several distinctive features that help you recognize this scary mushroom.

Mushroom pickers should be alerted to the whitish ring in the upper part of the stem, which can be solid, torn or inconspicuous, similar to flakes. It is formed from a film covering the plates of young pale grebes. The calyx-volva, torn into three or four lobes when a young mushroom appears, should also scare away. Volva is located at the bottom of the leg (near the ground). The leg does not adhere to the Volvo, it seems that it is inserted into it. The color of the outer side of the Volva is whitish, yellowish or greenish. It seems that the sac-like cup of the Volva is prepared “for growth.”

The most dangerous mushroom in this regard is the toadstool. It is easily recognized by the whitish bulb at the end of the stalk and the disheveled whitish skirt just below the white cap with a ribbed sporangium. The poison is lethal even in minute quantities (B.T. Chuvin “A Man in an Extreme Situation”).

Pale toadstools are moisture-loving; in rainy weather they appear en masse in entire “plantations.” In the drier areas of the country, the pallid grebe is much less common. The fungus grows more often in deciduous and mixed forests. But this does not exclude its appearance in conifers. Especially in pine forests, where there is a lot of sphagnum moss.

The pale grebe appears from June. Its growth peak is observed from the second half of August to mid-September.

Mushroom counterparts to toadstool

If all pale grebes looked “like in the picture,” then this wouldn’t happen. large quantity people who put this poisonous mushroom in their basket, and then in the frying pan.

IN last years There are a lot of mutant mushrooms in the forests... The pale grebe also “learned” to camouflage itself. Even experienced mushroom pickers sometimes cannot distinguish it from russula, honey mushroom or champignon (V. Zhavoronkov “The ABCs of Safety in Emergency Situations”).

• Russula is green and greenish. The green variety of white toadstool is often confused with the very common russula. The main differences: the absence of a ring on the white stem of the russula. The legs of green and greenish russula do not have scales or patterns. There is no volvo at the base of the russula stem.

• Greenfinch. The plates of the greenfinch are lemon-colored, while those of the pale toadstool are white. Greenfinch is a stocky, strong mushroom. The pallid grebe is completely different.
• Float. The white-shaped pallid grebe (fortunately rarer) can easily be confused with a floater. Even experienced mushroom pickers make mistakes with these mushrooms. For beginner mushroom pickers, the white float is at risk.
• Champignon. The pale grebe is sometimes called " false champignon" It is more difficult to deal with young mushrooms.
• Amanita stinking(Amanita virosa), or white toadstool, which grows closer to the North, is also a deadly poisonous mushroom twin of the pale toadstool. In the Moscow region there is a lot of it dry years. On Far East white grebe grows in spruce-fir forests. The fly agaric would not be worth remembering if there were no similarities between the pale toadstool, the stinking fly agaric and the white float.

• Amanita toadstool(Amanita mappa) also resembles a pale grebe. But it has a volva attached to the leg and flakes of parts of the bedspread remaining on the cap. This inedible mushroom was previously considered poisonous due to the presence of the toxin bufotenin in its tissue. Amanita toadstool joins the list of mushroom counterparts to the toadstool, but does not evoke any desire to put the mushroom in the basket.

How to distinguish edible mushrooms from toadstools

To recognize a dangerous mushroom in time, you need to know some of its features:

One toadstool in a dish makes the entire batch toxic.

But there are also small benefits from these poisons:

• In homeopathic doses they can be used as an antidote to poisonous mushrooms.
• Some have learned to poison harmful insects with these poisons without harming themselves or others.
• The ability to fight wrinkles is being studied: if the skin is pale and aging, then injections with microdoses of toxins are used. But this use is controversial.
• IN folk medicine infusions of toadstool are considered as a cure for cancer. Official medicine I did not find confirmation of this, although laboratory experiments on mice gave encouraging results.

The danger of toadstool far outweighs the potential benefit. Therefore, it is better to remember what a mushroom looks like, study its photo and stay away from it.

Toadstool poisoning

Toadstool poisoning– designation of an incident in which the fruiting body of a fungus of the Pale grebe species enters the human digestive tract in an amount that is harmful to health and causes poisoning. One of the dangers for humans when eating mushrooms. It can end in the death of a person.

Causes of poisoning with toadstool

The cause of poisoning is human consumption of collected fruiting bodies of the toadstool. It occurs by mistake or as a result of intentional poisoning.

In case of intentional poisoning:

• you can become a victim of the actions of another person or group of people;
• You can become poisoned as a result of your own actions.

Pale toadstool is confused with champignon, russula, and greenfinch when picking mushrooms in the forest.

The poisons of the toadstool are not destroyed by decoction, drying, and are not digested in the gastrointestinal tract.

Picture of poisoning

Toadstool is a deadly poisonous mushroom, and even a small amount of fruiting bodies eaten can lead to severe poisoning and death. The poisons of the toadstool do not disappear when boiled and dried. It is characterized by a pleasant taste, which makes this mushroom indistinguishable from edible species.

8-48 hours after eating toadstool, vomiting, intestinal colic, pain, thirst, diarrhea (possibly with blood), cyanosis (whitening) of the skin and mucous membranes, decreased body temperature, and convulsions begin.

Toadstool poisoning can be classified according to severity in clinical practice into mild, moderate and severe. In case of mild poisoning, moderate gastroenteritis and mild hepatopathy (liver damage) are observed.

The average degree of poisoning is accompanied by severe gastroenteritis, toxic hepatopathy (liver damage) of moderate severity, toxic nephropathy (kidney damage) of mild or moderate severity.

Severe poisoning is accompanied by severe gastroenteritis, hepatopathy, nephropathy with transition to acute liver and kidney failure.

Stages of poisoning

Poisoning by toadstool in modern times medical literature conditionally divided into periods.

The characteristics and names of the periods may differ, perhaps, for example, the following division:

1. An incubation or latent period lasting from 6 hours to a day or more, during which there are no symptoms of poisoning.
2. A period of acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the small intestinal mucosa), accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Lasts 1-2 days or longer.
3. “A period of imaginary well-being” or a visible temporary improvement in the health status of the poisoned person, although there is no real improvement.
4. The period of damage to parenchymal organs. Acute renal and liver failure develops and death may occur.
5. If death does not occur, there may be a period of recovery.

Mechanism of poisoning

When poisoned by toadstool, phalloidin syndrome develops. It manifests itself in defeat gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys. Under the influence of toadstool toxins, necrosis and fatty degeneration of the liver develop.

In 100 g fresh mushrooms contains 10 mg phalloidin, 8 mg α-amanitin. The lethal dose of α-amanitin is 0.1 mg per 1 kg of body weight. The reference books state that one mushroom or a piece of it is enough to cause death. The mortality rate for poisoning with toadstool can reach 50% or higher and depends on the dose, as well as the age of the poisoned person. Children and old people die more often from such poisonings.

Toadstool poisoning is more common in Europe than in America. Until the mid-20th century, the mortality rate was 60–70%, but this percentage has decreased significantly with the improvement of medicine. Between 1971 and 1980, the mortality rate in Europe from toadstool poisoning was 22.4%. Subsequently, the figure dropped to 10–15%.

Toxins that cause poisoning

Science currently divides substances (toxins) poisonous to humans contained in the fruiting bodies of the toadstool into groups:

• amanitins (amatoxins, amanitotoxins)
• phalloidins (phallotoxins)
• amanin.

Amanitins act faster than phalloidins, but are less toxic.

Treatment of toadstool poisoning

Effective treatment of poisoning by toadstool is carried out in a medical hospital (hospital).

Typical medical procedures for poisoning with toadstool:

• gastric lavage;
• supply of adsorbents;
• combating dehydration;
• administration of glucocorticoids.

Conducted:

• hemosorption (blood purification).
• treatment of exotoxic shock.

Doctors use proteolytic enzymes (contrical, gordox) to slow down the metabolism of many nephro- and hepatotoxic substances, which is dangerous for the body. Lipoic acid (acidum thiocticum) is used in a daily dose of up to 300 mg. Liver therapy is being carried out.

In the world there are isolated examples of liver transplantation for the described poisoning.

Studies have shown that most survivors make a full recovery without any side effects if treatment is started less than 36 hours after taking the mushrooms. A good antidote is a decoction of milk thistle.

Cultural, historical and other interesting information

Pale toadstool is the most poisonous of our fly agarics and one of the most poisonous mushrooms in general. Statistics: if about 95% of all known fatal mushroom poisonings are caused by species of the genus Amanita, then, in turn, more than 50% of all fatal poisonings by fly agarics are caused by the toadstool. Killer mushroom No. 1, worse than a man-eating shark.

In the world, the pale grebe is quite widespread. Its homeland is Europe, from where it has penetrated into East Asia, Africa, both Americas and even Australia and New Zealand. There are many different places where toadstool grows, although it is not very common.

Mycorrhizal northern and midland European tree partners of the toadstool are oak, linden, hazel, birch, maple, elm, beech, hornbeam, and in the southern regions also chestnut. Quite rarely, but nevertheless, the toadstool is successfully able to form mycorrhiza with pine and spruce. It is noteworthy that in new places, during the process of introduction, the pale grebe finds new, previously uncharacteristic partners. For example, in coastal California, A. phalloides has invaded hemlock ( conifer tree) and virgin oak, in Iran - hazelnuts, in Tanzania and Algeria - eucalyptus, in New Zealand - various species of myrtle trees.

IN late XIX century, the famous American mycologist Charles Peck announced the discovery European species A. phalloides in North America. However, in 1918 these samples were tested and identified by mycologist Professor Atkinson (Cornell University) as similar appearance A. brunnescens. The question of the transcontinental nature of the great grebe seemed to be closed, but in the 1970s it suddenly became clear that the undoubted European great grebe had colonized both the eastern and western North American coasts, having moved from Europe along with seedlings of the then popular chestnut trees. In general, the pale grebe, having started in Europe, took over the entire Northern Hemisphere in exactly this way - along with seedlings and commercial wood. It took her about 50 years to complete all her work. Together with oak seedlings, it penetrated into Australia and South America(green dances around the grown oak trees “pleased the eye” for a long time in Melbourne and Canberra, as well as in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, until a few years later the mushrooms found new mycorrhizal partners and began to march across the continents). It has been reliably established that with pine seedlings, the toadstool “jumped” to Tanzania and South Africa, where it quickly colonized the local oaks and poplars.

Since ancient times, people have been poisoned by toadstool, both accidentally and out of malicious intent. Perhaps the earliest of known cases Poisoning with toadstool (eaten by mistake instead of Caesar's mushroom) can be considered the death of the wife and children of the great playwright of antiquity, Euripides.

History has brought to us many facts and deliberate “harassment” famous personalities poisonous mushrooms to eliminate them from the political or even religious arena. Apparently, most of them are the pale grebe. The “lucky ones” most often mentioned in this regard are the Roman Emperor Claudius and Pope Clement VII.

Video

Sources

http://grib-info.ru/yadivitie/blednaya-poganka.html

Few people know that the toadstool mushroom (Amanita phalloides) is a fly agaric in the full sense of the word. Even its second name - green fly agaric - speaks for itself.

In this article we will tell you what to do if you are poisoned by toadstool, where this mushroom grows and what it looks like.

The description of the pale toadstool is very similar to the greenish russula and even champignon.

The cap of one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world (diameter 6-16 cm): light olive, can be intensely green, gray, yellowish or almost white, covered with a thin film.

Changes size and shape depending on the age of the mushroom.

Pay attention to the photo of the pale toadstool: its cap in shape and size resembles a small chicken egg:

With time top part grows and changes from hemispherical to almost flat with smooth edges.

Leg (height 9-17 cm): cylindrical, tapering from bottom to top. The color is usually the same as the cap.

The plates are frequent, soft, white. The pulp does not emit any odor and does not change white color at the cut site.

Where and when does the toadstool grow?

Pale grebe grows from late July to mid-October in the temperate zone of the Eurasian continent and North America. Less common in Asia.

This mushroom prefers saturated aluminous soils of forests of all types, but most of all it loves oaks and hazels.

Pale toadstool poison and signs of poisoning

The poison of the pale grebe poisons the human body in a very cunning way. Symptoms of poisoning may not appear for a day or more. In fact, already at this time the toxin is slowly acting. And even heat treatment of the toadstool does not reduce its poisonous properties.

Remember that even 1/3 of an adult mushroom can cause severe poisoning, which very quickly leads to death. The main signs of toadstool poisoning are nausea, vomiting, liver damage (jaundice), muscle pain and bloody diarrhea. If you have even the slightest signs of toadstool poisoning, consult a doctor immediately. And if you doubt the edibility of a mushroom, do not eat it!

This mushroom can easily be confused with edible forest fruits, so when going “mushroom hunting” you should be careful. Pale toadstool is similar to mushrooms of any kind, green (Russula aeruginea) and greenish russula (Russula virescens). It can also be confused with different floats (Amanita).

If you compare a photo of what a toadstool looks like and a photo of champignons, you will notice that the latter do not have a mushroom volva (the protective shell between the edge of the cap and the stem). In addition, champignons usually have colored plates rather than white. Russula is characterized by the absence of volva and severe fragility. In addition, greenish russula is smaller in size and does not have a mushroom ring.

Uses of toadstool

Eating: The mushroom is very poisonous and is not used in cooking.

Use in folk medicine (the data is not confirmed and has not undergone clinical studies!): Toadstool is used in very small doses in homeopathy.

Along with botulism, food poisoning by mushrooms is the most terrible type of toxic injury, which in 90 out of 100 cases ends in death. Paradoxically, the most common intoxication among them is poisoning with toadstool, which mainly kills experienced mushroom pickers, their relatives or people who bought mushrooms from them.

It would seem, how can one confuse this poisonous mushroom with edible species? Why do statistics show this? high percent mortality? What is the difference between a champignon and a toadstool, and what do you need to know and how to act so that the mushroom dishes you eat do not turn out to be the last food in your life?

Appearance of the pale grebe

In fact, it is quite easy to distinguish pale toadstool from other false, non-poisonous, but inedible or edible mushrooms. This mushroom has certain characteristics, by the combination of which it is easy to recognize:

• The cap of a young mushroom is white-gray, “envelops” the stem and, together with it, is in the film of the volva;
• The cap of a mature or old toadstool is spread out, glossy, with different shades of white. These can be yellowish, olive, gray and greenish tones.
• The toadstool's leg is white, widens downwards and has two “skirts”. One is located under the cap, and the second clasps the wide tuberous extension of the leg. By the way, greenfinches, rowers and russulas do not have such distinctive films.
• The flesh, “skirts” and plates on the underside of the cap of the pale toadstool are snow-white.
• The taste and smell of the pale toadstool are pleasant. They don't have a metallic taste. However, you shouldn't check this. Eating these mushrooms means preparing yourself for certain painful death.

Attention! You can also be poisoned by microscopic spores of the toadstool, which are carried by the wind over a distance of up to 5 m. Therefore, mushrooms collected in the forest must be thoroughly washed.

Differences from other mushrooms

• How to distinguish a champignon from a toadstool? The champignon differs from the toadstool in the absence of thickening in the lower (underground) part of the leg, and at first the snow-white plates at the cap of the young champignon gradually turn a rich brown color.
• How to distinguish the pale toadstool from the delicious umbrella or dung beetle? Pale grebes do not have the characteristic pink-gray or dark gray scales, which in umbrellas and dung beetles spread from the center of the cap to the edges. In addition, the dung beetle has a feature by which it is very easy to identify this delicacy mushroom– the cap of even an old mushroom always seems to “encircle” the stem.
• Distinguish the conditionally edible pusher or floater from the pale grebe it is possible only due to the absence of a ring skirt, so only a few experienced mushroom pickers collect such mushrooms, but they also take risks, since the pusher and the toadstool like to grow mixed up. Moreover, floats and grebes may not differ from each other, since the latter sometimes lack a “skirt”.

So why is it so easy to get poisoned by the toadstool mushroom? The reason for this is simple inattention or fatigue, especially if the collection takes place in a clearing with a number of growing myceliums different kinds mushrooms

Poison of the toadstool and its effect on the human body

Pale toadstool belongs to the most dangerous group of poisonous mushrooms, which have a pronounced plasmatoxic effect, which is ensured by the content of the following toxins:

1. Amish (α, β, γ, σ). Their action is extended over time, but it is their high concentration that is fatal to humans.
2. Phalloidins. A total of 5 varieties have been identified, of which only one decomposes when boiled. These toxins act quickly. Unlike the Amish, they do not pose a clear mortal threat, but can lead to disability.
3. Amanin. A particularly toxic peptide that affects liver and kidney cells.

The poisons of the toadstool do not decompose under the influence of vinegar and alcohol, and are resistant to high temperatures when boiling, frying, drying, they are not afraid of solar radiation, and can also withstand deep freezing. A total of 10 types of toxins have been isolated from the toadstool, but only the ones listed above have been studied. However, there are more than enough of them.

For a person weighing about 70 kg lethal dose is 0.02-0.03 g, which is contained in only 0.15 g of pale toadstools!

These poisons, once in the body, have a certain effect on different systems and organs:

• disrupt the vital functions of the central nervous system and cause mental disorders;
• lead to fatty degeneration of the tissues of the liver, pancreas, spleen and kidneys;
• provoke internal hemorrhages and subsequent tissue necrosis in the walls of the stomach and intestines;
• disrupt metabolism and cause cerebral edema.

An encouraging discovery! Recently, a unique substance, antamanide, has been isolated from the toadstool, which significantly reduces the toxic effect of α-amanitol and phalloidins. Scientists hope that this cyclopeptide will become the basis of a medicine against the poisons of toadstool and other poisonous mushrooms.

Symptoms and stages of poisoning

The first signs of poisoning do not appear immediately - the latent period is individual for each organism and ranges from 8 hours to 2 days, but symptoms may appear earlier.

A person who eats a toadstool does not immediately notice any ailments. The manifestation of symptoms begins only when toxins begin to affect the nerve centers of the brain, which regulate the functions of individual organs.

Symptoms of poisoning with toadstool will be expressed in the following order:

• uncontrollable bouts of vomiting;
• after 2-3 hours, foul-smelling diarrhea occurs (stools up to 25 times a day), which is accompanied by sharp pain in the abdomen;
• sweating increases sharply;
• in case of severe poisoning, loss of vision and voice is possible;
• body temperature drops to 35° C, extremities become cold, skin becomes bluish;
• dehydration and malabsorption nutrients V small intestine lead to thickening of the blood, unquenchable thirst, cyanosis of the lips and nails, muscle cramps;
• blood pressure drops, pulse is palpable poorly.

Poisoning with toadstool occurs in several stages:

1. The latent period usually lasts 6-12 hours, without the manifestation of any symptoms.
2. Acute manifestation of symptoms within 1-2 days.
3. Stage of imaginary recovery. Symptoms are subsiding. Lasts about 24 hours. Most often, it is at the end of these days, if treatment in a hospital is not carried out, that death occurs.
4. Destruction of the body. If the poisoned person has survived the critical moment of the stage of imaginary recovery, then the primary symptoms return. Signs of liver and kidney destruction begin to appear, and persistent disturbances in the functioning of the heart muscle occur. All these changes can also be fatal.

First aid at home

If there is a suspicion of mushroom poisoning, namely, if vomiting begins several hours after eating mushroom dishes, you should not hesitate and count on “maybe it will go away on its own.”

If you are poisoned by mushrooms, you should not panic; you must immediately call an ambulance, and while it is on its way, you should rinse your stomach. You can find out how to properly carry out this procedure.

After each gastric lavage, it is necessary to give a saline laxative. It’s good to give an enema - 1.2-1.5 liters is enough for an adult, 0.25 liters of cool water is enough for a child. For cramps, applying hot heating pads or mustard plasters to the calves is indicated. If you lose consciousness, you should make sure that the person does not choke on vomit.

The remains of the mushroom dish and vomit must be handed over to an emergency doctor for laboratory analysis. This will significantly reduce the time to determine the exact cause of poisoning and help to quickly begin appropriate therapy.

Treatment for poisoning in a hospital

The decision to hospitalize for treatment of mushroom poisoning is within the competence of the emergency physician. The following activities will be carried out in the hospital:

• combating dehydration with the help of droppers with glucose and saline, which are placed according to a special scheme;
• maintaining the central nervous system and cardiac activity with droppers of strychnine nitrate;
• complex intake of teoctic acid, abiocin, ercefurin and ascorbic acid;
• prescription of drugs according to indications - Pantopon, Corazal, morphine.

Prevention of intoxication with toadstool

Toadstool poisoning has its seasonal peak - most often this diagnosis is recorded in August. So if you really want to try forest mushrooms, then buy them in early summer or autumn. When hunting for mushrooms and cutting off a mushroom that looks like a toadstool, it is best to throw it away rather than look for distinctive features.

This is interesting. German scientists proposed using the pale grebe for peaceful purposes, namely, using it unique ability concentrate heavy metal salts to cleanse contaminated soils.

In order not to be poisoned by pale toadstools, namely not to accidentally eat them, there are two most effective ways. Firstly, you should not buy any mushrooms, especially canned ones, from your hands! After all, the toxins of the toadstool can be transferred by a mushroom picker’s knife to the stems of edible mushrooms. Poisonous spores of toadstool present on other mushrooms can also cause poisoning. Secondly, when picking mushrooms, you should remember the golden rule of the mushroom picker: If you doubt it, don’t take it!