Amanita muscaria
From Palaeos
Amanita muscaria is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Amanita. A. muscaria var. muscaria, var. flavivolvata, and var. formosa are commonly called fly agaric (less often fly mushroom) or toadstool. It is one of the most recognizable mushroom images and widely used in popular culture. Though it is considered poisonous, Amanita muscaria is otherwise famed for its hallucinogenic properties.
The common name "Fly Agaric" comes from its European use as an insecticide, sprinkled in milk. It has been widely consumed for its psychopharmacological effects. It is a very easily exported species that has been imported to many countries outside Europe and North America, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations.
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[edit] Classification
Amanita muscaria is a member of the large genus Amanita, of which there are many deadly poisonous as well as some edible species. The highly poisonous Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina) is somewhat similar in appearance though brown rather than red. Other red Amanitas include the edible Caesar's mushroom (Amanita caesarea) which lacks the white warts.
Two recent molecular studies show that Amanita muscaria's close relatives in the genus appear to be Amanita gemmata, A. farinosa and A. roseitincta[1][2].
[edit] Distribution
Amanita muscaria is a cosmopolitan mushroom, found naturally across the northern hemisphere from the British Isles to Siberia, and North America. It has been widely transported into the southern hemisphere, including Australia[3], New Zealand and South America, where it usually occurs under introduced pine trees.
A recent molecular study proposes an ancestral origin in in the Siberian–Beringian region in the Tertiary period before radiating outwards[4].
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| Linnaean taxonomy | Phylogeny |
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Class: Homobasidiomycetae |
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Stratigraphic Range: Postulated Tertiary (molecular evidence) to Recent |
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[edit] Footnotes
[1] Moncalvo J-M, Drehmel D, & Vilgalys R. (2000). Variation in modes and rates of evolution in nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal DNA in the mushroom genus Amanita (Agaricales, Basidiomycota): phylogenetic implications. Molecular Phylogenetic and Evolution 16:48-63.
[2] Drehmel D, Moncalvo J-M, & Vilgalys R. (1999). Molecular phylogeny of Amanita based on large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and character evolution. Mycologia 91:610-618
[3] Reid DA (1980) A monograph of the Australian species of Amanita Persoon ex Hooker (Fungi). Australian Journal of Botany, 8, 1–96
[4] Geml J, Laursen GA, O’neill K, Nusbaum HC & Taylor DL (2006)Beringian origins and cryptic speciation events in the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) Molecular Ecology 15, 225–239
[edit] Credits
Credits: This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Amanita muscaria"
