Native Britain

Amanita virosa Destroying angel Spring amanita As beautiful as it is deadly, the aptly named destroying angel is found on the ground in mixed woodland, Amanita virosa and Amanita phalloides, variously known as the death cap, deathcap or death cup, are the two most deadly fungi on earth. There is no known antidote. Though the angel is rare in our lowlands, it is more plentiful in mountainous areas in Britain and Ireland and in the lowlands of northern Scotland. Symptoms of destroying angel poisoning start between eight and 24 hours after ingestion. Severe vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pains may last for a few days, followed by what seems to be a full recovery. However, the main poison, alpha amanatin, kills liver cells and passes through the kidneys to be recirculated and cause more damage. The simple maxim ‘never eat an amanita’ is a good one to follow. At the young stage, the destroying angel might easily be mistaken for one of the edible puffballs, such as Lycoperdon perlatum, the common puffball, or L pyriforme, the stump puffball. As always, never eat a mushroom if you are even slightly unsure of its ID.