Mushrooms are a nutritious and delicious delicacy. But many of them are poisonous. This should always be remembered when going on a “quiet hunt”. In this article, we will talk in detail about one of the most insidious and dangerous mushrooms. Where does the pale grebe grow? How does she look? And how not to confuse it with other edible mushrooms? About everything - in the review.
Pale grebe: description and photo of the fungus
This is one of the most dangerous mushrooms on the planet. Just one piece eaten can be enough to cause a fatal outcome. According to historians, it was the pale toadstool that poisoned the Roman emperor Claudius and Pope Clement VII. Worst of all, poisoning can occur even with the slightest contact of the poison of this fungus with human mucous membranes.
Pale grebe mushroom (in Latin: Amanita phalloides) is the closest relative of the fly agaric. The people often call him that: "white fly agaric." The poison of the mushroom is incredibly strong in its effect. And if the well-known red fly agaric can be eaten aftercertain heat treatment, it is simply impossible to extract all the toxins from the toadstool.
Pale grebe is a classic cap mushroom that has an ovoid shape at a young age. The diameter of the cap is from 5 to 15 centimeters in diameter, the height of the stem is 8-16 cm. The mushroom got its name from the pale shade of the fruiting body. Its closest "relatives": spring fly agaric and white grebe.
What does a mushroom look like?
Mushroom pickers have no room for error. Therefore, they must learn to completely distinguish the pale grebe from any other species. Let's take a closer look at what this mushroom looks like.
The fruit body of the toadstool is entirely covered with a thin film. The flesh of the mushroom is white, fleshy, it practically does not change its color when damaged. The color of the cap varies from light gray to olive or slightly greenish. However, with age, it always acquires a grayish tint. The leg has a standard cylindrical shape with a slight thickening at the base. At the top of it is a characteristic leathery ring.
In adulthood, the pale grebe can exude a sweetish and not very pleasant smell. The fruiting body of the fungus contains various poisons. They are divided into two groups: aggressive, but slow-acting amatoxins and fast-acting, but less toxic phallotoxins.
Distribution of the fungus in nature
Where does the pale grebe grow? Where should we expect to meet this insidious mushroom?
Toadstools are found innature quite often. Their main distribution area is the temperate zone of Eurasia (in particular, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) and North America. They grow both singly and in groups. The growing season starts around the end of August and lasts until early November (until the first hard frost).
The pale grebe prefers mixed or light deciduous forests, ideally broadleaf. He likes to "settle" under beeches, hornbeams, oaks, lindens, hazel bushes. Often found in city parks and squares. Sometimes lives in birch groves. But to meet her in a pine forest is very difficult. Grebe does not tolerate sandy substrate, preferring fertile humus soils.
Edible Toadstool Twins
Almost every edible mushroom in nature has its poisonous counterpart. It is important for both experienced and novice mushroom pickers to thoroughly understand this truth. The list of mushrooms that look like pale toadstool is quite large. So, in central Russia, it is most often confused with forest champignon, green russula, floats and greenfinch.
Extremely important! You can not cut the mushroom directly under the hat. After all, in this way you can not notice the membranous ringlet, which is characteristic of the pale toadstool. By the way, this is how most often pieces of a poisonous mushroom get into the basket of mushroom pickers.
Another useful tip: after returning from a quiet hunt, sort out the harvest. Separate types of mushrooms should be laid out in even rows: chanterelles, mushrooms, russula, etc. Thanks to this, you can easily calculate the poisonous double - itimmediately catches the eye. And if you find a toadstool, you will have to get rid of the entire basket, as the poison may remain on other, edible mushrooms.
Another extremely important rule: if you have even the slightest doubt about a particular mushroom, do not cut it at all.
Toadstool and champignon: how to distinguish?
How to distinguish forest champignon from pale grebe? This task is not an easy one. Therefore, many mushroom pickers do not risk picking champignons in the forest at all. The table below will help you understand this issue.
| Champignon | Pale Grebe |
| Has purple or brown plates | Has white plates |
| Does not have a velum (thickening) at the base | There is a velum, and it is clearly visible |
| Hat turns yellow when damaged | Does not change color when damaged |
| The flesh often smells like almonds or anise | Usually does not emit any odors |
Young individuals of these two mushrooms are incredibly difficult to distinguish from each other. This is only possible for mushroom pickers with extensive experience in quiet hunting. For comparison: the photo below shows young grebe mushrooms (left) and wild champignon (right).
Russula and grebe: how to tell the difference?
Experienced mushroom pickers strongly advisecollect only pink, orange or red russula. So you definitely can't go wrong. The following table will help you distinguish green russula from poisonous grebe.
| Russula green | Pale Grebe |
| There is no thickening at the base of the mushroom, the leg is even and straight. | At the base of the fungus there is a powerful tuberous thickening (velum). |
| The leg looks thicker | Toadstool leg is much thinner |
| There is no ring at the top of the leg | There is a characteristic ring at the top of the leg |
For comparison: the photo below shows a toadstool (left) and a green russula (right).
Toadstool poisoning: main symptoms
This mushroom is perhaps the most poisonous on the planet. To lay a he althy and strong man on a hospital bed, only thirty grams of pale grebe is enough. Signs of poisoning with this mushroom (basic):
- Intense profuse vomiting.
- Intestinal colic.
- Pain and muscle cramps.
- Intense thirst.
- Weak thready pulse.
- Low blood pressure.
- Bloody diarrhea.
Toadstool poisoning is almost always accompanied by an enlarged liver, as well as a sharp decrease in blood glucose levels. latent periodlasts an average of about 12 hours.
The main danger of toadstool poisoning lies in the so-called period of imaginary recovery, which occurs on the third day. At this time, the patient becomes much better, but in fact the process of destruction of the internal organs (liver and kidneys) continues. Death usually occurs within ten days of poisoning. At the same time, the likelihood of death increases significantly in people with a weak cardiovascular system.
What to do in case of toadstool poisoning?
If the treatment was started no later than 36 hours from the moment of poisoning, then the chances of a successful recovery are quite high. At the slightest suspicion of poisoning with a pale toadstool, only three actions should be taken immediately:
- Call an ambulance.
- Purify the stomach by inducing vomiting.
- Take activated charcoal (dose: 1 gram per kilogram of weight).
What absolutely can not be done in case of poisoning:
- Take something that increases circulation.
- Drink alcoholic beverages.
- Perform even minimal physical activity.
The treatment process is quite difficult, as there is no suitable antidote as such. In case of toadstool poisoning, doctors use benzyl penicillin, as well as lipoic acid. In parallel, they carry out forced diuresis, hemosorption, put a dropper with glucose and prescribe heart drugs. Overall resulttreatment will depend on the dose of the poison that has entered the bloodstream and the general condition of the body.
5 common myths about the "white fly agaric"
There are a lot of myths and false information about the pale grebe in society. Knowing the true information will help you protect yourself. So let's list them:
- Myth 1: Pale toadstool tastes bad. Actually it is not! It is quite tender, tasty and absolutely not bitter. It is almost impossible to distinguish a poisonous mushroom by taste.
- Myth 2: "Amanita muscaria" smells bad. In reality, the smell is one of the similarities between pale grebe and champignon. Both mushrooms exude an innocent, rather pleasant aroma.
- Myth 3: Small insects and worms do not eat this mushroom. In fact, some of them are not averse to fortifying themselves with this unsafe delicacy.
- Myth 4: Pale grebe can be detoxified by boiling it in s alt water with vinegar. Absolute lie!
- Myth 5: Garlic chives will turn brown if thrown into a pot of toadstools. Again not true. Garlic changes its color under the influence of tyrosinase, an enzyme that can be found in any mushroom, both edible and poisonous.
Benefits of "white fly agaric"
Strange as it may sound, but a pale grebe can also bring some benefit to a person. So, in very small (homeopathic) doses, it serves as an antidote in case of poisoning by other poisonous mushrooms. The toadstool is also used to control certain pests and insects. In folk medicine, tinctures from this fungus are used as a cure forcancer. Subcutaneous injections with microdoses of toxin are practiced to combat wrinkles.
Nevertheless, the danger of the pale grebe is many times greater than the potential benefit that it can bring to a person. Therefore, it is better to remember what this mushroom looks like and stay away from it in the forest as far as possible.
