Poisonous mushroom Galerina fringed. Features

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

Experienced mushroom pickers bypass the mushroom that appears in our forests by the end of summer under the name "bordered galerina", which belongs to the category of poisonous.

General Description

Galerinas are small soil and tree saprophytes of the Cortinariaceae family. The main features are yellowish-brown caps with adherent plates and brown spore powder. Species identification is sometimes difficult, because these signs are not so obvious. In total, there are up to several hundred types of galleries. In different sources, these data differ, so it is difficult to talk about the exact number. Significant adjustments have been made as a result of ongoing genetic studies of fungi belonging to this genus. Among them, the bordered galerina is considered extremely poisonous, the photo of which and the description are presented in this article.

Appearance

A small hat with a diameter of no more than 4 cm has a conical shape at the growth stage, and in maturity it becomes convex-prostrate, sometimes even flat. A small bump usually remains in the center.

The edges of the cap are slightly ribbed, slightly translucent. At high humidity, its matte smooth surface is covered with sticky mucus. Frequent plates in a young fungus may be covered with a white fibrous film.

The color of the cap largely depends on the humidity. In wet weather, it has a rather bright red, brownish or yellow-brown color. Through the lighter, almost translucent edges, strips of plates are visible. In the dry season, the fringed galerina takes on a duller pale yellow color.

The cylindrical thin leg of this mushroom with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 cm can have a height of up to 5–7 cm. Its upper part is lighter, has a white coating, and the lower part is darker, becoming almost brown over time. The stem has a leathery, slightly raised ring that disappears with age. The spores are a fine brown-rusty powder.

Habitats

Galerina bordered mushroom is distributed almost everywhere, most often found in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, North America, Russia and even Australia.

Lives mainly in marshy and forested areas. Grows, as a rule, on decayed wood of coniferous or deciduous species, near trunks, on stumps, occasionally found on moss-covered soil.

The fungus receives nutrients through the breakdown of organic matter. The dissolution of polysaccharides is due to the secreted enzymes of most major classes.

Usually bordered galerina appears already in June, but the mass release of these mushrooms occurs from August to October, and with a long warm autumn, you can meet them in November. Grow most often singly. Fruiting usually occurs in September and continues until November.

Microscopy

A very variable species is the bordered galerina. Photos taken with a microscope confirm the fact that the spores of this fungus are the most diverse. There are variants with adherent perisporium, and with almost completely free, with sometimes expressed to varying degrees or with its absence.

Spores are almond-shaped, wrinkled, 7–10x5.5–7 microns in size. Pleurocystids are spindle-shaped, their neck is slightly rounded at the top.

Toxicity

Fringed Galerina is a highly poisonous mushroom containing the same toxins as the pale grebe. Its toxicity has been known for over 100 years, dating back to 1912, when the first fatal case was reported in the United States. Then reports of fatal poisoning with galerina appeared repeatedly. Only in the period from 1978 to 1995, 11 cases of serious poisoning were recorded, 5 of which ended in death. The remaining six patients in Michigan, Kansas and Ohio have successfully completed therapy.

Signs of poisoning do not appear immediately, but a day after eating mushrooms. The first symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, profuse urination and chills. After 3 days, these symptoms subside,a period of apparent improvement begins. But soon there are signs of jaundice, and the person dies as a result of impaired liver function. Often mistaken for another mushroom, bordered galerina gets into food. How to distinguish it so as not to become another victim can be found in this article.

The poisonousness of the fungus is due to the presence of alpha and beta amantine toxins in it. These are bicyclic peptides, very poisonous, but slow acting. In fresh form, the content of amatoxins is 78–270 μg per 1 gram of the fruiting body, which is much higher than in the pale grebe growing in Europe. This concentration can kill a child weighing 20 kg when eating a dozen medium-sized mushrooms.

Galerina bordered - how to distinguish from honey mushrooms

The poisonous galerina has the greatest resemblance to the summer honey agaric. It is with him that her novice mushroom pickers most often confuse. To avoid misunderstandings, you should know the features of the appearance of each of these mushrooms and exercise maximum vigilance when collecting them. You should never look for mushrooms in a coniferous forest - they do not grow there, but for the gallery this is a favorite habitat. It usually grows singly or in small clusters. Mushrooms, as a rule, are located in large groups. In addition, they have a pronounced ring on the stem, which is absent from the poisonous mushroom.

If you have the slightest doubt about the found mushrooms, it is better to leave them in the forest and not exposeyourself at mortal risk.