What is the danger of white toadstool mushroom?

Many people are very fond of dishes made from mushrooms. This product is a rich source of vitamins and protein. Mushrooms were used as food in ancient times, and until today they have not lost their attractiveness. But there are species that hide in themselves a mortal threat. One of the most poisonous mushrooms is considered a pale (white) toadstool. The second name is green fly agaric. Eating this mushroom for most people ends in failure, 90 out of 100 cases are fatal. Sometimes even the most avid mushroom pickers make a mistake. To prevent a tragedy, you need to know exactly what the white grebe looks like and in what regions it occurs.

Where is mushroom common?

The most prominent representative of poisonous mushrooms is fly agaric, it is to this genus that the pale grebe belongs. It occurs in the temperate climatic zone of the Eurasian and North American continents. The fungus grows on fertile or mixed soils, often adjacent to trees such as birch, oak and linden. Mostly it can be found in deciduous or deciduous forest, but there are times when toadstools are found in parks. On sandy ground and in coniferous forests almost nonexistent.

Mushroom description

In order to avoid mistakes when collecting edible mushrooms, you need to carefully study the description of the white grebe:

Small mushroom, has a film coating.
The diameter of the hat can vary from 6 to 12 cm. It has a pale green, yellowish or white hue. To the center of the hat, the color is darker. In the process of growth, the hat changes shape: initially it can be flat or egg-shaped, then it changes to open. In a young mushroom, the surface of the cap is covered with flakes, which eventually disappear.
Underneath the hat hides white plates. Throughout the time they do not change their color. When feeling have a soft structure.
Mushroom flesh is white. If you break it, the color will not change.
The pale (white) grebe has a sweetish taste and pleasant aroma, but the old mushroom smells very nasty.
The shape of the legs is cylindrical. At the very base, which is wrapped in a Volvo in the form of a torn bowl, it has a thickening. At the top of the legs is a skirt. The color of the stalk is predominantly white, sometimes with a yellow or green tint.

Similarity to edible mushrooms

Often, mushroom pickers confuse a pale grebe with a green russula, since in appearance they are very similar. But still there are distinguishing features:

The white toadstool mushroom has a tuberous thickening on the leg (at the very base), which is not found in the Russula.
Edible mushroom is missing a skirt.

With a careful examination, you can easily notice the above differences.

Pale grebe has some similarities with champignon, and sometimes these mushrooms are quite difficult to distinguish from each other. The differences are not as noticeable as the russula, but still they are:

The plates located under the hat of a poisonous mushroom are painted white, but in champignon they are always brown or pink.
If you make a break, the edible mushroom flesh will acquire a red or yellowish tint. The grebe will not change color.
Champignons have a pronounced aroma, while a poisonous mushroom has a faint aroma.
Worms and insects bypass the toadstool, but they love to feast on the edible representatives of the mushroom kingdom.

Young champignons cannot be distinguished from a poisonous mushroom, therefore it is not recommended to cut them.

Symptoms of Poisoning

Pale grebe can be considered not only poisonous, but also the most insidious mushroom. By taste and smell it is difficult to distinguish from edible. Even heat treatment is not able to neutralize the action of the poison. Its concentration is so strong that in most cases it leads to severe poisoning, and then to death. The insidious thing is that intoxication symptoms do not appear immediately. After a white toadstool has been eaten, it can take from 6 to 12 hours, or even more than a day, before the poison makes itself felt.

The main symptoms talking about poisoning:

Vomiting and nausea are permanent.
The chair is liquid. It has an unpleasant odor. After a while, mucus and blood are observed in it.
The body is dehydrated. A person is thirsty and his skin becomes dry.
On the 3-4th day, false relief begins. This period can last 2-4 days.
The patient develops acute renal and liver failure.
Skin color turns yellow.
Epistaxis and subcutaneous hemorrhage are observed.
Consciousness becomes twilight and loses clarity.
The pulse is rapid, superficial. Blood pressure drops.