A Mushroom's Mumblings ft. Eastern Destroying Angel

Common Name: Eastern (North American) Destroying Angel

Scientific Name: Amanita Bisporigera

Notes: Luckily, for any science or grammar nerds, I have learned that scientific names should be italicized. Also, this article is [number] words long. Have fun readers who may give up.

Originally, this article was meant to be a short piece, like the last, about the death cap (you know, the super famous & deadly mushroom), but then my attention was wrested away by a stray Reddit post concerning an eastern destroying angel poisoning incident. While it may seem a bit morbid to be interested in a mushroom that caused a death, I already wrote about another deadly mushroom, so I might as well continue writing with this interest. Additionally, to warn readers who actually read the articles in the Rambler, while this may seem to be a perfectly innocent package of concise information about one mushroom, it will also converse with itself on topics moderately related to the mushroom at hand. But I swear, which an unwilling witness can also attest to, that every part of this article is pertinent to your life and definitely not an info dump on my part. 

So, to start this wonderful exploration of facts, let us address the topic of the, le gasp, scientific name. The easiest thing to glean from the scientific name is that the eastern destroying angel is part of the Amanita genus, which consists of some of the most known toxic mushrooms, the prime example being the mushroom I so callously disregarded, the death cap. I know that while I declared we would start with the scientific name, implying that I would continue conversing with a nonexistent reader about it, further talk of the scientific name in this paragraph will be nonexistent. On to the third paragraph!

The eastern destroying angel is also part of the phalloideae section. Sections are a taxonomic rank below genera and above species; sections are more specific than a genus and helpful when there are 500 species within a genus. And no, do not confuse genus with genius. I will be in your walls at approximately 11:23:08 pm if so. 

I mean what?

The Amanita sect. phalloideae consists of the majority of identified deadly Amanita species. All mushrooms in said section derive from one common ancestor and contain amatoxin. Amatoxin, to put it briefly so as not to take away from the symptoms section that may eventually come up, inhibits RNA polymerase, causes disruption in the creation of mRNA, and can lead to liver failure depending on the dosage.

Then, back to dissecting the names, we may see that the eastern destroying angel contains the words ‘destroying angel.’ Hopefully, you can see that and not some amalgamation of weird images and blurring vision. So, vision permitting, the title “destroying angel” doesn’t only apply to A. bisporigera (see top of article for clarification), but also the spring destroying angel, European destroying angel, and the western destroying angel to name a few. All destroying angels look similar to each other, are predominately white  and, you guessed it, are all poisonous.

As for specific descriptions, the eastern destroying angel, not to be confused with the western one or, heavens forbid, the European one, has a smooth cap, lacking any warts or patches. Initially, the cap is convex, but, as time passes by, the cap becomes flatter. Comparing that to a human’s back, you may be able to see that posture gets worse with old age; do ignore the slouching masses of teenagers for a few moments please, as one yourself might be- 

Ahem.

The cap can grow to be 1-4 in. in diameter, and, with age, it can also gain a yellow or pink tinge in the center. The gills aren’t attached to the stalk but are quite close to each other. The eastern destroying angel also has a bulbous base, which is white, and a skirt that is large, white, and flaring at the top part of the stalk. The stalk can grow to 2-5.5 in. tall and 0.1-0.8 in. thick. The spore print is, wager a bet, white. 

Now let us revisit the scientific name. The eastern destroying angel differs from other destroying angels due to its geography, yes, but also its two-pronged basidia, the round spore. That is where it gets its (scientific) name from. Also, unlike wine, this mushroom does not age well: the older it gets, the more repulsive it may smell, akin to rotting meat. The mushroom may become just a little sticky if it is humid; however, the mushroom is usually dry. And, when potassium hydroxide is applied, it’ll turn yellow. Which, in my opinion, is very fair; if a base were placed upon me rather unceremoniously, I might as well decompose into a different color. Note that mushrooms turning different colors from applications of chemicals isn’t a feature specific to this mushroom. Other mushrooms may also react in similar ways.

Disclaimer: I have never been interested in exploring forests or going mushroom hunting which is why, as a former East Coaster, I can say with 100% certainty that I cannot validate anything. You all should do your research and become mushroom enthusiasts like me. :D

The eastern North American destroying angel is found mainly in the eastern parts of North America, the name may suggest, but maybe that was a clever trick and its real habitat is in Antarctica. Either way, many sources have stated that these mushrooms can be solitary or social and are usually found in mixed oak-hardwood trees. The reason for being found in those forests is because they are ectomycorrhizal with oak trees. To dumb myself down, for you and me, the term ectomycorrhizal describes a symbiotic relationship between the trees and the fungi. The fungus receives moisture, protection, and nutrients from the tree and gives the tree greater access to soil nutrients. The eastern destroying angel is perennial and fruits in the summer and fall, from June to November. 

Like the last toxic mushroom, people don’t eat this mushroom on purpose, which might surprise some of you. Most times it is because someone thought it looked similar to another mushroom, the prime examples being Leucoagaricus naucinus (smooth parasol, or ma’am on a motorcycle) and Volvariella volvacea (straw mushroom). Others committed to the phrase “no thoughts, no brain” and ate a stray unidentified mushroom. Either way, I hope you, dear reader, won’t follow in their footsteps. Do not use this as a motivation to purposefully eat a poisonous mushroom. 

Now, onto the arguably interesting part, and unarguably the slightly skipped-over part, the toxins. Amatoxins, which the eastern destroying angel contains (chat, keep up, we already went over this), are only one of the toxins. And there is also only one person who writes this article at 1 am, so I am foregoing the discussion of the other toxin. There are three different types of amatoxins in the eastern destroying angel: α-, β , and γ -amanitin. The principal amatoxin in the eastern destroying angel is α-amanitin, which will be the main focus of the next paragraph. The others were not discussed in the limited 28 websites that I skimmed.

So, continuing, α -amanitin, not to be confused with a-amanitin, which, mind you, does not exist, has an oral LD50 (or lethal dose) of 0.1mg/kg. If you wish for me to convert that into our wonderfully odd American system, and, to that, I say “no”and “have a good day.” But, to put it into perspective, 150 lb is around 68 kg, and, in a mature fruit body of the eastern destroying angel, there are 10-12 mg of α-amanitin. Additionally, amatoxins have a mortality rate of at least 60%, according to Douglas S Lee, MD on Medscape.

Now, a nicely scheduled break with a quote. As an article so precisely states, one of the problems with the eastern destroying angel is that it is "poisonous to humans” (North Carolina Extension Gardener). Very aptly put, however, I have no problems with the mushroom and would be pleased not to admit that I found myself laughing. Did I mention that it is 1 am for me?

Now, for the symptoms of eastern destroying angel poisoning. Amatoxin is heat stable, meaning that cooking will not denature the toxin. The first phase occurs 6 to 12 hours after ingestion and is characterized by an onset of nausea, abdominal cramps, profuse diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. Before the first phase, patients do not have any symptoms. The next phase is where the patient appears to recover, aka a false recovery. However, during this phase, the amatoxins are still damaging the liver. This stage may last for two to three days. Finally, in the third stage, liver and kidney function are compromised, leading to liver failure. After and during the second stage, the death rate is above 60%. This means it is important to recognize the symptoms as early as possible and subsequently go to a hospital. Delaying a visit allows amatoxin to spend more quality time with your liver and damage it further.

Treatment for eastern destroying angel poisoning consists of various forms of supportive care. If you cared to read the last article, you would know that supportive care is care that addresses the symptoms of the poisoning. This is because there is no antidote to counteract amatoxin. The preferred method is stomach pumping, which is only effective within two hours of consumption. After that point, supportive therapy varies on the individual and case. Commonly, intravenous fluids are used, and so is activated charcoal. Other potential medicines are penicillin, silymarin, and cyclosporine. Along with supportive care, doctors and nurses will test a patient’s blood regularly to monitor the buildup of toxins. Occasionally, the damage to the liver might worsen to the point where a liver transplant is required.

Now, I have some ending notes for the reader. First, it is critical to identify what mushroom caused the poisoning, as different types have different treatments. Additionally, bringing a piece of the mushroom may be helpful, as mycologists can officially identify the mushroom. Now onto some more comforting news. It is safe to buy and eat mushrooms from grocery stores; most of the poisoning cases are where people were mushroom hunting or found a wild mushroom nearby and ate it. Furthermore, an average of around three people die in the United States per year from mushroom poisonings, and only 15-20 mushroom species are lethal out of the 14,000 described species. I only happen to focus on toxic mushrooms, as is my interest, but that is not indicative of the actual scope.

Please don’t fear fungi, they’re just silly little guys who also look really cool. In fact, in my next article, I’ll be talking about a nontoxic mush-

I really shouldn’t be making promises I can’t keep. :(