Research2 sources
This magic mushroom can kill
Science News · By Tina Hesman Saey ·
The Brief · written from 2 sources
- Researchers led by Kunik et al. report a little brown mushroom found in Florida's swamps that co-produces psilocybin and amatoxins.
- Psilocybin is the psychedelic compound of 'magic mushrooms'; amatoxins are the toxins found in the world's deadliest mushrooms.
- Evolutionary analyses suggest the psychedelic genes were acquired via a process the source excerpt does not fully describe.
Why it matters
A single mushroom producing both a psychedelic and a deadly toxin means that visual identification of 'magic mushrooms' alone may not reliably indicate safety, and it challenges assumptions about how these compound families are distributed among fungi.
Who’s affected
- mycologists and fungal ecologists
- toxicologists and poison control professionals
- foragers and anyone handling wild mushrooms
- #mycology
- #psilocybin
- #amatoxins
- #mushroom toxicity
- #fungal evolution
Researchers in Florida unearthed a “dark magic mushroom” that boasts a combination of hallucinogenic and poisonous traits.
Timeline
Study by Kunik et al. published in Current Biology reporting the dark magic mushroom co-producing amatoxins and psilocybin
cell.com
The “dark magic mushroom” co-produces amatoxins and psilocybin
Science News
This magic mushroom can kill