Fungi A to Z Alerts

[NickCantle]

Excellent, I shall make it so immediately! (Well, after I've finished editing images )

[CapAndBracket]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Just a point.

I've been looking at the Amanitas and adding information when needed. I was browsing the page for the Panther cap and noticed the text;



I'm pretty sure that A. pantherina is poisonous, having the same effects as A. phalloides, or so I've read in various books. Forgive me if I'm wrong about the toxicity status of this mushroom, but it seems like the text doesn't fit.

Nick

PS- Not being picky, just trying to comb through some extra information and noticed this

From what i can make of this article
totse.com | The Mushroom Identifier

The quote is about right though i would still tell people A.pantherina is poisonous, it's all a question of interpretation.

Cheers J.P.

[NickCantle]

Interesting indeed J.P. Pegler and Spooner definitely know what they are talking about, and are both extremely experienced in the field. This leads me to confusion though, as most other sources will tell you about A. pantherina and how it is poisonous and possibly deadly. To name a few sources;

Roger Phillips' Online Mushrooms - Amanita Pantherina

John Wright's River Cottage Mushroom Handbook

Michael Jordan's Encyclopedia of Mushrooms

Roger Phillips' Mushrooms

D. Pegler 'Mushrooms and Toadstools' (1993)

All of the above state that Pantherina is poisonous, some say it is possibly deadly, having the same symptoms as A. phalloides (though unlikely I would have thought.)

Thinking about it, the source you linked to there J.P must state it IS poisonous if it explains that it's psychactive- thus containing a toxin and being 'toxic'.

Nick

[NickCantle]

On a completely separate note, how do I go about adding a new species to the A-Z? Let me guess, I can't

[CapAndBracket]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Interesting indeed J.P. Pegler and Spooner definitely know what they are talking about, and are both extremely experienced in the field. This leads me to confusion though, as most other sources will tell you about A. pantherina and how it is poisonous and possibly deadly. To name a few sources;



All of the above state that Pantherina is poisonous, some say it is possibly deadly, having the same symptoms as A. phalloides (though unlikely I would have thought.)

Thinking about it, the source you linked to there J.P must state it IS poisonous if it explains that it's psychactive- thus containing a toxin and being 'toxic'.

Nick

This is where it gets a bit difficult to percieve differences.

A.phalloides and A.pantherina are toxic and can be deadly (along with others).

The difference is in their type of activity, the central dogma is that it's all
in the dose (don't forget alchohol is a poison).

We seem to have toxins here that work in different ways.

A.panterina it would appear contains the same toxins as A.muscaria, (often it's not the actual chemicals in the substrate but their breakdown products having passed through the liver that are the problem) (not sure with these two) but anyway the chemicals are persistent, i.e. the effective toxins do not get further broken down in the body, but lucky for anyone who
mistakenly eats these the toxins are excreated via the kidneys when they get there, so the bad symtoms should (if survived) pass and the body is cleansed of the offending chemicals.
(repeat doses of such chemicals can have a detremental effect over time,
so could be described as chronic sympoms).

A.phalloides in comparison seems to be an acute toxin (one dose is enough), the difference seems to be that it's toxins cannot be excreated by the body (kidneys), instead it lodges in the kidneys and liver, (unlike the above species the recipient does not feel unwell), but it seems the chemicals contain and cycle what are known as free radicals (single electrons that are highly reactive in an unspecific manner), these in effect destroy kidney and liver material around them by the same effect as metal rusting (sounds an odd comparison but both are oxidative reactions).

Hope that hasn't created more confusion.

important bits A.pantherina (and associated) affect nervous system and could bring heart attack amongst other effects, persitent chemical but can be excreated. (like alchohol) soon induce sicknes .

A.phalloides, no immeadiate symtoms, cannot be excreated, brings kidney and liver function to a halt.

If in doubt do not eat.

Cheers J.P.

[NickCantle]

Spot on J.P.

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

On a completely separate note, how do I go about adding a new species to the A-Z? Let me guess, I can't

You certainly can Nick, but since the earlier days you now have to be such an experienced navigator to find your way there that I have abandoned any hope of this reference being the online source of information it was destined to be. Even if you find the new entry submission page, the formatting is so convoluted and the time out error messages so frequent that it tests the patience of the most placid souls. I suggest you ask Stuart for guidance.

David

[NickCantle]

I've never suffered with the notorious time out error and I've been on the edit pages for hours at a time, so that's no problem. I just need to know how to add- I'll ask the man.

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

I've never suffered with the notorious time out error and I've been on the edit pages for hours at a time, so that's no problem. I just need to know how to add- I'll ask the man.

One route (and there may be others more direct) is to click the AZ icon to open 'List of British Fungi by Common Name'. On LHS of this page there is a Main Menu with 'Fungi' listed which will take you to the British Fungi Reference page. Here if you scroll down you will now see additional menus including 'Website' under which is 'Development'. Open this page and scroll right to the bottom where you will find a link to 'Fungi Development' where, in the last paragraph entitled "Add more fungi", you finally get a 'click here' link to the page you want.

Farcical ain't it! If you find a quicker route please let me know.

David

P.S.

Hey presto, you can miss step one (Opening the A to Z) by going straight to 'Reference' in the WAB Main Menu, so if you are a mind reader it only takes 3 clicks. But who would know it when the objective is to add an entry to the 'A to Z'; isn't that the logical place to start? To my mind the 'Fungi Development' link should also show up when you open the A to Z.

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by cybershot

One route (and there may be others more direct) is to click the AZ icon to open 'List of British Fungi by Common Name'. On LHS of this page there is a Main Menu with 'Fungi' listed which will take you to the British Fungi Reference page. Here if you scroll down you will now see additional menus including 'Website' under which is 'Development'. Open this page and scroll right to the bottom where you will find a link to 'Fungi Development' where, in the last paragraph entitled "Add more fungi", you finally get a 'click here' link to the page you want.

Farcical ain't it! If you find a quicker route please let me know.

David

P.S.

Hey presto, you can miss step one (Opening the A to Z) by going straight to 'Reference' in the WAB Main Menu, so if you are a mind reader it only takes 3 clicks. But who would know it when the objective is to add an entry to the 'A to Z'; isn't that the logical place to start? To my mind the 'Fungi Development' link should also show up when you open the A to Z.

Will this help

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/node/add/fungi

One click

John