amanita

a genus of mushrooms, several species of which are poisonous. A. phalloi´des, the destroying angel or death cup, and the similar species A. ver´na and A. viro´sa produce a hemolysin and a mixture of peptide toxins such as phalloidin that cause irreversible damage to cardiac muscle, liver, and kidney cells. Symptoms are often delayed from six to 20 hours, and mortality ranges from 50 to 90 per cent. A. musca´ria, fly agaric, causes a drunkenlike intoxication and loss of consciousness but is rarely fatal. Initial signs of toxicity mimic those of parasympathetic stimulation and can be treated with atropine.