Deathcap

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Deathcap

Poisonous

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The Deathcap, Amanita phalloides, note the very visible egg sack it grew from.

An innocuous looking mushroom that is among the most poisonous in the UK along with the Destroying Angel.

Mushroom Type
Common Names	Deathcap (EN), Death Cap (US), Cap Marwol (CY), Muchomor Zielonawy (PL), Gyilkos Galóca (HU)
Scientific Name	Amanita phalloides
Season Start	Jul
Season End	Nov
Average Mushroom height (CM)	10-14
Average Cap width (CM)	8-12

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Please note that each and every mushroom you come across may vary in appearance to these photos.

Cap

8-12 cm. Convex at first then opening and flattening. The cap colour can vary from olive green to dirty yellow or even tan brown. Slimy when wet but still looking shiny when dry.

Gills

Crowded and free of the stem. White to cream.

Stem

10-14 cm long, 1-1.5 cm diameter. White with a bulbous base and surrounded by a thin veil (volva) which is sack-like at ground height, tapering slightly towards the cap. The top of the volva will often be found attached to the stem more than halfway up, looking like a skirt.

Skirt

Superior. White with obvious striations under the skirt sometimes visible on top.

Volva

A very obvious deep volva that can be under the ground surface.

Flesh

White.

Habitat

Most mixed woodland, particularly with oak and other deciduous trees.

Spore Print

White. Ellipsoid to subglobose. You should scrape your spores into a small pile to get an accurate spore colour.

Taste / Smell

DO NOT try any part of this mushroom.

Frequency

Uncommon but can become more frequent some years when the conditions are right.

Other Facts

The symptoms of Deathcap poisoning can start several hours after ingestion with severe vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pains and can last for a few days; this is followed by what seems to be a recovery for a few days but ending in death from kidney and liver failure. The main poison, alpha-amanitin, kills liver cells and passes through the kidneys to be recirculated and cause more damage.
There are things that can be done to try and mitigate any harm from ingestion of the Deathcap while on the way to hospital. Excessive hydration with water can be very helpful as soon as possible. In hospital they can now sometimes treat the poisoning using an extract of milkthistle, if not, dialysis followed by new kidneys and possibly liver is the only option.

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22 responses to “Deathcap”

Alan Harris

February 1, 2019

Is there a litmus type paper that will identify the moisture of poisonous mushrooms?

1. Poppy Ives
  
  February 27, 2019
  
  Unfortunately not 🙁
  
  1. Stephen Gamble
    
    October 29, 2021
    
    There is a test strip for amatoxins which works on a similar basis as a drug test or a pregnancy test, https://amatoxtest.com/ learning how to identify the deadly amanitas, galerinas, lepiotas and, if you are taking certain entheogenic small brown mushrooms, pholiotina (formerly conocybe) rugosa is a good idea, if in doubt, leave it out, but if you are determined, you could invest in test strips. Milk thistle is an antidote, but it must be taken as soon as you are aware you may have consumed amatoxins, BEFORE liver damage accumulates, if you are feeling symptoms, the damage is done, but you could prevent more damage being done.
    
Sandesh D’Souza

October 6, 2020

OMG. This is terrifying and not worth picking/eating/putting any effort in eating any mushrooms. I mean the chemical has no antidote and it sneakily circulates via kidneys to get reabsorbed and keep causing more and more damage? This is the stuff of horrors!

1. Martin Arcimovic
  
  February 16, 2021
  
  You can learn to identify mushrooms species by species. By putting in hours and effort, you will get to know the most dangerous poisonous ones and the the most interesting (fleshy, delicious) mushrooms, so foraging will be safe for you.
  
Brooke Pierozynski

November 2, 2020

I know it says uncommon, however this year seems to be the year of them for us. My puppy is in hospital right now due to licking one of these. I have now gone dug up approximately 30 in our woods in fear our other dog will also find one. They are quite a beautiful mushroom at all stages of growth but this is utterly terrifying how just licking one has made him so unwell. They have been giving him supportive measures such as hydration and milk thistle extract and all we can do is wait and see.

1. lukas
  
  November 13, 2020
  
  any updates on the pup?
  
  1. Brooke Pierozynski
    
    July 13, 2021
    
    I can report he is well and thriving! We are now contemplating moving as it’s so hard to know when/if it will be a year for them to come up.
    
    1. PJ
      
      July 19, 2021
      
      I’m so glad he’s ok 🙂
      
      1. Brooke Pierozynski
        
        July 27, 2021
        
        Thank you !!
        
        I have been on the lookout for them as season can start in July and have just dug up 27 in a spot different to last year !
2. Jon
  
  January 31, 2023
  
  The author is wrong. Deathcaps are very common. I’ve been foraging for over 30 years and see these all over in various woodland locations regularly.
  
  1. Andrew
    
    August 4, 2023
    
    Depends where you live, in the north of England they are very rare, and where I live in Manchester you would never see them ever no matter how many woods and forests you look they just don’t grow here, all other Amanitas are abundant but death caps are never to be found
    
Bella

November 10, 2020

Are there any cures for the mushroom?

1. Eric Biggane
  
  January 2, 2021
  
  Aggressive re-hydration as soon as possible can help on the way to hospital, where if caught early enough, the poisoning can be treated with extracts of Milk Thistle which seems to help. In a lot of cases the liver and kidneys may have suffered permanent damage and will need replacing with a transplant.
  
2. Jon
  
  January 31, 2023
  
  The problem is, symptoms take days. By the time the symptoms have kicked in, it’s too late.
  
Martin Arcimovic

February 6, 2021

The therapy is quite complex as there is more than one toxin and the symptoms appear when damage is already being done. Most survivors need a liver (and sometimes kidney) transplant.

Andy Chaisty

August 3, 2021

They are not a problem for me as they have never ever been recorded or seen in my part of the U.K. (Manchester) all other Aminata species are abundant but you would never see a death cap here obviously the conditions are not right for them to grow here

Felix

November 2, 2021

these things are terrifying! my first encounter with wild mushrooms as a kid was one of these. me and my brother aged 9-10 found this and decided to cook it, we only figured out what it was after cooking and both freaked out. we made ourselves sick, threw out the plates/ pans and cleaned the whole kitchen. my love for mushrooms has sprouted since that day and i defiantly know not to touch them now

1. Mike
  
  December 3, 2021
  
  What made you decide at the last minute not to eat them?
  
Kevin

September 20, 2022

You may miss out on the tasty StGeorge mushroom but if you can’t identify these very obvious Amanita family, never eat a mushroom with white gills.Most of the accidental consumption of Amanitas is by Asian people who pick the very young mushrooms before the cap breaks the veil because they mistake them for a large version of the Chinese straw mushroom they have picked in their home country.Also it is not milk thistle as a solid medication that cures amatoxin poisoning.It has to be in pure serum form called Silibinin which is administered intravenously. Two problems, one the diagnosis may take too long and two the medical centre treating you may not have a ready supply of Silibinin.As for dogs or humans licking Amanita, the Amatoxins can only be released from ingesting and digesting the solid flesh of the fungi.

liam toothill

October 6, 2024

I found two yesterday when out for Pennys in the Dales nr Kettlewell, never seen before, or rather maybe, but didnt know until saw Info here, i took them to the pub in Buckden! spooky stuff. Its a wonder i saw anything with my Lab’s feet!

Mark Fogel

October 17, 2024

Learned about amanita phalloides during my experience in the poison control center in new york city 1982. There was no antidote then except dialysis, this is the first I heard of milk thistle. Glad the pooch is doing better.