The death cap mushroom, no matter how tasty it might look, is deadly. They are often mistaken for edible mushrooms, but every part of it is poisonous. No matter how thoroughly you clean it or how long you cook it, it will be just as poisonous as there is no way to remove the toxins from it. But your character who is the intended victim need not know any of this.
How can you tell a death cap mushroom from other mushrooms? This mushroom is normally found during autumn in wooded areas, especially around the base of oak trees. It would be safest to not pick and eat wild mushrooms during this time, but not everyone is going to give them up, especially not someone who plans to feed them to an enemy.
No matter how hungry you are, it would be better to find something else to fill your empty stomach. But what if you accidentally eat one? What will happen to the intended victim when the killer sneaks and feeds him the death cap? Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, liver damage, and probably death.
Reactions
Just a few mouthfuls of this fungus can kill. The two poisons in this mushroom that will mess up the victim are amanitin and phalloidon. Amanitin will make the victim hypoglycemic. Phalloidin causes the kidneys, liver, and cardiac muscles to lose their ability to function.
Amanitin can be found in the blood of one who has ingested this mushroom almost immediately, yet symptoms don’t usually develop until six to fifteen hours later. Sometimes, symptoms don’t show up for a full forty-eight hours. But the longer it takes the symptoms to show up, the more dangerous they will be since the toxin begins immediately attacking the liver. I mean, if you don’t realize you have this poison in you, the more you will eat, and you’re not going to know to seek help.
Four to seven days after ingestion, you will die. If you are lucky enough to recover, that can take up to two weeks. There is no known antidote, but there is some hope for recovery if the stomach is pumped. Some have survived after receiving a liver transplant.
Where this mushroom is found
The Amanita phalloides flourishes in both America and Europe. Even Pliny described many cases of poisoning by this mushroom.
Writing Prompts
Is your intended victim friends with the one who plans on killing him? What horrible thing did he do that destined him for death? Or is the one who plans on killing him out of his mind and sees a wrong where none has been committed?
How would your intended victim have the mushroom administered to him?
Spaghetti sauce
Fried mushrooms and onions
Salad
Rice and mushrooms
Any kind of soup that one would put mushrooms in
Where would the villain obtain his supply of death cap mushrooms? Are they growing on his own land? Do they grow on the intended victim’s land? From the nearby woods?
Recommended Articles:
