Fly Agaric

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Fly Agaric is one of the iconic sights of Rannoch in Autumn.

This hallucinogenic fungus it has been said was consumed by the Vikings before they went into battle leading to them becoming berserk. There is doubt that this is true and it may be that it was a different fungus involved. Its consumption was part of the culture of the tribes of Kamchatka and tribe members concentrated the biochemical components and therefore the effects by drinking their own urine. There is no doubt that Fly Agaric had significance in the ceremonies of the Shaman. It can be said that Fly Agaric is poisonous but deaths are rare.

Relatives of this fungus such as the Death Cap and the Destroying Angel are more poisonous if eaten and have resulted in many deaths.

The mycorrhiza of the Fly Agaric are associated with the roots of birch trees, spruce, and pine. Fly Agaric has been introduced to New Zealand, Tasmania and Mainland Australia. In these places it is considered a nuisance and it has developed mycorrhizal associations with southern beech.

The red cap with white spots makes Fly Agaric very recognisable and it has become the classic representation of a mushroom. The white spots are the remains of the veil that covered the young fruiting body and they can be washed off by rain. It features in Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland in which Alice consumed the mushroom in order to either grow or shrink.

Fly Agaric is very common at Rannoch where its fruiting bodies can be seen under birch trees. Its mycelia are a part of the so called ‘Wood Wide Web’ of communication between trees and without which there would be no trees. It is a symbiotic relationship between the trees and the fungi, that is, a relationship in which they both benefit. The trees are helped by the fungus to absorb water and minerals and the fungus gains food from the tree.

(24th December 2019)