What is Fly agaric?
[[File:2006-10-25 Amanita muscaria crop.jpg|thumb|Showing three stages as the mushroom matures]] '''Fly agaric''' (''Amanita muscaria'') is a [[Mushroom poisoning|poisonous]] and [[psychoactive]] mushroom, one of many in the genus ''[[Amanita]]''. Native throughout the [[temperate]] and [[boreal ecosystem|boreal]] regions of the Northern Hemisphere, this mushroom has been unintentionally [[introduced species|introduced]] to many countries in the southern hemisphere, generally as a [[symbiont]] with pine plantations, and is now a true [[Cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan]] species. The quintessential [[Mushroom|toadstool]], it is a large white-[[lamella (mycology)|gilled]], white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Although it is generally considered [[poisonous mushroom|poisonous]], deaths from its consumption are extremely rare, and it is eaten as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after [[parboiling]]. ''Amanita muscaria'' is noted for its [[hallucinogenic]] properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound [[muscimol]]. It was used as an intoxicant and [[entheogen]] by the [[peoples of Siberia]] and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well documented. It has for instance been suggested that the fly agaric was an ingredient of [[Soma (drink)|Soma]] and that it played a role in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]] as well as early [[Christianity]]. == Related pages == *[[Panther cap]] == Other websites == {{Commons}} {{Wikispecies|Amanita muscaria}} * [http://www.amanitaceae.org/ Webpages on ''Amanita species''] by Tulloss and Yang Zhuliang * [https://www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/ Amanita on erowid.org] * [http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/fungi/pimg026.htm Aminita muscaria, Amanita pantherina and others (Group PIM G026)] by [[IPCS INCHEM]