Amanita  

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The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities resulting from mushroom poisoning, with the death cap accounting for about 50% on its own. The most potent toxin present in these mushrooms is α-amanitin.

The genus also contains many edible mushrooms, but mycologists generally discourage amateur mushroom hunters from selecting these for human consumption. Nonetheless, in some cultures, the larger local edible species of Amanita are mainstays of the markets in the local growing season. Samples of this are Amanita zambiana and other fleshy species in central Africa, A. basii and similar species in Mexico, A. caesarea in Europe, and A. chepangiana in South-East Asia. Other species are used for colouring sauces, such as the red A. jacksonii with a range from eastern Canada to eastern Mexico.

Many species are of unknown edibility, especially in countries such as Australia where many fungi are little-known. Understandably, this is not a genus that lends itself to safe experimentation.


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Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Amanita" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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