● Species profile
Death Cap
Amanita phalloides
Photo: Archenzo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The mushroom behind most fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide. A greenish cap, white gills, a skirt on the stem, and a cup at the base. Symptoms can take 6 to 12 hours to start, and one cap can kill. Know it before you forage anything.
Historical Use and Context
The death cap causes most fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide. It has long been suspected in the death of the Roman emperor Claudius in 54 CE, said to have been poisoned with a mushroom dish by his wife Agrippina.
Native to Europe, it has spread on the roots of imported trees and is now established in California and Australia.
The Short Answer
Not a food. Deadly mushroom that can destroy the liver, even from one cap.
Never eat it. Death cap causes most mushroom deaths worldwide; symptoms start hours late, and the liver can fail even after a person seems to get better.
How Strong Is the Research?
Case series and CDC reports
⚠ What Happens if Someone Eats It
No symptoms at first. Vomiting, belly cramps and watery diarrhea usually start 6 to 24 hours later (9 to 12 hours in a 2016 California cluster). Liver damage builds over the next few days, often after a brief 'better' phase.
⚠ Who Is at Risk
- Everyone. Cooking, drying or freezing does not break down the poison (amatoxin), and a single mushroom can hold a deadly amount.
- Anyone who picks wild mushrooms without an expert check. In the 2016 California cluster, people got sick from mushrooms they picked or were given by others.
- Parents of young children. An 18-month-old in the California cluster needed a liver transplant and was left with lasting brain injury.
- Anyone with stomach flu symptoms after eating wild mushrooms. The early illness looks like a virus, so tell the doctor about the mushrooms.
- If you think someone ate it: call Poison Control (US 1-800-222-1222) or emergency services right away, even before symptoms.
How to Recognize It
1
How to Spot It
Greenish, yellowish or olive cap, white gills, a skirt-like ring on the stem and a cup-like sac (volva) at the base, often hidden in soil, so dig up the whole mushroom.
2
What It Gets Mistaken For
It has been confused with edible straw mushrooms, puffballs when young, and field mushrooms, and it grows under oaks and other trees in parks and yards.
3
No Home Test Works
Taste, smell, peeling the cap or a silver spoon do not tell you if it is safe. The CDC says any wild mushroom should be checked by a trained expert before eating.
The Research in Plain English
2017 · 14 people, ages 18 months to 93 years · CDC MMWR
In December 2016, 14 people in Northern California got sick from death caps. Most had stomach symptoms 9 to 12 hours after eating; 3 needed liver transplants, and a toddler had permanent brain injury. Read the study ↗
2013 · 12 patients in Australia · case series
Over 1999 to 2012, 4 of 10 people with probable death cap poisoning died, even though most got silibinin (an IV drug made from milk thistle) and other standard care. The authors said silibinin has never been tested in a proper trial. Read the study ↗
2002 · 2,108 hospital cases · 20-year review
Researchers pooled amatoxin cases from Europe and North America to compare treatments. Silibinin and N-acetylcysteine looked most promising, while penicillin, steroids and thioctic acid showed little or no benefit; this is not a randomized trial. Read the study ↗
This Death Cap guide summarizes published research for general education and isn't medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting any supplement, especially if you take medication.
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