Deadly Webcap and Fools Webcap - Almost killed 100 people in Poland!
- JMelitus
- Dec 17, 2016
- 1 min read
I often find these little mushrooms when I'm wandering through pines, and they've made for some of my favorite snaps. But look and don't touch this one!
The deadly webcap - Cortinarius rubellus is shown in the 2nd and 3rd pictures in the gallery above and the 1st picture shows the fools webcap. The deadly often steeper and darker elevated 'nipple' top center.
The fools webcap - Cortinarius orellanus is shown in the 1st picture in the gallery above the main distinction is the concave pillius (cap) witch is barely visible in this photo... fire the photographer! However it does show the remainder of the cortina veil/web in the sunlight.
A little info on this mushrooms kin, part of the Cortinarius genus they have been identified as a subgenus in their own right. They are among the most poisonous mushrooms in the world with both previously mentioned species containing high levels of Orellanine.
A little history, in Poland during the 1950s the fools webcap was found to be the culprit in a small epidemic which affected over 100 people, the mystery was made worse as the effects of the myotoxin Orellanine take several days to affect the host.
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