Wemcast

Host, Stephen Wood and Dr Anne Pringle, a mycologist and botanist, tell the story of the Amanita Phalloides mushroom. This is not a mushroom native to the United States, but it has found its way there in an unsuspecting way, cork trees. These cork trees were imported for use by California wineries but they had a stowaway, the Amanita Phalloides or death cap mushroom. Death caps are toxic mushrooms that kill both humans as well as domestic pets when consumed. These toxic mushrooms resemble several edible species (most notably Caesar's mushroom and the straw mushroom) commonly consumed by humans, increasing the risk of accidental poisoning. Amatoxins, the class of toxins found in these mushrooms, are thermostable: and thus they resist changes due to heat, which means their toxic effects are not reduced by cooking. Signs and symptoms start with an initially self-limiting gastrointestinal illness, that later can result in liver and renal failure and death. The conversation led to a discussion on how to safely co