The Fly Agaric in Toowoomba

Can't see the plants for the birds? Your birding will be far more meaningful, particularly, once the plant-bird associations gel. Somebody find me a botanist!!
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Rod Hobson
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Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:03 am

The Fly Agaric in Toowoomba

Post by Rod Hobson »

Folks,

Yesterday, during a late afternoon dog walk in the Middle Ridge area of Toowoomba I reacquainted myself with an unusual fungus, which I first recorded in Toowoomba on the 02/06/1996. The fungus in question is the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) a very pretty, but highly toxic exotic that was first recorded in Victoria and has since been found in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. It was purposely introduced to the Blue Mountains, New South Wales for its decorative properties and quickly spread throughout the region (Young 2005). To my knowledge Toowoomba is the only location to date where this agaric has been recorded within Queensland. At the time of my first record I placed some fresh specimens into the Queensland Herbarium collection. Since 1996 I have regularly recorded this fungus at the same location growing under Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) usually with another introduced fungus, the Slippery Jack or Nonnette pleureuse (Boletus (Suillus) granulatus). Both these fungi have a mycorrhizal association with introduced Pinus spp., and the Fly Agaric has also been found under introduced oaks (Quercus spp.) and birch (Betula spp.). The appearace of both these fungi always follows late autumn-winter rain, and the Slippery Jack has appeared at this site every year since I originally recorded it in 1996. The agaric has missed the last few years, probably because of the drought conditions but recent rains have again caused it to reappear.

The Fly Agaric is the pretty scarlet-capped, white warty-spotted toadstool that is often illustrated in childrens' fairy-tale books, usually with a fairy or elf atop it. This fungus is a widespead native of Europe, Asia and North America. It has a long history of use in shamanistic and religious rituals, and as a medicinal throughout all of these countries. The mysterious god-narcotic Soma used by the Aryans in ancient India 3 500 years ago is believed by some authorities to have been the Fly Agaric (Schultes & Hofmann 1979).

The active chemical components are ibotenic acid, muscimole and muscazone. The symptoms from ingestion include euphoria, coloured visions and macropsia; a visual condition where objects appear larger than they actually are. On occasions religious fervor and deep sleep may occur.

Yesterday I found nine of this fungus ranging from buttons to senescent individuals. The Fly Agaric is an intriguing fungus with a long, long association with Man, from reindeer-headed sharmen in the black forests above the Rhine to dog-walkers in The Garden City. What a mushie.

References:

Schultes, R.E. & Hofmann, A. (1979). "Plants of the Gods - Origins of Hallucinogenic Use", Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., London.

Young, A.M. (2005). "A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia", University of New South Wales Press Ltd., Sydney.

Regards,
Rod Hobson
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