Fly Agaric

Amanita muscaria

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita or simply red toadstool, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Amanita. Its name may come from its historical use to kill flies or from the effects it causes. It is a distinctive, large, white-gilled mushroom typically featuring a bright red cap covered with white warts. The complex genetic diversity of A. muscaria suggests that it is a species complex. It is a widely distributed mushroom native to temperate and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere, now also naturalised in the Southern Hemisphere, forming symbiotic relationships with various trees and spreading invasively in some regions.

Fly

A fly is an insect of the order Diptera, named for the single pair of wings. The hindwings have evolved into halteres, organs that sense rotation, giving flies precise control of their flight. Diptera is a large order containing more than 150,000 species, including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies, mosquitoes and others.

Agaric

An agaric is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom, the diverse group of agarics being lumped together as gilled mushrooms. "Agaric" can also refer more generally to any basidiomycete species characterized by an agaric-type fruiting body.

fly agaric

Noun

1. A poisonous and hallucinogenic mushroom, Amanita muscaria, with a large crimson cap, fading to yellow, scattered with white flecks.