The Deadly Brown Roll Rim.
14th October 2022
Many mushrooms are innocuous and people will never be aware that they exist, some are edible and are foraged, and many are inedible because they do not taste nice or will poison you to varying degrees. However, there are some that are just plain deadly.
This time of the year growing on almost any damp grassy area is a truly deadly mushroom. There are a number of these deadly poisonous mushrooms in the UK and some people may have heard of the infamous ‘Death Cap’ and rightly so because it, along with the ‘Destroying Angel’ is responsible for most of the ‘Mushroom Deaths’ in the western world. These both contain extremely deadly Amatoxins that will kill you very quickly by destroying your liver. These Mushrooms along with others such as ‘Funeral Bell’, ‘Devil’s Bolete’ and ‘Deadly Webcap’ to name but a few are very dangerous indeed, and they didn’t pull these names out of a hat, they are named so for a very good reason.
The Mushroom I refer to is the Brown Roll Rim – it doesn’t sound as bad as the above mentioned Fungi.
However, this is a seriously poisonous mushroom that in some ways is more dangerous. Foragers know you can’t eat the Death Caps of this world and consequently leave them alone but in some countries in Eastern Europe Brown Roll Rim has been considered edible after boiling and throwing the water away each time. This can be a serious mistake because although repeated boiling removes most of the toxins and people can indeed eat the mushrooms after, later science reveals that this process does not remove a powerful antigen in the mushroom, which builds up after repeated ingestion and can then initiate an auto immune response in the human body which causes your own immune system to attack your red blood cells leading to what is called - Immuno Haematological Anaemia, and it’s as bad as it sounds.
Notice how different they appear as they mature - very dangerous to assume anything!
This condition can result in a very nasty death indeed, and it also has a variable time frame insomuch as it can effect some people much quicker than others.
In 1944, the distinguished German mycologist Julius Schaeffer, died after eating a succession of dishes containing Brown Roll Rim. He is thought to be the only professional mycologist to have died of fungus poisoning.
We saw these Mushrooms growing in profusion on the grass verge right outside a much visited local facility with people passing within ten feet of these little beauties, all blissfully unaware of their deadly potential – isn’t nature wonderful!
This time of the year growing on almost any damp grassy area is a truly deadly mushroom. There are a number of these deadly poisonous mushrooms in the UK and some people may have heard of the infamous ‘Death Cap’ and rightly so because it, along with the ‘Destroying Angel’ is responsible for most of the ‘Mushroom Deaths’ in the western world. These both contain extremely deadly Amatoxins that will kill you very quickly by destroying your liver. These Mushrooms along with others such as ‘Funeral Bell’, ‘Devil’s Bolete’ and ‘Deadly Webcap’ to name but a few are very dangerous indeed, and they didn’t pull these names out of a hat, they are named so for a very good reason.
The Mushroom I refer to is the Brown Roll Rim – it doesn’t sound as bad as the above mentioned Fungi.
However, this is a seriously poisonous mushroom that in some ways is more dangerous. Foragers know you can’t eat the Death Caps of this world and consequently leave them alone but in some countries in Eastern Europe Brown Roll Rim has been considered edible after boiling and throwing the water away each time. This can be a serious mistake because although repeated boiling removes most of the toxins and people can indeed eat the mushrooms after, later science reveals that this process does not remove a powerful antigen in the mushroom, which builds up after repeated ingestion and can then initiate an auto immune response in the human body which causes your own immune system to attack your red blood cells leading to what is called - Immuno Haematological Anaemia, and it’s as bad as it sounds.
Notice how different they appear as they mature - very dangerous to assume anything!
This condition can result in a very nasty death indeed, and it also has a variable time frame insomuch as it can effect some people much quicker than others.
In 1944, the distinguished German mycologist Julius Schaeffer, died after eating a succession of dishes containing Brown Roll Rim. He is thought to be the only professional mycologist to have died of fungus poisoning.
We saw these Mushrooms growing in profusion on the grass verge right outside a much visited local facility with people passing within ten feet of these little beauties, all blissfully unaware of their deadly potential – isn’t nature wonderful!