Few common poisonous mushrooms of Kolli Hills, South India

Abstract

Three common poisonous mushroom species namely Omphalotus olevascens, Mycena pura and Chlorophyllum molybdites were collected and identified from Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, South India. The macroscopic and microscopic features of the poisonous mushroom species were worked out and identified according to standard mushroom identification manuals. The photographs, macroscopic and microscopic descriptions were also included to aid in identification.

Full text

J. Acad. Indus. Res. Vol. 1(1) June 2012
19
©Youth Education and Research Trust (YERT) Kumar & Kaviyarasan, 2012
ISSN: 2278-5213
Few common poisonous mushrooms of Kolli Hills, South India
M. Kumar
1
and V. Kaviyarasan
2
1
Dept. of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Chennai-600059
2
Lab No. 404, CAS in Botany, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai-600025
mycologykumar@gmail.com; manikavi53@gmail.com; + 91 9962840270; +91 044 22202765
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Abstract
Three common poisonous mushroom species namely Omphalotus olevascens, Mycena pura and
Chlorophyllum molybdites were collected and identified from Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, South India. The
macroscopic and microscopic features of the poisonous mushroom species were worked out and identified
according to standard mushroom identification manuals. The photographs, macroscopic and microscopic
descriptions were also included to aid in identification.
Keywords:
Poisonous mushroom, Omphalotus olevascens, Mycena pura, Chlorophyllum molybdites, Kolli Hills.
Introduction
The use of mushrooms is quite common from antiquity
and across many cultures. It has been an article of diet
and commerce for many centuries (Bresinsky and Besl,
1990). Many fungi were used as food without clear
knowledge on their edibility. Mushroom poisoning
inextricably linked to that of mushroom eating or
mycophagy. Poisoning by fungi is called as Mycetism.
True mycetism is caused by the consumption of
unspoiled fungal fruit-bodies of toxic constituents that
remain toxic even after fungi have been properly
prepared and cooked (Smith, 1973).
On the basis of symptoms, there are seven kinds of
mushroom poisoning syndromes like phalloides
syndrome, orellanus syndrome, gyromitra syndrome,
muscarine syndrome, pantherine syndrome, psilocybin
syndrome, coprinus syndrome. Paxillus syndrome and
gastrointestinal syndrome are false syndromes
(Bresinsky and Besl, 1990) by which people are prone to
poisonous effects of mushrooms. False poisoning occurs
due to excessive consumption and may be due to intake
of spoiled fungi.
The knowledge about the poisonous aspect of
mushrooms are not clearly understood, this is because of
the poor knowledge about their identity. The knowledge
on the native poisonous fungi is essential in order to
prevent from deadly affect. Very few reports are found on
its poisonous aspect of these mushrooms, which are
sometimes become fatal. However, there are no reports
available on the poisonous mushrooms of Kolli Hills. This
study was aimed to identify few common poisonous
mushrooms of Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, South India.
Materials and methods
Study area
Eastern Ghats are one of the richest floristic areas in the
world. Kolli hills are the conglomerates of Eastern Ghats
with Hills rising from 800–1350 ft MSL with a wide range
of ecosystems and species diversity. The Kolli hills are
situated at the tail end of the Eastern Ghats in the state
of Tamil Nadu (Namakkal district). They are part of the
Talaghat stretch. The hills have deep ravines and high
peaks. Omphalotus olivascens, Mycena pura and
Chlorophyllum molybdites are very common poisonous
mushrooms in Kolli Hills of India. They were collected
and identified during our mushroom biodiversity studies
in the Eastern Ghats (Fig. 1).
RESEARCH MANUSCRIPT

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©Youth Education and Research Trust (YERT) Kumar & Kaviyarasan, 2012
Macroscopic and microscopic identification
Collection of the specimen followed standard methods
(Largent, 1977; Atri et al., 2003). Macroscopic details
such as shape, colour, dimension and odour of fresh
basidiocarps were recorded. Terminologies used by
Largent (1977) and Vellinga (1998) were followed for
recording the characters of specimens. The
identification was based on both macroscopic and
microscopic characters (Bas, 1969) of fresh
specimens. Colour terminologies defined is for fresh
specimens alone by using Kornerup and Wanscher’s
(1978) colour book. The specimens were dried by
using mushroom drier, labeled and preserved in sealed
polythene covers along with naphthalene balls in order
to safeguard from insects pests.
The specimens were deposited in Herbarium of
Madras University Botany Laboratories (MUBL) with
accession numbers (3625, 3647 & 3674). The dried
specimens were revived in 3% KOH. Stains such as
1% aqueous Phloxine, Acetocarmine and Melzer’s
reagent were used to study several reactions such as
carminophilous reaction, amyloidity reaction of the
spores. All the measurements were taken using
micrometric technique. Line diagrams were drawn with
the aid of camera lucida attachment. Species were
identified by using standard identification keys (Singer,
1975, 1986; Pegler, 1986 a,b,c).
Results and discussion
The collected fresh specimens were identified by their
macroscopic and microscopic characters according to
Bas (1969). Brief descriptions about the collected
specimens are provided in the below paragraphs.
Omphalotus olivascens Bigelow, Miller & Thiers,
Mycotaxon III (3): 363. 1976.
Basidiome in tufts (caespitose), on dead wood
(lignicolous). Pileus 3–7.8 cm dia., membranous convex,
depressed to sub infundibuliform, surface eye brown
(7F7–7F8) with chrome yellow/Indian yellow (6A8–6B8)
at margins; margin incurved, smooth, entire. Lamellae
decurrent, cocoa brown to rust brown (6E7-6E8)
crowded. Stipe 2–5 × 0.5–1.3 cm, mostly central, also
excentric with tapering base, surface yellowish grey
(smoke grey) (3C2), smooth, solid, cartilaginous (Fig. 2).
Spores 4.37–7.90 × 3.27–4.36 µm subglobose to elliptic,
hyaline, in amyloid, thin walled with refractive guttule.
Basidia 26.18–28.36 × 4.90–6.0 µm clavate to narrow
clavate, four long sterigmata, up to 7.09 µm long.
Cheilocystidia 18.54–24.0 × 3.26–3.81 µm fusoid to
ventricose, hyaline, thin walled. Pleurocystidia 24.0–
32.73 × 5.43–6.54 µm with some encrustation, thin
walled, pale yellowish. Common near Kariampatti of Kolli
Hills (Fig. 3). This species contains significant amount of
muscarine. Omphalotus species poison numerous naïve
or careless Chanterelle pickers because they are the
mushrooms most often confused with edible species
(Benjamin, 1995). This mushroom has the property of
bioluminescence. One case of poisoning by O. olerius
has been reported (Neubert, 1978). Omphalotus causes
gastrointestinal or gasteroenteric irritant (Bresinsky and
Besl, 1990; Hall et al., 2003).
Poisoning by this mushroom can be recognized by
nausea and vomiting associated with abdominal pain,
headache and sense of exhaustation, weakness and
dizziness. Some patients have increased sweating and
salivation. Other complains of bitter taste in the mouth is
common. Diarrhea is uncommon in the patients poisoned
by this mushroom.

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©Youth Education and Research Trust (YERT) Kumar & Kaviyarasan, 2012
Mycena pura (Pers. ex Fr.) Kummer, Fuhr. Pilzk.: 107
(1871).
Basidiocarp in troops, among leaf litter (foliicolous).
Pileus 1–3.5 cm dia., convex to plane, greyish orange
(5B3) camel (6D4), smooth, glabrous, dry; margin
regular, striate, undulating, smooth. Lamellae sinuate,
white (6A1), crowded with interveination. Stipe central,
2.6–6 × 0.2–0.6 cm, cylindric, appressed, hollow, surface
greyish orange (5B3), smooth, glabrous (Fig. 4).
Spores 5.01–6.54 × 3.21–4.58, ellipsoid, elongate to sub
globose, hyaline, thin walled, smooth, amyloid with single
large guttulate contents. Basidia 18.54–25.09 × 5.94–
7.09 µm, clavate with some refractive guttule.
Cheilocystidia 50.72–61.99 × 8.45–14.09 µm, narrow
cylindric with fusoid apex, obtuse, hyaline, thin walled.
Pleurocystidia 61.99–73.26 × 8.45–11.27 µm, similar to
cheilocystidia, hyaline, thin walled (Fig. 5).
This collection has dry glabrous basidiocarp having grey
orange shallowly depressed glutinous pileus with striate
margin, the specimen is quite common around
Dindupatti, Kolli Hills on Atrocarpus occidentalis leaf
litters. According to Orson (1977) this species is not
strongly poisonous but it is not an advisable species for
edible. It is considered suspect species (Frieden, 1969),
known to cause gasterointestinal disorders (Ammirati et
al., 1985) and also known to cause muscarine syndrome
(Lincoff and Mitchel, 1977) but less poisonous than M.
rosea as it contains less muscarine than later (Bresinsky
and Besl, 1990). The symptoms were atypically delayed,
only commencing one and a half hour after the meal, and
comprised the expected features of weating, salivation,
bradycardia (to below 30 beats per minute),
hypertension, diarrhea and colicky abdominal pain
(Goigoux, 1992; Benjamin, 1995).
Chlorophyllum molybdites (Meyer ex Fr.) Massee in
Bull. Misc. Inf. Kew 1898: 136 (1898).
Pileus 4–16 cm dia., soft and fleshy, at first globose-
campanulate then expanding to plano-convex with a
broad shallow umbo; surface dry, initially covered by a
dark brown (7F6–7F8) cuticle paling to wood brown
(6F5), which soon breaks to form fawn to vinaceous
fawn, revolute squamules. The squamules are mostly
concentrated around the umbo which remains entire. The
rest of the surface is covered by minute, fibrillose-
floccose, deciduous, vinaceous buff squamules on a pale
ochraceous buff background. Lamellae free, pale green,
reddish when bruised, crowded. Stipe 7–13.5 × 1–2.4
cm, separable from the pileus, straight or flexuous,
expanding below into a more or less basal bulb which
remains below soil level, cylindric, surface whitish then
pale greyish brown, silky and glabrous above the
annulus, covered with fine whitish fibrils below the
annulus. Annulus superior, movable, thick, fleshy, double
(Fig. 6).

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Spore print pea green, later fading with a golden tint.
Spores 8–10.4 × 6.2–8 µm, obovoid to broadly ellipsoid,
smooth, 3-layered, hyaline or greenish, dextrinoid,
contains a single large prominent guttule. Basidia 23–
26.2 × 8–9.7 µm, inflated clavate. Cheilocystidia 22–39 ×
9.01–16 µm, carrying from piriform, cylindric to
ventricose, hyaline, very thin-walled, with little or no
contents, often grouped in fasciculate tufts (Fig. 7).
This specimen is characterized by robust dark brown
convex pileus with remote pale greenish lamellae, long
stipe with mobile annulus and thick context. Moreover
the spores are obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, smooth
apically truncated germ-pore. Although, this specimen
has a close relatedness with Macrolepiota but it differs in
having pale greenish lamellae and spore print. This
species is often mistaken for other related edible
mushrooms which are similar to L. procera (Spoerke and
Runac, 1994). This is commonly solitary on ground, near
Aripalapatti and kovilur of Kolli Hills.
Considerable controversy surrounds the toxicity of C.
molybdites. There are regional differences in the amount
of toxins and differences in individual susceptibilities to
its effects. According to Smith (1973) this species is
poisonous to some people while non poisonous for
others. But it is clearly defined as poisonous by Hall et al.
(2003). The symptoms of this poisoning may occur one
to three hour after meal which may be gastrointestinal
syndrome (Lincoff and Mitchel, 1977) especially colicky
abdominal pain sometimes persist for up to six hour and
even longer. Further nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are
common. The diarrhea may be explosive in nature and
become bloody, which was also reported earlier from
Australia (Young, 1989) and India (Natarajan and
Kaviyarasan, 1992).
Conclusion
A variety of mushroom with unique toxicity produce
several syndromes. However, this is the glimpse of some
of the poisonous mushrooms of the country, their toxicity
and other aspects are not well studied. Misidentification
is the main cause of most cases of mushroom poisoning
thus a proper reference giving the picture of poisonous
mushrooms is very much needed. In discussing
poisonous fungi, knowledge of fungal taxonomy,
chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and medicine all
combines to give a picture which enables mankind to
learn about and understand the great variety of nature
and how it can be applied to his needs. This article gives
knowledge of poisonous mushroom, its identification in
order to create awareness and also its symptom based
on earlier reports.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Ministry of Environment and
Forest for providing financial support, grateful to the
Director, CAS in Botany and Head, Department of Plant
Biology and Plant Biotechnology, MCC.
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