Be careful with the plants you find in nature, because some are dangerous and even deadly! This is the case with this magnificent mushroom already responsible for several deaths.
In the damp and mysterious undergrowth, at the bend of a path, your eye may sometimes stray onto mushrooms of all kinds, often colorful, sometimes harmless, but especially occasionally terribly dangerous. But who could imagine that a simple mushroom could be one of the deadliest forms of life in the world? So, we know, you should never eat something that is not formally identified. But, sometimes, you don’t need to eat it to pay the price, a simple touch can be enough!
There is a mushroom native to Korea and Japan known as Poison Fire Coral. At first glance, it looks like an exotic coral, with its red branches that seem to burst from the ground like petrified flames. It is truly beautiful, so much so that one might think it is harmless. But this deceptive appearance hides a terrifying truth: this mushroom is capable of killing a person with a single touch. No wonder it is the second deadliest mushroom in the world!
Indeed, among the hundred toxic mushrooms known to researchers, it is the only one whose toxins can be absorbed through the skin. Several deaths have been documented in Japan and Korea where people have mistaken it for a medicinal mushroom. A simple accidental contact with this orange plant can have dramatic consequences. Symptoms often begin with skin redness, pain and local inflammation, but quickly, the toxins penetrate the circulatory system.
Things get worse if the mushroom is consumed, as it causes stomach aches, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, numbness, liver and kidney damage, peeling of the skin on the face, hands and feet. In some cases, atrophy of the brain and tongue has been observed. If left untreated, poisoning leads to death due to the failure of several organs and brain nerves. Death can occur in just a few days! And even if a poisoned person does not die, the damage can be very serious.
Unfortunately, this fungus remains largely unknown to the general public, and its expansion outside its natural habitat worries experts. Cases have been reported in Japan and South Korea, but also recently in Australia. In fact, on August 24, Australian scientists discovered for the first time the presence of the fungus in the rainforest near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, near Cairns, in the north of the state of Queensland.
In regions where fire coral has been spotted, information campaigns are being launched to warn the population of the risks involved. Mushroom lovers, for their part, are advised to equip themselves with specialist guides and never to touch an unknown specimen, no matter how tempting it may be. Now you’ll think twice before picking up a mushroom on your next walk!