cap is flat or convexThough generally considered poisonous, Amanita muscaria is otherwise famed for its hallucinogenic properties with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. Used as an intoxicant by the Koryaks of the Kamchatka Krai of eastern Siberia, the mushroom has had a religious significance in Siberian culture and possibly also in ancient Scandinavian culture. The American banker and amateur ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson proposed the fly agaric was in fact the Soma talked about in the ancient Rig Veda texts of India; although this theory has been refuted by anthropologists, it gained common credence when first published in 1968.
The common name in English is thought to have been derived from its European use as an insecticide, sprinkled in milk.[1] The fly-killing agent is now known to be ibotenic acid.[2] Another compound isolated from the fungus is 1,3-diolein which is an insect attractor.[3][4] An alternative derivation proposes that the term fly- refers not to insects as such but rather the delirium resulting from consumption of the fungus. This is based on the medieval belief that flies could enter a person's head and cause mental illness.[5]
Similar to its English common name, the German Fliegenpilz, Dutch Vliegenzwam, Swedish Röd flugsvamp, Danish Rød fluesvamp, Finnish punakärpässieni, Polish muchomor, Slovak muchotrávka, Croatian muhara, Hungarian légyölo galóca and French Amanite tue-mouches, are derived from its use in Europe as an insecticide, sprinkled in milk. This practice has been recorded from Germanic- (bar England) and Slavic-speaking parts of Europe, as well as the bilingual Vosges region and pockets elsewhere in France, and Romania.[6] Albertus Magnus was the first to record it in his work De vegetabilibus sometime before 1256,[7] commenting
