Galerina

Galerina sp.are potentially deadly mushrooms that can be easily confused with psilocybe. Mushroom hunters who are not careful can also confuse Galerina with Armillaria even though the resemblance is superficial.

Galerina have a convex to conic cap, stirate and glabrous. The spore print is brown. The stipe is long and slender and there is a hairy veil.

Some species of Galerina contain alpha-amanitin which is the deadly peptide poison found in the amanita mushrooms such as the Destroying Angel. This poison has the wonderful property where one does not feel any effects of it until it has been absorbed into the blood stream and has concentrated in the liver and kidneys. After it becomes no longer possible to remove the poison from the stomach and intestines, the victim will then start to get sick. By this stage the effects and presence of the poison is irreversible and often the only way to save the patient's life is through a transplant.

Galerina sp. are so remarkably similar to some species of psilocybe that a microscope is needed to see how the spores are attached to the basidia.

Species

• Galerina autumnalis
• Galerina cerna
• Galerina venenta
• Galerina fasciculata
• Galerina marginata