Amanita Muscaria: ‘The Fairy Tale Shroom’

What do Santa Claus, urination, and fly catching have in common? If you said Amanita muscaria… nailed it. This distinctive, red and white mushroom has a colorful history rooted in deep mythology and lore. (Not entirely surprising, given that it looks like something a princess would sit upon.)

Amanita muscaria-also known as Fly Agaric for its effective use in killing houseflies-has played an integral, traditional role in cultures spanning North America, Europe, and Asia since the 18th century. According to research conducted at the University of Portsmouth, “The first published account of the effects of Amanita muscaria on man was made by von Strahlenburg (1730), a Swedish colonel who spent 12 years in Siberia as a prisoner of war.” These accounts were later embellished and used by Oliver Goldsmith in his book, Citizen of the World.

Through the 20th century, in literature and firsthand reports, there are descriptions of Amanita muscaria being used in shamanistic ritual; as currency;and as an explanation for Christianity. In the 1970s, a German botanist named Georg Wilhelm Steller noted that reindeer were inclined toward a. Muscaria. That in fact, they would easily become addicted…