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Poison Fire Coral, Kaentake
A deadly poisonous ascomycete with red, antler-shaped fruit bodies. Young specimens resemble antler-form reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) and Cordyceps, and most poisonings in Japan and Korea followed people brewing it as tea or soaking it in sake in the belief that it was a medicinal fungus. It contains macrocyclic trichothecene mycotoxins. Formerly known as Podostroma cornu-damae.
Deadly. Contains macrocyclic trichothecenes (satratoxin H and its acetates; roridin E and verrucarin J in culture). Effects include gastroenteritis, fever, a fall in white cells and platelets (pancytopenia), peeling skin on the palms, soles and face, hair loss, cerebellar damage, and kidney and liver failure. About 1 g soaked in sake killed one of five people in Japan in 1999; one Korean patient died after drinking the boiled water daily for over a month. Never use red antler-like fungi for tea.
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Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
