The mushroom that gave Christmas its colours

Although it is usually only seen in woodlands until late November, the Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) a white-spotted, red-capped fungus, features prominently on Christmas and postcards, in fairy tales and even video games.

In modern times, red and white have become universal symbols of Father Christmas and the festive season. There is even a widespread belief that an advertising campaign by an ubiquitous soft drinks company was the defining point where Christmas became red-and-white in the hearts and minds of millions around the world.

However, nature came up with the red-white combination a much longer time ago – and it may also have been the origin of tales of flying reindeer as Dr Andy Taylor, molecular fungal ecologist at the James Hutton Institute, explains.

“Mushrooms are fascinating things. They are not part of the animal, plant or bacterial kingdoms, but they have a kingdom of their own – the Fungi,” he said.

“Although it is usually only seen in woodlands until late November, the Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) a white-spotted, red-capped fungus, features prominently on Christmas and postcards, in fairy tales and even video games. It is commonly listed as poisonous due to its psychotropic properties and it has reportedly been used in shamanistic rituals in different parts of the world.

“Some of those rituals apparently involved feeding it to reindeer, then drinking their urine. The metabolism of the reindeer would absorb the most toxic elements, leaving the psychotropic compounds in the urine. Perhaps that is the origin of the tales featuring flying, red-nosed reindeers,” added Andy.

Even if this friendly-looking red and white mushroom appears to be something out of a fairy tale book, it still must be treated with respect, like all wild mushrooms.

Unfortunately, mushroom poisoning is still a common phenomenon, says Andy: “Recently there were a couple of high profile cases in the news, one in California and another in Somerset.

“For anyone interested in collecting and eating wild fungi, I would advise them to go along to a fungus foray led by an expert, to learn about the characteristics which are used to identify the fruiting bodies that fungi produce.

“Unless you are absolutely 100% certain about the identification of the fungi that you intend to eat, then do not eat them. It is like playing Russian roulette to eat wild fungi without this certainty. In addition, it is advisable to only consume a small amount of any fungus which you haven’t eaten before, as it is possible that you may react badly to it. The Scottish fungi website is an excellent source of information including local groups and forays,” he added.

Notes to editors

Dr Andy Taylor is a molecular fungal ecologist based at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen. His major focus is on the roles of fungi in the environment, in particular, mutualistic soil fungi that are essential for the healthy growth of most terrestrial plant species. His varied research topics mirror the diversity of fungi as a group and the many functional roles that they carry out in most ecosystems. A key aspect of his work is the detection and identification of fungi in environmental samples. Since even those species that produce visible structures above ground can present considerable problems for identification, a significant part of the research is focused on the development and use of molecular tools for accurate species identifications. These tools are also used to examine spatial structuring of populations and communities at both local and continental scales. He has written over 60 papers for international journals.