Common Name:  Fly Agaric, (Used by northern European tribes since the 13th century to kill flies; Agaric is Greek for a fungus named for the Sarmatian town of Agaria)

Scientific Name:  Amanita muscaria (Derived from the Latin Amanos, a range of mountains dividing Cicilia from Syria and muscarius, relating to flies)

The Fly Agaric is common in almost every region of the northern hemisphere.  It ranges in color from bright red (more common in the North) to yellow orange (Southern Appalachian variant), with white patches that are the remnants of the eggshell-like veil that encapsulates the mushroom when it first emerges.

Potpourri:  The hallucinogenic properties of A. muscaria have been employed for centuries by various Eurasian peoples, most notably the Koryaks of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Vikings. The Koryaks experienced an altered state of mind that they believed allowed them to talk to their gods and predict the future.  On discovering that the substance responsible passed through the kidneys unaltered, they drank their own urine to extend the effect.  Viking warriors were known as berserkers due to their propensity for fierce rages during battle, attributed to the consumption of   A. muscaria.

The compounds responsible for the mind altering effects of Fly Agaric were identified in 1964 in laboratory experiments that involved killing flies and drugging mice.  The compounds were named ibotenic acid and muscimol. The latter produces the inebriated state.  The effects last for 6-8 hours and consist of visual distortions, loss of equilibrium, muscle twitching, and altered perceptions.  The ibotenic acid partially converts to muscimol, the remainder passing through the kidneys, thus explaining the practices of the Koryaks in recovering the unconverted hallucinogen by drinking urine.