Scientific name
Podostroma cornu-damae
Description
Poison fire coral is a beautiful but deadly bright red-colored mushroom that grows on dead tree branches. Their conidiophores can grow to be 400 μm tall and 3-5 μm broad. The phialides are grouped in bundles. Conidia in each spore are nearly round with a truncate base that is pale green. They have a diameter of 2.5- 3.5 μm. The body is almost smooth, but under light microscopy, they seem very lightly roughened.
Habitat
Poison fire corals are native to Japan, Korea, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Australia.
Uses/Importance
Poison fire corals are not beneficial and have severe harm to the human body. These mushrooms produce severe skin irritation when touched, and are dead when consumed. They are not edible mushrooms. They cause red skin, itching, skin shedding, nausea, muscular weakness, and loss of coordination. They are also responsible for causing sore throat infections, sneezing, and coughing. Ingestion of this mushroom, which is common in Japan, China, and Korea but has lately emerged in Australia, can cause weakness, shock, and death.
The symptoms of consumption of these mushrooms included stomach aches, alterations in perception, a reduction in the number of white blood cells and platelets, hair loss, and cerebellar shrinkage, which resulted in speech impairment and difficulty with joint movement. Its ingestion also causes organ failure which includes acute renal failure, liver damage, and pulmonary embolism.
Table
