Amanita Muscaria Agar Plate$49.99
Availability: In stock
Amanita Muscaria Agar Plate
$49.99
Looking for the best Amanita Muscaria Agar Plate around? Our Agar Plates are made-to-order, providing you with the absolute cleanest, aggressive mycelium on arrival.
| Species | Amanita Muscaria |
| Difficulty ℹ️ | 🍄🍄🍄 |
| Spore Coloration | White |
| Ecology | Mycorrhizal |
| Edibility | Poisonous and/or psychoactive |
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric, is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. This includes video game design, such as the extensive use of a recognizable Amanita muscaria in the Mario franchise and its Super Mushroom power up.
Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
The name of the mushroom in many European languages is thought to derive from its use as an insecticide when sprinkled in milk. This practice has been recorded from Germanic- and Slavic-speaking parts of Europe, as well as the Vosges region and pockets elsewhere in France, and Romania. Albertus Magnus was the first to record it in his work De vegetabilibus some time before 1256, commenting vocatur fungus muscarum, eo quod in lacte pulverizatus interficit muscas, “it is called the fly mushroom because it is powdered in milk to kill flies.”
Despite its easily distinguishable features, Amanita muscaria is a fungus with several known variations, or subspecies. These subspecies are slightly different, some having yellow or white caps, but they are all usually called fly agarics, and they are most of the time recognizable by their notable white spots. Recent DNA fungi research, however, has shown that some of these variations are not the same species at all, such as the peach-colored fly agaric (Amanita persicina) for example, but the name ‘fly agaric’ is still commonly used.
Although poisonous, death due to poisoning from A. muscaria ingestion is quite rare. Parboiling twice with water draining weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom’s psychoactive substances; it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor ibotenic acid. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
Other names for this fungi include: Royal Fly Agaric, Fly Amanita.
Some photos of this product in its wild-foraged form are sourced from iNaturalist or Wikipedia, taken by Eric Steinert, František ŠARŽÍK, Tomasz Przechlewski, Fluff Berger. Licensed by CC-BY-SA.
Frequently Asked Questions
An agar plate is a petri dish with solidified nutrient solution (I make mine with light malt extract, generally). The dish is sealed with parafilm to keep it sterile while the transfer colonizes the plate. The mycelial bodies grow on our agar plates in sterile incubators before being shipped to you!
Keep your agar plates ideally in the fridge, within a ziplock bag. Let them come to room temperature before opening them – it’ll prevent condensation!
Grab your scalpel and get to work! Need a scalpel? Check my gear page!
Slides from agar plates can be propagated onto other mediums very easily. The beauty of agar plates is the ability to be absolutely certain that your sample is healthy and clean!
Some photos on this page have been sourced from iNaturalist or Wikipedia, taken mark-groeneveld, Alan Rockefeller, Matthew Borella, Denis Zabin, kaju, Andrey Loria, Juan Carlos Pérez Magaña or others not yet added to this list. See a photo your recognize that isn’t properly credited? Get a giftcard for letting us know!
Sometimes, contam happens! All of our samples come with a 30 day replacement policy. Please head to our Help Center to get the process started.
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All of my agar plates are made-to-order. This ensures that you have nothing but the freshest, most voracious mycelium when it gets to your doorstep.
Please check for your individual species on this page to see colonization times.
If you’re interested in ordering agar plates and other items like liquid culture, or mushroom spores, you can have your order shipped in two by adding this item!
Please note that once started, Agar Plates are non-refundable or returnable.
For each agar plate in your order, you’ll receive a healthy, colonized agar plate, and an additional piece of parafilm in case you need to reseal it.
Can’t wait to get your hands on your spore syringes or liquid cultures? Head over to our help center to get the most up to date information on your order.