We stock the panther cap in two forms: whole dried mushrooms and capsules. The only difference is how they're packed and stored.
Don't confuse it with the red fly agaric
Everyone knows the red fly agaric. The panther cap is harder to spot: its cap is the color of milky coffee or olive-brown, with small white flakes on top, as if someone had dusted it with flour. The gills underneath are pale, and there's a clear rim at the base of the stem, almost like a collar.
It's a separate species, not a "dark fly agaric". Both contain the same compounds, muscimol and ibotenic acid. The panther cap usually has more of them, and whatever you've heard about the red fly agaric doesn't apply here.
In the forest, we suggest you don't touch it at all. The death cap belongs to the same Amanita genus, and beginners mix the two up easily.
Where we pick it
Our pantherina dried caps grow in the Carpathians, mostly under beech and pine. The season is short, from July to October, and in a dry summer we find very few.
We sort every batch by hand. Any mushroom we're not fully sure about goes in the bin, and only the rest gets dried.
What drying does to the mushroom
As the mushroom dries, it loses water, and part of the ibotenic acid turns into muscimol. Scientists call this decarboxylation. How much converts depends on temperature and time.
Why it's dangerous
Panther cap poisoning starts with nausea and vomiting. Then the muscles may twitch, the person loses their bearings, their thinking gets muddled and they behave strangely. Severe cases can lead to delirium and loss of consciousness.
Two mushrooms from the same clearing can differ greatly in their make-up, and people can react differently to the same substance. There is no safe amount of panther cap.
If someone has swallowed the mushroom, especially a child, call emergency services straight away without waiting for symptoms: 112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 or Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 in the US.
Buy Amanita pantherina at a fair price
At Muhomornya, the panther cap comes in two forms: whole mushrooms and capsules.
