fly agaric

American  

noun

1. a very poisonous common woodland mushroom, Amanita muscaria, having a glossy red or orange cap with white spots, formerly a fly poison.

---

fly agaric British  

noun

1. a saprotrophic agaricaceous woodland fungus, Amanita muscaria , having a scarlet cap with white warts and white gills: poisonous but rarely fatal See also amanita

---

Etymology

Origin of fly agaric

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

Vishnevsky became fascinated by fly agaric through the accounts of explorers in the 17th and 18th centuries witnessing mushroom rituals and shamanism in Siberia.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2025

“Where there wasn’t enough fly agaric, they wouldn’t let pee go to waste,” said Vishnevsky.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2025

In winter, keep an eye out for red and white-speckled fly agaric mushrooms or the booted knight mushroom.

From The Guardian • May 25, 2018

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "There are several hundred fungi species in the palace garden, including a small number of naturally occurring fly agaric mushrooms."

From Reuters • Dec. 12, 2014

Great caution should be used in distinguishing it from the fly agaric and from other amanitas.

From Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. by Atkinson, George Francis