death cap

American  

[deth kap] / ˈdɛθ ˌkæp /

noun

1. a deadly poisonous mushroom of the genus Amanita, especially A. phalloides, with a distinctive membranous cup around the base of the stalk. Death caps resemble a number of edible mushrooms and are responsible for more deaths than any other species of mushroom.

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death cap British  

noun

1. a poisonous woodland saprotrophic basidiomycetous fungus, Amanita phalloides, differing from the edible mushroom ( Agaricus ) only in its white gills (pinkish-brown in Agaricus ) and the presence of a volva See also amanita

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Etymology

Origin of death cap

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

The state continues to see an unprecedented uptick in poisonings and deaths associated with death cap, or Amanita phalloides; and western destroying angel, Amanita ocreata, mushrooms, according to the California Department of Public Health.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

The death cap is the world’s most poisonous mushroom, responsible for 90% of mushroom-related fatalities.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026

So far this year, at least 23 people have been sickened by eating death cap mushrooms in California and one person has died.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

The death cap mushroom is never safe to eat, even if it is boiled, dried, frozen or cooked.

From BBC • Dec. 7, 2025

Akin to the preparation of one’s coffin, and storing it in one’s domicil, for years perhaps, is the preparation of one’s shroud, and death cap, and all the et cætera of laying out.

From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old