Death Cap

death cap, (Amanita phalloides), poisonous mushroom of the family Amanitaceae (order Agaricales). It is the deadliest known mushroom to humans, responsible for the majority of mushroom poisonings worldwide, some of which prove to be fatal.

Death caps are native to Europe, where they are widespread throughout the continent as well as on the British Isles. For a time they were thought to be native to other regions as well, until U.S. researchers with historical and DNA evidence proved that they had been brought to North America on the roots of imported trees. They can now be found as an invasive species on every continent except Antarctica.