Amanita ocreata, one of the death angels or destroying angels, is a deadly fungus native to California and the North American Pacific Northwest. The large fruiting bodies (mushrooms) generally appear in spring, associating with oak trees. The stalk, ring, gills and volva are white, and the cap may be white or ochre, often developing a brownish centre. It can resemble the edible springtime amanita (A. velosa), coccora (A. lanei) or stubble rosegill (Volvariella speciosa), but is similar in toxicity to the death cap (A. phalloides) and to the destroying angels of Europe (A. virosa) and eastern North America (A. bisporigera). Its principal toxic constituent, α-amanitin, damages the liver and kidneys, and has no known antidote. The initial gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, subside after two or three days. Ongoing damage to internal organs can cause jaundice, diarrhea, delirium, seizures, coma, and in many cases, death from liver failure 6 to 16 days after ingestion.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_ocreata

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1060:

Béla I the Champion was crowned King of Hungary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_I_of_Hungary

1865:

Slavery in the United States was officially abolished when the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

1956:

At the Melbourne Olympics, 14-year-old swimmer Sandra Morgan became the youngest Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Morgan

1982:

The Irish National Liberation Army exploded a time bomb in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven British Army soldiers and six civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droppin_Well_bombing

2005:

An Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashed into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 84 on board and 44 bystanders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Iranian_Air_Force_C-130_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

them's the facts: (idiomatic, colloquial) Those are the facts, that's the truth, that's how it is; frequently used in reference to an unfortunate truth. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/them%27s_the_facts

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

David is the song upon God's lips, And Our Lady is the goblet that He sips: And Gabriel's the breath of His command, But Saint Michael is the sword in God's right hand. The Ivory Tower is fair to see, And may her walls encompass me! But when the Devil comes with the thunder of his might, Saint Michael, show me how to fight!   --Joyce Kilmer https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joyce_Kilmer