ベニテングタケ

Actually, it's almost Friday so I'm gonna make this the "Friday's English" post. ;-)

The scientific/Latin name is Amanita muscaria. It's a mushroom with a long history. Most people consider it a cute or beautiful mushroom. (In English, we call them all "mushrooms": "portabello mushroom", "shiitake mushroom", etc. Sometimes, they're called "toadstool" if they are poisonous.) Because it's a cute mushroom, it shows up in art and popular culture often. And in Docomo ads!

Its common name in English is "fly agaric" because you could put it in a bowl of milk and it would attract and kill flies.

But be careful! The Amanita muscaria is "poison". If you eat it, you might get sick. And you might have strange (or interesting/exciting) dreams and visions.

Yes, it's "poison", but it is eaten in Nagano prefecture here in Japan. I don't know completely, but apparently, it's cooked and then crumbled (broken into small pieces) and used as a "condiment" to add うまみ to soups and other foods. Also, it is apparently made into pickles in Nagano.

So which is it? Poison or psychedelic or うまみ?? Sometimes there is not just one easy answer. ;-)