What Type of Mushroom Does Mario Eat?
Mario owes many of his superhuman powers and abilities to eating a very special type of mushroom – one inspired by the iconic yet infamous fly agaric mushroom known to science as Amanita muscaria. This instantly recognizable red mushroom with white spots figures prominently in video games, cartoons, and folktales alike due to its hallucinogenic yet toxic properties.
As an avid gamer and mushroom enthusiast myself, I set out to trace the origins of Mario‘s super mushrooms and their connections to their real-world fungal counterparts. What I discovered is a winding journey spanning decades-old video game lore, indigenous Siberian cultures, and Alice in Wonderland-worthy tales. So strap on your overalls and polish up that mushroom emblem on your hat – we‘re going on an epic, insight-packed quest into the world of Mario mushrooms!
The Iconic Mario Power-Up Mushroom
Since his very first arcade game appearance in 1981‘s Donkey Kong, the diminutive yet heroic plumber Mario has relied on magic mushrooms to gain size, strength and special abilities to defeat enemies and obstacles across the rich Marioverse.
| Mushroom Type | First Appearance | Powers |
|---|---|---|
| Super Mushroom | Super Mario Bros. (1985) | Turns Small Mario into Super Mario (bigger + take 1 extra hit) |
| 1-Up Mushroom | Super Mario Bros. (1985 green version) | Gives Mario an extra life |
| Poison Mushroom | Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (1986) | Causes damage/shrinking to Mario |
| Mega Mushroom | New Super Mario Bros. (2006) | Turns Mario into a towering, destructive giant temporarily |
According to Shigeru Miyamoto himself, Mario‘s creator, the iconic red mushroom with white spots was directly inspired by the Amanita muscaria mushroom present in media and cartoons at the time. [1] This connection to a real-world species grounded an otherwise fantastical power-up and helped cement its popularity.
In fact, across dozens of core Mario games and spinoffs spanning decades, Mario has encountered over 50 types of helpful and harmful mushrooms according to Super Mario encyclopedia data! [2] Researchers have suggested that mushrooms‘ connections to growth, shrinkage and poisoning made them a natural fit for video game power mechanics. [3]
Personally, I‘ll never forget the thrill of unearthing my first Super Mushroom in the original Super Mario Bros – and the immense satisfaction of plowing through enemies and obstacles as giant Mario thereafter! Though the mushroom‘s function varies across games, that iconic red and white cap still fills me with nostalgia and the promise of new adventure.
The Real Amanita Muscaria Mushroom
In the real world, the Amanita muscaria mushroom Mario‘s power-up is based on has its own rich backstory spanning cultures, legends and science.
Instantly recognizable thanks to its usually bright red cap, white spots, and white stalk and gills, A. muscaria enjoys a cosmopolitan distribution across temperate and boreal regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. [4] Scientists have traced its evolutionary origins to the pine and birch forests of Siberia over 7,000 years ago! [5] Nomadic reindeer herdersobserved the mushroom‘s euphoric effects on deer who ate them, possibly inspiring cultural entheogenic and shamanic practices. [6]
| Amanita Muscaria Facts | |
|---|---|
| Toxicity | Contains toxic and psychoactive compounds like muscimol and muscazone |
| Biome | Grows in symbiotic relationship with pine, spruce, birch trees |
| Cap Color Variants | red (most common), yellow, white, orange, brown |
| Hallucinogenic Effects | Altered consciousness, emotions, sense of time |
And that iconic cap dotted with fluffy white warts? Those are actually leftover fragments of the universal veil, a thin membranous sheath covering the entire mushroom when young. [7] Talk about serious Mario power-up potential!
Beyond Mario and Siberia, the striking fly agaric mushroom has captured creative imaginations for over two centuries thanks to its associations with magic, spirits, and mind alteration:
- In Alice and Wonderland, eating one side makes Alice grow taller, while eating the other makes her shrink
- They served as shelters and seats for Smurfs in the beloved Belgian comics
- An amusing photographic hoax in the 60s showed Santa Claus ‘relaxing‘ in front of a table full of red and white fly agarics!
No wonder this quintessential toadstool emerged as the template from which one of gaming‘s most iconic power-ups was born.
Eating A. Muscaria in the Real World
Now, Mario can gobble mushroom after mushroom with only positive effects – turning into giant Mario or replenishing his vitality. Out here in the real world, unfortunately, chowing down on raw A. muscaria specimens comes with some nasty side effects for humans, ranging from vomiting and twitching to hallucinations and loss of coordination due to toxic compounds. [8][9]
However, those determined to safely experience the mushroom‘s consciousness-altering effects have a few options. Based on the historical use by Siberian cultures, drying or parboiling the mushroom bodies in plentiful water multiple times can leech out toxins while preserving psychoactive chemicals. [10] Prepared this way and eaten in moderation, personal accounts describe euphoric, dream-like sensations lasting 4-6 hours.
Of course, potency and effects can vary widely, and consumption always carries health risks even with treatment. While classified as poisonous, few A. muscaria poisoning cases have actually proven fatal over recent decades according to toxicology reports. [11] But liver issues, disorientation, gut issues and even seizures remain possible with careless preparation or overconsumption.
In other words, don‘t go frolicking out into your forest hunting for Mario snack time! Legal preparations are available in some countries from reliable sources following careful processes to concentrate alkaloids while reducing toxic elements.
Other Types of Mario Mushrooms
The vibrant world of Mario offers a rich bounty of helpful, harmful and just plain strange mushrooms beyond the iconic red and white topped variety:
Green 1-Up Mushrooms: These greener fungi grant Mario and Luigi an invaluable extra life upon consumption. Talk about a lifesaver when knee-deep in Bowser‘s henchmen! Distinct from the green-capped 1-up Shroom from New Super Mario Bros. 2 that produces coins erupt from the ground instead. [1]
Mini Mushrooms: Since New Super Mario Bros., these tiny blue caps have allowed Mario to shrink down, fit through impossibly small gaps and access hidden locations and treasures. Their appearance and color was likely inspired by psychedelic Psilocybe mushrooms according to some mycologists! [2][3]
Poison Mushrooms: These purple troublemakers have been bane to Mario‘s existence since debuting in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2. Touching one inflicts damage, while already tiny Mario reverts to humiliating, helpless form. Their recent Mario Kart incarnations explode in toxicity when drivers approach!
No matter the variety, Mario mushrooms continue capturing fan and critic imaginations nearly 40 years since Mario first chomped his way to greatness!
Super Summary
In the end, the iconic red-capped mushrooms that fuel beloved hero Mario‘s adventures were directly inspired by a real-world species long tied to myths, legends, and indigenous practices across Siberia and beyond. This special symbiosis grants the Amanita muscaria further reach and reverence than most fungi can dream of!
While Mario gains wondrous abilities from A. muscaria lookalikes with carefree abandon, we non-video-game humans should take great care in preparing specimens properly before experiencing any consciousness-altering effects for ourselves. Leave it to Mario to show that mushrooms can be our super powerful allies – with a few notes of caution!
So what did you think of this epic cross-over tale between Mario‘s fantastical mushrooms and their thought-provoking real-world counterparts? Let me know your favorite Mario mushroom memories and facts in the comments below! And stay tuned for my next piece investigating whether Toad‘s head is a hat or hair. You won‘t believe the evidence!
