00:00There's a new fungus taking over the world.
00:03It settles in humans, is extremely hard to treat,
00:06and lasts for weeks on surfaces even after the patient who had it is long gone.
00:12In 2009, doctors in Japan found this new species of fungus in a patient's ear.
00:17They called it Candida Iurus and thought there was no reason to panic about it.
00:22In a couple of years, the same fungus appeared in South Africa, Venezuela, and the Indian subcontinent.
00:28Each case was a completely different set of genes, and one in three patients who had it wouldn't survive.
00:35And if you think it will never possibly affect you, there's some bad news.
00:40This sneaky little thing is already in America.
00:44It was first identified in New York in 2016.
00:47The state has become a real hotspot for it ever since, although the fungus was already found in 29 states.
00:54It's especially dangerous for people who already have some health conditions.
00:59Candida Iurus didn't just magically show up out of nowhere and must have long lived on Earth without us knowing.
01:06Humans and other mammals used to be immune to fungi because of our high body temperatures.
01:11But it looks like these bad boys have adapted to warmer environments, and nothing can stop them now.
01:16If you love to walk around woods and pick mushrooms, you gotta watch out for this guy, the death cap.
01:23You can easily mistake these sneaky fungi for edible mushrooms.
01:28To prove that they deserve their name, death caps are responsible for 90% of all mushroom-related fatalities each year.
01:35Originally from the UK and parts of Ireland, death caps have hitchhiked their way around the globe over the past century,
01:42spreading to Australia and North America.
01:45They've been rapidly taking over California and have even popped up as far north as British Columbia.
01:53The big mystery is why these mushrooms are spreading so fast, when exactly they arrived, and how they're impacting local ecosystems.
02:01These little guys are so dangerous because of their unique toxins.
02:05They might help the mushroom fend off predators.
02:08Studying the death caps is tricky because scientists would need to recreate the perfect growing conditions in a lab
02:14to analyze their DNA.
02:17These lethal guys also have some evil cousins.
02:21The destroying angels.
02:23These all-white guys look a lot like perfectly edible button mushrooms and meadow mushrooms.
02:29So, a lot of people eat them by mistake and find out about it 5 to 24 hours later.
02:34The symptoms are really hard to handle, and just one drop of their ammo toxins can take your life.
02:41That's why one of the destroying angel species is called the most toxic North American mushroom.
02:46If there was the best edible mushroom doppelganger competition in the woods, the web caps would likely take the gold.
02:55There are two types of them that look almost identical to each other and to some edible mushrooms.
03:01These sneaky fungi contain a toxin, which first makes you feel like you've caught a cold.
03:06The scary part is that the toxin takes from 2 days to 3 weeks to show symptoms, so doctors often misdiagnose it.
03:15If not treated in time, the toxin can have some really scary consequences for your health and could even make you depart this life.
03:23One English author accidentally picked and served these mushrooms to his family.
03:28Four of them ended up in the hospital.
03:29The writer himself, his wife, and his brother-in-law all needed new kidneys after this experience.
03:37There are all sorts of bizarre wild mushrooms, from those that look like volcanoes, to rods and veils, and flowers.
03:45If you love Stranger Things, there is one type just for you.
03:49You can visit the real-life equivalent of the Upside Down in Australia.
03:53People are finding the creepiest sort of fungi in their backyards,
03:56and you'd think the residents of Down Under are used to all sorts of monsters.
04:01And, oh, the fungus smells as horrible as it looks.
04:05Local scientists explain these monsters are versions of stinkhorns.
04:09You can also find their varieties in Europe and North America.
04:13They like cooler temperatures and use a woody mulch to grow.
04:17Flies love its spores and help spread the fungus.
04:20Both the Anemone Stinkhorn and the Octopus Stinkhorn that were recently found are safe for humans and pets,
04:26but only at the egg stage when the smell is not so potent.
04:30You probably wouldn't eat it later anyway because of the decaying flesh odor.
04:36Morels are some of the most delicious mushrooms with an earthy, nutty flavor.
04:41They have a meaty texture, unlike most mushrooms,
04:44and that's probably why chefs and their clients love them so much.
04:48They only grow in the wild between March and June, which makes them so expensive.
04:52And they have an evil lookalike, the false morels.
04:57They have caused trouble in the U.S. and Europe.
05:00Some folks claim false morels are safe to eat if prepared correctly,
05:05but would you really want to risk it?
05:06If you're a forager, you need to learn to tell the difference between the real and the fake thing.
05:12True morels have small, pitted hollows in their caps.
05:16They're completely hollow from the tip of the cap to the bottom of the stem.
05:19On false morels, the cap may be ridged, wrinkled, waved, or smooth,
05:24but it doesn't have the hole-like pits of a true morel.
05:27The inside is not hollow, but filled with cottony fibers or chunks of tissue.
05:34Poison hemlock is a super-toxic plant from the carrot family.
05:38It's easy to confuse it with wild carrot, wild parsnip, or wild parsley.
05:43And trust me, if you make that mistake, you'll seriously regret it.
05:46Every part of the hemlock plant—seeds, roots, stems, leaves, and fruit—is poisonous and can take your life if you eat it.
05:55Some scientists even believe that the famous Greek philosopher Socrates was executed using this plant.
06:02Settlers brought hemlock to the U.S. from Europe as a garden plant.
06:05So thanks to them, it now grows all over the country on fences, roadsides, ditches, meadows, and in other low-lying areas.
06:14If you ever eat this plant by mistake, you need to call 911 or head to the nearest emergency room immediately,
06:20because symptoms can appear within 15 minutes.
06:23Unlike poison ivy, poison hemlock usually won't give you any problems if you just touch it.
06:28But it's still best to play it safe, especially if you have sensitive skin.
06:34White snake root is an innocent-looking plant that took the life of Abraham Lincoln's mother.
06:40She didn't even have to eat the plant or its white flowers.
06:44Nancy Hanks passed away after drinking the milk of a cow that was gazing at the meadow with white snake roots.
06:50Yep, the meat and milk from livestock that eat this plant can pass the toxin to humans.
06:54The result will be less than pleasant and more than dangerous, so you'd be better off not trying it.
07:01Farmers know about this hazard, so they do everything to kick the white snake root from where their animals wander.
07:08Have you ever seen this sneaky woody vine with slender branches and bright red pods
07:13that look like crab eyes climbing over other plants outside your neighbor's house?
07:18Someone probably brought it from India or Asia as a decoration a long time ago.
07:23It grows really quickly and actually has some practical uses.
07:29Some people use it for healing purposes, others to make necklaces and rosaries and even folk musical instruments like maracas.
07:37Before you tick it off the bad guys list, if you happen to chew it and swallow some of its seeds, you'll be a goner.
07:44And because the seeds spread easily with humans or birds, they might end up near someone who doesn't know about this.
07:51It can also take the life of some animals like cats, dogs, and horses.
07:56They say that even some of the jewelry makers who accidentally pricked their fingers when working with the seeds passed away.
08:02Touching the plant itself shouldn't do you any harm, though.
08:10That's it for today.
08:11So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
08:16Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.
08:20Let's do it for today.
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