Death cap mushrooms are back in the news. Amanita phalloides has once again been linked to poisonings, this time lacing beef Wellingtons served at a family meal in Leongatha, Australia, which resulted in three fatalities. Such incidents inevitably reignite public fear surrounding this deadly mushroom – and mushrooms in general. The fact that death caps look so innocuous only adds to their malevolent mystique. With their pale yellow cap and white gills, they can be mistaken for several edible fungi – which might explain why they are responsible for almost all mushroom-related deaths. Just half of one is enough to kill you.