Poison Mushroom

This article is about the harmful mushroom that first appeared in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. For the Dice Block roll-reducing Mushroom from the Mario Party series referred to as a Poison Mushroom in Mario Party 3, see Cursed Mushroom.

Not to be confused with Rotten Mushroom.

Poison Mushroom
Artwork of a Poison Mushroom from Super Mario Party
First appearance	Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986)
Latest appearance	Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (2024)
Effect	Hurts or defeats Mario (Super Mario series) Shrinks and worsens player (Mario Kart series, Donkey Kong, Luigi's Mansion, and Super Smash Bros. series) Poisons player (role-playing games) Lowers Dice Block roll (Mario Party series)

A Poison Mushroom (alternatively Poison Shroom) is a harmful variety of Mushroom that first appeared in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. Usually, they have the opposite effects a Super Mushroom may have, and while they are sometimes called a power-up, they act more like a hindrance or trap. The Poison Mushroom has had a variety of different appearances throughout Super Mario media, most of which have an angry expression in comparison to the majority of Mushrooms, with some depictions showing them with a skull, a common symbol to represent death, on their caps, while others have shown them with a purple cap with magenta spots. The Rotten Mushroom, which debuted in Super Mario Maker 2, is a similar type of mushroom, only differing from the Poison Mushroom by its ability to jump.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

From left to right: FDS, SNES and GBC

Official art

Poison Mushrooms made their debut in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. They will defeat Small Mario or Luigi, revert Super or Fiery Mario instantly into Small Mario, and will have no effect on Invincible Mario or a just-damaged invulnerable Mario. Unlike enemies, they disappear when touched and do not award points when Invincible Mario collides with one. As with all Mushrooms, the game will allow only one to be on screen at a time, so a player can get rid of a Poison Mushroom by revealing a Super Mushroom or a 1-Up Mushroom, causing the first one to disappear. Poison Mushrooms can be found in Brick Blocks, ? Blocks, and Hidden Blocks alike, and generally appear as a dull brown, blue, or gray mushroom in the original FDS game (depending on whether the level is set on ground, underground, or in a castle, as they share the exact same color palette as the Goombas in those levels). The original artwork (seen on the right), though, depicts them with a much more sinister appearance, sporting shadowy eyes and a menacing grin. In the Super Mario All-Stars remake, Poison Mushrooms are also known as Poisonous Mushrooms or Blue Mushrooms and appear as blue-skulled, purple-capped mushrooms with angry eyes, making them much more visually obvious. This change to maintain obviousness was carried over to the Super Mario Bros. Deluxe port, though with a red stalk, green cap, and pink skull, and without eyes. In the brief cinematic that plays on the title screen if one waits long enough without touching the controls, Mario is shown being defeated by a Poison Mushroom.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Poison Mushrooms reappear in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 as blue mushrooms with white skulls on their caps, and retain their effects from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, though any higher-tiered forms (Fire, Raccoon, etc.) revert to Super form instead (unless the red switch card is used). They appear in the World-e level Vegetable Volley, hiding under grass rather than in blocks. They can also appear if the Blue Green Switch is active. They are unaffected by fireballs and only cause them to disappear.

Super Mario 3D Land

Poison Mushrooms return in the Special Worlds of Super Mario 3D Land, retaining their effects from Super Mario Advance 4. In this game, they somewhat behave like enemies, as they follow Mario or Luigi around until he is in an area that they cannot get to, or they fall into a bottomless pit. They can also be destroyed by fireballs or boomerangs, invincibility from a Super Star or Invincibility Leaf or by transforming into a statue to make them vanish on contact. In addition, grabbing a Super Star will cause them to flee until the player returns to normal. They use their design from Mario Hoops 3-on-3 but with angry eyes, being purple with magenta spots and emitting purple dust (possibly spores) when released and grabbed.

Mario Kart series

Poison Mushrooms infrequently appear as items in the Mario Kart series. In Super Mario Kart, Poison Mushrooms, which have red-spotted yellow caps, similarly to Super Mushrooms in Super Mario Bros., are only used by CPU-controlled drivers Toad and the Princess, not by the player. If any driver runs into a Poison Mushroom, they would become small, ending up moving slow and vulnerable to other karts in the area, as they can end up squashed if run over by a full-sized kart. The player can also return to normal size if they run into another Poison Mushroom; this also works if the player were made small from Lightning by the other player (as CPU players cannot use Lightning in this game). In Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, the Poison Mushroom is one of Toad's special items, and he can throw the Poison Mushrooms either in front of him or from behind. Poison Mushrooms retain their typical effect of shrinking whoever drives into them, but they instead have a black cap with magenta spots, similarly as in Luigi's Mansion.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

Donkey Kong throwing a Poison Mushroom at Mario

Poison Mushrooms were featured in the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong, introduced in Stage 4-8. Sometimes, Donkey Kong or Donkey Kong Jr. will throw them at Mario, and sometimes they are contained inside barrels. Whenever Mario comes in contact with one of them, it will cause him to briefly shrink in size, disabling some of his abilities in the process (the ability to swim, climb ladders, etc.). After a few seconds, Mario grows back to his regular size. In the final level, they seem to have a similar effect to Super Mushrooms on Donkey Kong, causing him to grow to colossal size.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Poison Mushrooms, originally known as Bad Mushrooms, reappear in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. They can be purchased in Seaside Town while Speardovich is in control of the town, and can only be used in battle. They can also be obtained after using a Yoshi Cookie on an Amanita or Chewy, and occasionally from Kriffids after defeating them. When used, Poison Mushrooms poison an enemy of choice, though some enemies are immune. Their official artwork depicts them with their above-ground Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels coloration, but they appear identical to regular Mushrooms in game. The Nintendo Switch version gives them their modern colors.

Mario Party series

Poison Mushrooms appear in certain games of the Mario Party series. They first appear in Mario Party, where if the player gets the Poisonous Mushroom (as the game calls it) from landing on a Mushroom Space, they lose their next turn. The Poisonous Mushroom in this game closely resembles the Cursed Mushroom of later games in the Mario Party series.

Poison Mushrooms have appeared in a few minigames. In Mario Party 2, they appear in Rakin' 'em In, which refers to them as Poison Purple Mushrooms, and if the player grips and drags a Poison Purple Mushroom into their goal, they lose three points. In Mario Party: Island Tour, images of Poison Mushrooms are stuck on some panels in Emergency Hexit. If not removed quickly, they would consume 5 seconds from the game's timer every once in a while. The player can get rid of Poison Mushroom panels by clearing a row of identical panels that is adjacent to them. In Mario Party 10, Poison Mushrooms, maintaining their Super Mario 3D Land design, appear only in the minigame Movin' Mushrooms, where if they fall into one of the carts, the respective team loses three points.

In Mario Party: Island Tour, Poison Mushrooms exclusively appear as a usable item on Perilous Palace Path, where using one subtracts two from a rival’s roll of the Dice Block. Similarly, in Mario Party: Star Rush, Mario Party: The Top 100, and Super Mario Party, Poison Mushrooms can also be used on other players to subtract two from their dice roll and allies, and the effects of this item are capable of stacking.

Luigi's Mansion

The Poisonous Mushroom.

In Luigi's Mansion, Poison Mushrooms, also referred to as purple mushrooms or Poisonous Mushrooms, are dropped by portrait ghosts when Luigi tries to suck them up. Poison Mushrooms can also be found by vacuuming or interacting with various objects throughout the mansion, and they have a chance of appearing during the final boss battle whenever King Boo's Bowser suit destroys a pillar. These mushrooms bounce around the room for a few seconds before disappearing. On contact, they cause Luigi to shrink and drop ten coins on the floor. Additionally, Luigi cannot use his Poltergust 3000 in this form, potentially allowing the portrait ghosts to escape his vacuum and thereby reduce the portrait rank. While in this small state, Luigi's voice clips are high-pitched and he takes more damage when he gets hit. After several seconds, the Poison Mushroom's effect wears off and Luigi's size returns to normal.

In the Nintendo 3DS remake, Poison Mushrooms can be turned into Super Mushrooms if Mario's amiibo is scanned.

Super Smash Bros. series

SmashWiki article: Poison Mushroom

Poison Mushroom, as seen in the Wii U and 3DS versions

Poison Mushrooms appear as items in the Super Smash Bros. series, starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee. They have a similar appearance to Super Mushrooms, though Poison Mushrooms are duller in color, which is unique to the series, and feature angry eyes, similar to their debut appearance. They are grabbed upon running into them, and they make the player smaller and easier to launch. While tiny, the fighter's attacks have much less reach, and they move noticeably slower, while being able to jump higher. Aesthetically, the fighter's voice becomes higher-pitched. In Underground Maze, the screen zooms in while a character is under the effect of a Poison Mushroom.

Fighters at Poison Mushroom size are weaker, which is more noticeable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where all direct attacks deal around 0.6× their normal damage.

Giga Bowser (from Brawl and 3DS / Wii U) and Giga Mac (from 3DS / Wii U) are unaffected by Poison Mushrooms.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, one of the things Trunkle can inhale is a Poison Mushroom. They are colored green with red spots, and poisons a brother if touched. Popple also sometimes throws them from his bag; these Poison Mushrooms cause more severe damage when touched. When the brothers travel to Little Fungitown, Mario eats an Invincishroom, claimed to be a mix of a Starman and a 1-Up Mushroom. However, Mario, being an outsider, is not immune to the dubious concoction and falls gravely ill.

In the 3DS remake, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, the "Invincishroom" (now referred to as an Invincibility Mushroom) that Mario ate and got sick from was revealed to really be a misidentified Poison Mushroom that Captain Goomba and his squad found. Poison Mushrooms themselves retain their Super Mario 3D Land appearance in the remake.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

See also: Shroob mushroom

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a gray-colored Poison Mushroom can be an item used by the two Dr. Shroobs and also Swiggler in the battle against him. The Shroobs also resemble Poison Mushrooms. In addition, one of Shrooboid Brat's attacks involves spitting either Mushrooms or Poison Mushrooms at Mario and Luigi, though they are launched as the opposite of what he is given (if he is given a Mushroom, it is spit out as a Poison Mushroom, and vice versa). Like in the previous game, getting hit by a Poison Mushroom inflicts the brothers with the poison status effect.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Poison Mushrooms also appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey where they replace Cheep Cheeps in one of Junker's attacks.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Poison Shroom
The Thousand-Year Door description	A snack made by Zess T. Eat it and it'll poison you! (GameCube, Switch in battle) A snack made by Zess T. Eat it and it'll poison you! On rare occasions, it'll replenish all of your HP instead of poisoning you. Made by mixing a Slow Mushroom with Inky Sauce. (Switch, in menu)
Super Paper Mario description	A dangerous poison shroom. Highly toxic!

A Poison Mushroom in Bingo!

Poison Mushrooms, appearing as dull green mushrooms with pink spots, appear in the Paper Mario series starting with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Poison Mushrooms are one of the pictures that the player can earn during a Bingo!, where they are depicted with eyes. If three in a row appear, Mario's HP (as well as his partner's HP), FP and SP are all cut in half and all of the audience members leave.

Poison Mushrooms, shortened to Poison Shrooms in the GameCube release, also appear as items later in the game. They can be created by Zess T. by mixing a Slow Mushroom and Inky Sauce, Point Swap or Trial Stew and a Dried Bouquet. If Mario or his partner eats this mushroom, the user loses half their HP and be afflicted with the poison status. In battle, there is a small chance that when eaten, the Poison Mushroom does not poison its user, but restores all HP instead.

Super Paper Mario

In Super Paper Mario, Poison Shrooms are a much more common occurrence than in its predecessor, occasionally being dropped by Zombie Shrooms, Cursyas, and their relatives. However, they do not damage the player for half of their HP; instead they gradually do damage 1 HP at a time until the poison is cured. They are used slightly more in recipes; for example, a single Poison Shroom can produce a Dangerous Delight. In addition, any recipe that requires a Poison Shroom can be cooked using a Ghost Shroom instead, if Poison Shrooms are in short supply (Ghost Shrooms can be bought from various shops, or obtained via Merlee's charms).

Recipes

Recipe	Result	Game
Inky Sauce + Slow Mushroom	Poison Mushroom	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Point Swap + Slow Mushroom
Poison Mushroom + Point Swap	Mushroom (International) Ultra Mushroom (Japan)
Poison Mushroom + Turtley Leaf	Mushroom Broth (International) Mistake (Japan)
Poison Mushroom + Golden Leaf	Mushroom Broth
Poison Shroom + Couple's Cake	Trial Stew	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario
Poison Shroom	Dangerous Delight	Super Paper Mario
Poison Shroom + Shroom Shake
Poison Shroom + Fried Shroom Plate	Odd Dinner
Poison Shroom + Mild Cocoa Bean	Standard Chocolate

Location

• Chapter 5-4 (Map 36), use Fleep on the righter cluster of red ores in the room with two Heavy Cursyas, east of the room with two Spanias along with a skull drawing which hides the Cave Key.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Kersti observing how Poison Mushrooms look "a little evil" compared to regular mushrooms.

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, the Poison Mushroom returns as a Sticker, having the same appearance as in Super Mario 3D Land. It poisons Mario upon usage; however, the effect will also transmit to enemies that attack him in close combat while it is active. Another one of its effects is that it prevents Mario from wearing defense or evasion stickers such as Tails, Super Boots, and Frog Suits and their Shiny versions. The status can be removed if another status is inflicted on Mario or the enemy, including positive effects like the Power-up status. Poison Mushrooms also appear on the Battle Spin, and if three of them are lined up, a different tune will play and Mario will be poisoned, removing any positive status. However, he still gets three Sticker slots.

The sticker has the same Action Command as a Mushroom, but performing it is actually harmful to Mario, causing him to take additional damage as well as poison.

One is also used as a 'key' to open the door in Drybake Desert to enter the desert. Putting one inside of a Paperization Block will yield a Mushroom, Shiny Mushroom, a Flashy Mushroom, or three Shiny Leaves. It can be purchased at Whammino Mountain for 2 coins, or found in ? Blocks in Goomba Fortress and Rustle Burrow. Also, a Toad in a back alley of Decalburg will sell the player a heavily overpriced Poison Mushroom (only once Hither Thither Hill is unlocked), but the player can negotiate to get the price down to 25 coins. It can be placed in the Sticker Museum as #84.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3

Poison Mushrooms reappear in Mario Hoops 3-on-3; they have purple caps and magenta spots. They can be given by ? Panels to any player, regardless if they are on offense or defense. The Poison Mushroom wanders around on the court and slows down for a short while the player who touches it. It functions as the opposite of the Mushroom.

Itadaki Street DS

In Itadaki Street DS, Poison Mushrooms appear in the Amida Dokan minigame. If Mario collects it, the player's shops close for one turn.

Mario Clock

Poison Mushrooms are the only obstacles in the DSiWare game Mario Clock. However, they will only appear while the player character is in Super form, so they cannot cause Mario or Luigi to lose a life.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition

Poison Mushrooms make an appearance in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, as Dark Orbs, one of the five elemental orbs used in the game's puzzle board. Their design in this game is a hybrid of their appearances in Super Mario 3D Land and the Super Mario All-Stars remake of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

They're also used as transformation items for Magikoopas, pairing them with a Dark-element Magikoopa, and for transforming enemies into their skeletal versions.

Other appearances and references

The Poison Mushroom makes a cameo appearance in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as part of its exclusive content.

Profiles and statistics

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

• Japanese instruction booklet: 食べるとミスになる。1UPキノコと間違わないように。 (Eating them would be a mistake. Do not mistake them for 1Up Mushrooms.)

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Trophy Poison Mushroom
	Game/move: Super Mario All-Stars1 08/93
	How to unlock: Randomly obtainable from 1-player modes or the Lottery after playing 200 VS matches
	Poison Mushrooms made their debut in Super Mario All-Stars, where they'd cost characters a life if picked up. These nasty fungi are dark and foul-tasting, and in Super Smash Bros. Melee, they make you shrink on contact. With your diminished stature comes a loss of power and mass, making you a prime target to get smashed offscreen with even a light attack.

¹ - Poison Mushrooms debuted in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, but its inclusion in Super Mario All-Stars was the first time that the game was released in any other region. In addition, they only cost characters a life if they were small; this implies that they do no matter what the circumstances are.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Trophy Poison Mushroom
	Appears in: NES Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
	How to unlock: Random
	A penalty item that shrinks whoever grabs it. It's hard to distinguish from a Super Mushroom, so you may find yourself getting small when you wanted to get big. When you're in miniature form, your attack power drops, and even the lightest attack can send you off the stage. That being said, a small target's hard to hit. Your best plan when you're tiny may be to run. (American English)
	A penalty item that shrinks whoever grabs it. It's hard to distinguish from a Super Mushroom, so you may find yourself getting small when you wanted to get big. When you're in miniature form, your attack power drops, and even the lightest attack can send you off the stage. That being said, a small target is hard to hit. Your best plan when you're tiny may be to run. (British English)

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Trophy Poison Mushroom

3DS: Wii U:

Category: Item

() Appears in: SNES Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (08/1993) 3DS Super Mario 3D Land (11/2011)

() Trophy Box: 9: Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3

How to unlock: () Random () Clear the Fire-Type Frenzy event.

Becoming giant and looming over your foes is pretty great, yeah? Well, that won't happen if you get this mushroom. It looks a lot like the Super Mushroom, but it's a slightly different color and its face is... unhappy. If you use this mushroom, you'll shrink down and be easy to send flying. (American English)

So, you thought you'd nabbed a Super Mushroom, eh? Nope! Now you're tiny! If you'd looked more closely, you'd have seen it was a slightly different colour - it was a Poison Mushroom. Now you're mini, weak and very launchable. At least dodging's not hard when you're this size! (British English)

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

• Item description: "Scary and poisonous, even to you."
• Sticker Museum plaque: "Oh no! An item that poison you! But hang on... What if you touch an enemy while poisoned..."

Mario Party: The Top 100

• Poison Mushroom: "Lowers a rival's roll by 2. Practice saying, "You wouldn't do that to me..." now."

Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo 3DS)

• Digital manual description: "Make Luigi small and unable to use the Poltergust 3000 for a certain period of time."

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Poison Mushroom.

• 

  Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

• 

  Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

• 

  Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

• 

  Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

• 

  Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	毒どくキノコ[?] Doku Kinoko	Poison Mushroom
Chinese	毒蘑菇[?] Dú Mógu	Poison Mushroom
Dutch	Giftige Paddenstoel[?]	Poisonous Mushroom
French	Champi Borgia[?]	Borgia Mushroom (the name is inspired by the Borgia family)
	Champi Poison[?]	Poison Mushroom
	Champignon poison	Poison mushroom
German	Giftpilz[?]	Poison Mushroom
Italian	Fungo avvelenato[?]	Poisoned Mushroom
	Fungo velenoso	Poisonous mushroom
	Fungo Velenoso[?]	Poisonous Mushroom	Mario Party 5, Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7
	Sfungo[?]	From fungo ("mushroom") and the letter "s"	Italian demo of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
	Fungo tossico[?]	Toxic Mushroom	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario
Korean	독버섯[?] Dok Beoseot	Poisonous Mushroom
Portuguese	Cogumelo venenoso[?]	Poisonous mushroom
Portuguese (NOE)	Cogumelo Venenoso[?]	Poisonous Mushroom	Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Russian	Ядовитый гриб[?] Yadovityy grib	Poisonous Mushroom
Spanish	Champiñón venenoso[?]	Poisonous Mushroom

Trivia

• In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, Wither Roses are replaced by Poison Mushrooms.
• In Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker's Nintendo Switch version, the Small form of Purple Captain Toad has a cap coloration very similar to that of a Poison Mushroom, being purple with pink spots.
• In Mario Party DS, the team name for Toad and Wario, "Poison Mushrooms", is a reference to the Poison Mushroom.

See also

• Cursed Mushroom
• Ghoul Shroom
• Mega Mushroom
• Mini Mushroom
• Rotten Mushroom
• Zombie Shroom