How Not to Get Poisoned

It came to my attention that about year ago there was serious mushroom poisoning in Canada (see Fulminant hepatic failure following ingestion of wild mushrooms) ending with liver transplant.

I am sure that it is quite easy to avoid any possible poisoning just following some simple rules and common sense.

  • If you are not 100% sure what you are collecting DO NOT EAT IT!


This simple rule is applicable to everybody, from total ignoramuses and novices to the highest field experts. Simple: IF IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT!!

Now, after reading through several field guides, watching numerous Youtube videos and leafing through hundreds of mushroom images on the Internet you feel ready to go out there and pick some mushrooms. Do not do it.




  • learn from experienced person and in the woods; never do identifications on the basis of images only


After you gain some experience and confidently can recognize a handful of edibles and some poisonous mushrooms

  • stay away from several Genera: Tricholoma, Cortinarius and especially Amanita


These Genera contain some of the worst offenders and Amanitas have some real bad boys in the family. To totally avoid Amanitas

  • do not pick any mushroom that grows out of volva (sack-like structure at the bottom of the stem)


[caption id="attachment_2478" align="alignnone" width="663"] Typical Amanita Mushroom[/caption]

To be sure, dig into the leafs and dirt and check the very base of the stem.  This way you will avoid Amanita bisporigera (Destroying Angel), the mushroom involved in the Canadian poisoning I mentioned in the beginning.

As far as I know there is only one species of mushroom edible and resembling Destroying Angel - Smooth Parasol (Leucoagaricus naucina). If you are really keen to consume this particular white mushroom, observe the following:

  • grows mainly in coniferous woods

  • bulbous end of the stem is covered with dirt and mycelium (Destroying Angel is clean)

  • ring is small and persistent (Destroying Angel has a floppy ring that frequently disappears)

  • cap can be removed from the stem easily, without tearing flash - ball and socket effect (Destroying Angel tears)


[caption id="attachment_3063" align="alignnone" width="663"]dscn6518 Smooth Parasol with dirty bulb and "ball and socket"effect between cap and stem[/caption]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morels 2 (2016)

Image
Encouraged by the finds couple of days ago I visited one of my best spots for Morels .  There was no trace of any mushrooms yet. The only thing indicating something is going on are several Dryad's Saddles in very early stage of growth. The Trillium is everywhere, showing great variations in color. I did find many small patches of Ramps. All of them were too small to harvest.   I will try again on Weekend.
Read more

October 17, 2016

Image
Seems like I dismissed warm weather a little too early. Today expected daily high is 27°C! The forecast is still factoring in humidex! In the woods the fall change is well under way. I guess trees are reacting to calendar as much as couple of cold nights. The colors are amazing. All the shades of green, yellow, brown and red are present. On the floor of the woods big flourish of Honey Mushrooms has passed. There are still some around but big clumps are gone. At this time they are frequently infested by bugs. I found numerous traces of heavy harvesting. Blewits are showing in numbers. As usual they are forming partial or full fairy rings. Due to worm weather some of them are still buggy. This is excellent edible, definitely one of my favorites. Blewit color can vary greatly and it is not recommended for the beginners. For me the odor is one of the main characteristics for recognition. [caption id="attachment_3115" align="alignnone" width="663"] Clitocybe n
Read more

Morels 3 (Fiddleheads) (2016)

Image
Temperatures dipped back to near zero over several nights.I tried  foraging in North York Regional forest with zero result. The consolation price for the weekend of May 14th were fiddleheads. There is some controversial info on the web about fiddleheads. Some sources have a warning about carcinogenic compounds found in several species of fern.The fact is they are still  sold in grocery shops in Ontario. I limit my foraging to Ostrich Fern . It is easily recognized by 3 characteristics: Dark green, almost bluish in color Paper like membrane (visible on picture bellow) Presence of characteristic spore bearing fronds Anyway, I follow recommendation of Government of Canada and cook my fiddleheads thoroughly, just in case. The fiddlheads season is very short. The best way to preserve is to blanch(cook in boiling water 2 minutes, shock with cold water to stop cooking), dry and put in freezer bags). Fiddleheads have a great, buttery taste and can be eaten as side dish or cooked veg
Read more