4 ms·
To be honest I don't recall the last time I've ever accidentally picked up a poisonous specimen along with the good ones I was intending to pick. At this point
by dmitrybrant 4y ago
To be honest I don't recall the last time I've ever accidentally picked up a poisonous specimen along with the good ones I was intending to pick. At this point it's such second-nature that telling apart an edible vs. poisonous mushroom is like telling a bottle of milk from a bottle of Drano.
And yet I still examine each one at home before putting it in the pot.
The other thing is that the truly deadly varieties, such as the subject of this article - Amanita phalloides, are really not that hard to avoid. When you're a novice forager, there are plenty of varieties that don't look remotely like Amanita, and are much easier to differentiate.
There are some hardcore foragers who even consume certain varieties of Amanita (some of which are edible!), but to me this would be too much of a hassle, since it would involve spore prints and maybe even microscopy of the spores to be absolutely sure.
- ncann 4y agoI think I read somewhere before about how if a mushroom is white, then stay away from it. How true is this from your experience?
- dmitrybrant 4y agoUsing that rule of thumb, you would successfully avoid Amanita virosa (destroying angel), but you could still get poisoned by Amanita phalloides (death cap) which has a pale-green cap. I don't endorse any rules-of-thumb for foraging, but a much better differentiator for beginners is whether the mushroom has pores vs. gills under the cap. There are virtually no deadly varieties that have pores.
- trhr 4y ago> There are virtually no deadly varieties that have pores. Never heard this one before. Adding it to my bug out notes. Thanks!
- Matticus_Rex 4y agoNote that there's at least one, and that a number of them will still make you sick. Put a few common pored edibles (Laetiporus sp., Cantharellus sp., Grifola frondosa, etc.) in your notes for sure though, with basic descriptions, as even their few remote lookalikes (at least pored ones -- some people think Omphalotus sp. look like Cantharellus for some reason) are just going to give you a moderate stomach upset at worst, and may be edible themselves.
- e12e 4y ago> Put a few common pored edibles (... Cantharellus sp Chantarelles don't have pores?
- Matticus_Rex 4y agoDerp; I meant non-gilled. Thanks for the correction. The false gills on chanterelles are a major part of why they're so accessible to new foragers.
- bergenty 4y agoThey’re not deadly but there are quite a few ones with pores that will make you very sick.
- franze 4y agoI avoid white and white-ish (i.e.: green-white). It significantly a but not totally- reduces the risk in my area. Everything else a good book for identification. If its not 100% clear that it is editable, it gets thrown away.
- malermeister 4y agoThe parasol mushroom [1] is one of the most popular foraged mushrooms in my part of the world and is white-ish. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera
- Matticus_Rex 4y agoAmanita sec caesarae doesn't require spore prints or microscopy to be affirmatively ID'd as safe. You have to check for the presence of a few characteristics, but it's a fairly safe ID for experienced foragers. Blushers and grisettes, however... I've seen too many people in mushroom groups misidentify those to ever recommend them to others.
- cormullion 4y agoMost Amanitas have a prominent base (volva) but I expect too many pickers just pull out by the stem so might not notice it.