Four Poisonous Mushrooms to Avoid

Foraging for mushrooms in the wild can provide many benefits.

Getting out and about to let stress and anxiety levels dissipate. Have fun with friends and family. The adventure of exploring new, unknown and natural environments and importantly, the win of collecting a basketful of nutritious and delicious mushrooms.

Many of these mushrooms have wide ranging medicinal benefits but you do need to take care and know what you are looking for. There are also a lot of poisonous mushrooms that are not good for you and contain various poison levels that will cause illness and discomfort. A lot of the non-friendly mushrooms look like the edible kind, so you really need to research and know what to look for and which to stay away from.

Take this book with you to be safe.

Here are four poisonous mushrooms to steer clear of.

Jack O’Lantern

These mushrooms get their name because of their unique and distinctive orange color.

Jack O’ Lantern mushrooms commonly grow in clusters and have gills on their caps. Unlike the edible type the Chanterelle that looks very similar but only has structures that look like gills.

To differentiate between Jack O’ Lantern mushrooms which are actually quite rare and Chanterelles, look out for actual gills that glow in the dark. Chanterelles are often mistaken to have gills but the gill look alike do not glow in the dark.

If you do choose the wrong mushroom, it is unlikely to have lethal implications, however you can expect to be quite ill for a few days.

You could consider buying dried chanterelle mushrooms to keep on hand for any future food needs.

Destroying Angel

Destroying Angel mushrooms can be quite lethal just like the closely related Death Cap Mushroom. They have a thick, tough stem and a bulb like cap and look a lot like Pufball mushrooms.
So you know what to look for, these mushrooms have gills that are not attached to their thick white stem plus a membrane at the base of the stem that is broken.

Of all the death related mushroom cases, Destroying Angel consumption would make up the majority as they cause major and often irreversible liver and kidney damage. It is only diagnosed when symptoms occur approximately 5 hours after being eaten and at this stage, life saving treatment is very difficult.

False Morels

Morel is a well know and highly sought after woody tasting mushroom delicacy found mostly in cooler areas at the base of dead or dying trees.
You need to know what real Morel looks like. There are a few copycat, look alike imposters that will cause various kinds and degrees of discomfort when eaten.

Eating the false Morel are not usually fatal as different people have various levels of tolerance to the poisons produced. In fact, there are some people who actually go out hunting for the false morel with the intention of cooking and eating them as they know the poison has minimal effect on them. This is not however recommended.

If you do make a mistake and consume the poisonous look alike you will likely experience symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea and in really extreme cases, death is possible.

Death Cap

Death Cap Mushrooms have this name for a reason. Although tasty, only a small portion is enough to be life threatening. A few days after eating symptoms will show, causing violent illness followed by death a week or so later.

You should be able to easily identify Death Cap as it has a pure white stem below a rounded silver cap and lives close to the ground under shrubs and bushes.

Death Caps are deadlier than many other mushroom and fungi and can grow prolifically in urban areas and are easily mistaken as normal edible mushrooms. When cooked, they do not have a bitter taste which often provides a clue to the mushroom being poisonous.

Unfortunately, by the time symptoms present and are diagnosed, it may be too late for effective medical intervention, so take great care with these poisonous and lethal mushrooms.

Wrap Up

It is worth spending time researching and understanding the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms as this knowledge could be lifesaving.

It is especially important if you are considering going mushroom hunting in the wild as there will be many beautiful looking temptations that could land you and your loved ones in serious trouble.

If in doubt, leave it out.

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