Ten Commandments of Mushroom Hunting

[Michigan Mike]

The Mycophagist's Ten Commandments
Excerpted from Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America (http://americanmushrooms.com/ewmona.htm)
http://americanmushrooms.com/graphics/cc.gif (http://americanmushrooms.com/store.htm)
1. Never eat a mushroom unless it is positively identified as edible. Mistakes can result in toxic reactions ranging from mild gastric upset to death. If in doubt, throw it out!

2. Eat only fresh mushrooms that are free from infestation by insects or larvae. Mushrooms can spoil, and eating any spoiled food can cause food poisoning or other adverse reactions.

3. Thoroughly cook all mushrooms unless they are specifically known to be edible raw. Some mushrooms contain toxins or gastrointestinal irritants that must be destroyed by cooking.

4. Eat mushrooms only in moderate quantities. Mushrooms are not easily digested; overeating them is an easy way to get sick.

5. When trying a mushroom for the first time, eat only a small portion, and don't try any other new kinds for forty-eight hours. As with many kinds of food, some people are sensitive or allergic to mushrooms commonly eaten by other people. Individuals with known food allergies or sensitivities should be extra careful when trying mushrooms new to them, especially those species known to present problems for some individuals.

6. Don't pick mushrooms from contaminated habitats. These included polluted areas, chemically treated lawns, ornamental trees, and places close to highways, landfills, toxic waste sites, crop fields, power lines, railroads, buildings, industrial areas, or firebreaks. Contaminants may accumulate in wild mushrooms.

7. Never assume that a wild mushroom you find overseas is the same edible species you know from North America or vice versa. Too many serious cases of mushroom poisoning occur because vacationers and immigrants unwittingly gather dangerous look-alike species not found in their native lands.

8. Be conservative about feeding wild mushrooms to children, the elderly, and the infirm. Avoid edible species known to cause adverse reactions in some people, and don't let children, the elderly, or persons in poor health try an unfamiliar kind of wild mushroom until you and other friends or relatives have identified and eaten it without any adverse reactions. Limit portion sizes for children, the elderly, and the sick because they're generally more susceptible to toxins than other people are.

9. When trying a mushroom for the first time, save a few intact, uncooked specimens in the refrigerator for forty-eight hours. If someone develops an illness within two days after trying an unfamiliar mushroom, the physician may want expert identification to rule out the mushroom as the culprit.

10. Examine every specimen in every collection of mushrooms to avoid inadvertent mixing of different species. Even experienced mushroom hunters can err if they become careless and fill their baskets too hurriedly.

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http://americanmushrooms.com/ten.htm

[Michigan Mike]

Poisonous Mushrooms in Northeastern North America

If you are interested in edible mushrooms, you should study this first of all! A good start to learning about poisonous mushrooms is to read the four pages on mushroom poisoning (pp. 871-874) in The Audubon Guide – abbreviated to AG for the page references below.

It is important to know that there are at least 10 reasons why people get sick from eating EDIBLE mushrooms:
1. Too many mushrooms are eaten – mushrooms are hard to digest; chewing well is advised.
2. Mushrooms are eaten raw or undercooked.
3. Too much butter is used in cooking the mushrooms.
4. Alcohol sometimes causes an adverse reaction when eating mushrooms.
5. The mushrooms are not in good condition; they are in some state of decomposition.
6. Some poisonous mushrooms are inadvertently mixed in with the edibles.
7. A personal allergy can cause anything from GI distress to a rash.
8. A prescription drug (MAO inhibitor) can cause a reaction with particular mushrooms, such as polypores.
9. Edible mushrooms that are badly canned can cause botulism.
10. A GI reaction (cramps, diarrhea) or nausea may occur after a meal, not related to the mushrooms eaten. A pre-existing virus may cause this.
There is also the Fear Factor. Someone may be eating wild mushrooms at your table for the first time ever, and be petrified, and become, or imagine becoming, ill because of stress.

Mushrooms known to cause death in Northeastern North America: -- photos (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/fatal_pix.html)
1. Amanita virosa AG 551
2. Amanita phalloides AG 543
3. Galerina autumnalis AG 620
4. Lepiota josserandii AG 517
5. Gyromitra esculenta AG 336
Because of the very real possibility of misidentification (for whatever reason) and the very real consequences of severe mushroom poisoning, the following is advised:
Do not eat any Amanitas even though some are known to be edible.
Do not eat any LBM (Little Brown Mushroom).
Do not eat any small species of Lepiota.
Do not eat any large Lepiota without first finding out its spore color. Definitely avoid the green-spored Lepiota, Chlorophyllum molybdites -- it will make you seriously ill. -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/summer_fall/lepiota_chlorophyllum.html)
Do not eat any Gyromitra (False Morel), at least not when found east of the Mississippi River. -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/spring/morels2.htm)
Do not eat Jack O'Lantern, Omphalotus olearius, mistakenly thinking it is a chanterelle. -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/summer_fall/omphalotus_etc.html)
Always keep a fresh specimen in the refrigerator, in case identification is needed for treatment.
Mushrooms to be avoided because a few species in Europe have caused kidney failure and the toxins are found throughout the genus:
Cortinarius, all species -- AG 610ff.
Mushrooms known to cause muscarine-like symptoms [profuse sweating, tunnel vision] in Northeastern North America:
1. Clitocybe dealbata AG 745 -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/summer_fall/clitocybe.html)
2. Inocybe, all species AG 626ff. -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/summer_fall/inocybe_etc.html)
Mushrooms known to cause a reaction when alcohol has been consumed up to 72 hours after eating the mushroom:
1. Coprinus atramentarius AG 596 -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/summer_fall/inkies.html)
2. Clitocybe clavipes AG 745 -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/clitocybe_clavipes.html)
Mushroom known to cause disorientation, GI symptoms, muscarine-like symptoms:
Amanita muscaria AG 538 -- photo (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/summer_fall/amanitas.html)
Mushrooms known to cause transient hallucinations: photos (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/hallucinogenic.html)
1. Psilocybe caerulipes, and other blue-staining species of Psilocybe AG 719
2. Gymnopilus spectabilis AG 623
Mushrooms known or suspected to cause mild to severe GI distress: photos 1-7 (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/gi_gilled_pix1thru7.html) photos 8-14 (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/gi_gilled_pix8thru14.html)
Gilled Mushrooms:
1. Agaricus meleagris AG 507
2. Amanita gemmata (= A. crenulata) AG 537
3. Armillaria mellea AG 736
4. Chlorophyllum molybdites AG 509
5. Entoloma, many species
6. Hebeloma, all species suspected
7. Lactarius, many species
8. Lepiota naucina AG 519
9. Naematoloma (= Hypholoma) fasciculare AG 709
10. Omphalotus olearius AG 787
11. Paxillus involutus AG 671
12. Russula, several species
13. Tricholoma, several species
14. Tricholomopsis platyphylla AG 807
Boletes: photos (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/gi_boletes.html)
1. Boletus huronensis (in Bessette, North American Boletes)
2. Boletus (= Chalciporus) piperatus AG 571
3. Boletus sensibilis AG 567
4. Boletus, some species with red pore-mouths
5. Suillus luteus (can be laxative) AG 586
6. Tylopilus eximius AG 592
Other Mushrooms: photos (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/beginners/other_gi_fungi.html)
1. Morels eaten raw AG 326
2. Gomphus floccosus AG 396
3. Ramaria formosa and possibly other coral fungi AG 408
4. Scleroderma citrinum AG 839
5. Calvatia gigantea, occasionally reported. AG 823


Poisonous mushrooms and harmless look-alikes: Line drawings & photos -- (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/lookalikes/poison_lookalikes.html)
Recent reports of mushroom poisoning from edible mushrooms (March 2005) (http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/lookalikes/Recent_mushroom_poisonings.html)



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[Michigan Mike]

I thought this might be good in this forum for anyone new interested
in shrooms.
I personally re read them once in awhile just as a reminder to myself.
I forget more than I remember nowadays anyways. lol

[hardwaterfan]

OK Moses :D....thanks for posting!

[knockoff64]

Great post!:)

Ton's of great info there!

They forgot to include Grifola Frondosa as one that causes gastric upset. I am unfortunatly one of those with an allergy.

[Roosevelt]

Lots of good info there. Thanks for posting MM.

The part about eating a small portion when trying any new mushroom and having a good understanding of the deadlies is most important IMO. I myself got slightly ill after eating a bunch of wood blewits/ Lepista nuda and later after eating Hericium/ coral tooth/ lion's mane. they're both good edibles but sometimes they mess you up anyway.

If you know the deadlies, and stay away from anything that even closely resembles em, the worst case scenario is you're just gonna get sick for a few days. Which could be a problem.:sick:

[Michigan Mike]

OK Moses :D....thanks for posting!

LOL@ George!
I had to think about it for a minute!l

[Michigan Mike]

Great post!:)

Ton's of great info there!

They forgot to include Grifola Frondosa as one that causes gastric upset. I am unfortunatly one of those with an allergy.

Good point KO!
Yes, to some it has a cleansing effect I understand. lol
Chicken of the woods is another quite a few people
have a few different reactions to.

Bottom line, each shroom is like a new food we've never tried
before, so thats why they reccomend only trying a little at first
of any type to find out If we will have a reaction and or if we even like it.

Dang look how many people are allergic to peanuts and to some
they can be deadly.

mike

[fasthunter]

Good info you guys! The only edible that's made me a little queasy was a bunch of lobster mushrooms once. I got gassy and had diahrea, but it was gone in a few hours. Well, sometimes I get gassy on oysters too, but it's not that bad. I don't know if it was the lobsters, or maybe the fact that I ate far to many. Think I'll try them again, but just one for now. If my stomach still doesn't like it I'm passing:lol:

[fasthunter]

I thought this might be good in this forum for anyone new interested
in shrooms.
I personally re read them once in awhile just as a reminder to myself.
I forget more than I remember nowadays anyways. lol
That galerina autmalis is the one that makes me the most nervous. When I pick honey mushrooms in the fall I check EVERY SINGLE MUSHROOM before I keep it. I actually really love honeys, but being lazy and throwing a single galerina in there by mistake would be extremely bad news.

[Roosevelt]

Over eating is how I feel about the blewits FH. The third time I ate em, found a bunch, I was so geeked that I fried em all up and scarfed em down. Was runnin to the bathroom for a couple days. Since then I eat em in moderation and have no problems.

I know one person that sometimes has problems with chickens and hens if they eat too many.

[Sparky23]

I never used to have a problem but now if i eat more then 10 or so I nausiated bigtime, and it sucks:evil: just means i will have that many more happy friends every year from giving them away. I just hope it doesnt happen with hens...that would be terrable:yikes:

[fasthunter]

Over eating is how I feel about the blewits FH. The third time I ate em, found a bunch, I was so geeked that I fried em all up and scarfed em down. Was runnin to the bathroom for a couple days. Since then I eat em in moderation and have no problems.

I know one person that sometimes has problems with chickens and hens if they eat too many.
Those blewits are absolutely delicious too Roosevelt! Luckily I haven't had a problem with those. I just love those things simply cooked with butter an onions served as a side. :corkysm55:)