Is that an edible or poisonous fungi? Do you know for sure?

This thread is inspired by AGENT_T, Wotan, fred3110, argentus and many others here on the survival forum.

So. First a disclaimer.

THIS THREAD IS FOR THE DISCUSSION OF FUNGI AND ITS NATURE. I DO NOT ENDORSE ANY UNTRAINED OR UNWARY PERSON 'TRYING' FUNGI IN THE WILD. AN EXCELLENT KNOWLEDGE OF FUNGI MUST BE LEARNT FIRST. YOUR FIRST MISTAKE COULD WELL BE YOUR LAST. YOU CONSUME OR PICK FUNGI AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DO NOT ADVOCATE THE USE OF UNFAMILIAR FUNGI AS A FOOD SOURCE.

Fungi. is it edible or is it deadly poisonous? would you eat it? would you taste it? would you try it? or would you let it be and stay well away from it?

Some pictures.


looks nice.

Looks ok.

Any harm in 'trying it?'


Answer? If this is a Amanita Phalloides, AKA 'Death Cap', 1 ounce or half a cap is enough to KILL a fully grown healthy adult. Could it though be a false death cap? So i asked an expert. Answer? don't touch it unless you are 100% certain. They said they would have to have been in the field and able to see it growing to be 100% sure.

Moral of this? consume only those you know for 100% certain are edible.

If in doubt, do not touch it, let alone try it.



[edit on 9-8-2008 by Dan Tanna]

Death Cap

Here is a really good field example of the death cap.

The reason i start my thread with this is that this is the deadliest fungi you can consume. Its name is no joke, it is truely a death cap in name and nature.

I just recieved a u2u asking for a list of edible fungi. Long and short answer.

'No'.

This is just a 'ponder' awhile thread. For people to add to if they want, but my overwhelming advice is; 'Don't eat fungi in the wild unless 100% certain of what it is'.

My high school math teachers wife was an expert on wild mushrooms, had a couple books published on the subject IIRC.
She went out collecting shrooms one day and ate some for dinner. Ended up in a coma for a few weeks.
If an expert cant tell the difference I think its best to leave em alone.
but hey, Its your funeral.

All I know is if you screw up. You join a long list of people who have died a very horrible death of liver failure. I like the heck out of the pbs's with truffle chasing dogs though. I love mushrooms, but not that much to take a chance with it. And I have been known to be able to screw up a non dry dream.
Their nutrtional value in the wild is not all that great either.

[edit on 8/9/2008 by jpm1602]

[edit on 8/9/2008 by jpm1602]

I think the moral of this thread is to buy a Home Growing Mushroom Kit and do it yourself in the safety of your own home.

Thanks for the piccys Dan, btw It just goes to show how easy it would be to poison oneself.

Excellent thread, Dan. I think this is an important issue for survivalists. I think two things are critical: 1) be able to POSITIVELY identify edible mushrooms that are native to your area, wherever that may be and 2) be able to also POSITIVELY identify poisonous mushrooms in your area.

We've attempted to grow -- from purchased spore syringes -- various mushrooms. We're in the tropics and have even tried growing some in vented caves, thinking that the cooler, unlighted spaces might be better. Nope. Nature prevails. The only mushroom we've been successful propogating here is what grows naturally under the sea grape trees -- Chanterelles. www.slowmotiondoomsday.com... These mushrooms are apparently quite widespread throughout the globe. They're somewhat watery, and it's difficult to sautee them, but it can be done. Their flavor is earthy and tasty. For those of you fortunate enough to live in an area where morel *slobber* mushrooms grow, get to know this fungus. thegreatmorel.com... As a kid, many of my breakfasts were morels grilled in garlic butter with a side of mulberries and cream. Morels are wonderful.

There are some good guidelines on this link, but first a preface: BE SURE. As Dan indicated, many of the "identifiers" of edible mushrooms are replicated in poisonous mushrooms. So now, the link: www.nifg.org.uk...

I think your bottom line -- which I appreciate -- is that NOW is the time to gather information from those in the know, NOW is the time to do your own research, to find out what you can trust and what you cannot, BEFORE TSHTF.

Good job.

Well, are you going to teach us how to identify fungi? Common fungi? Ways of testing fungi? Anything else? Other than your advice of "don't eat it unless you know what it is", this isn't really helpful information.

reply to post by Wotan


Indeed it is Wotan. The pictures are of a Death Cap by the way. I took them today whilst sheltering from the worst wind and rain I have ever seen on a summers day. Gusting at 95, rain like stair rods. I used the 'could it be?' as a demonstration of just how deadly a mistake can be.

Originally posted by angrysniper
Well, are you going to teach us how to identify fungi? Common fungi? Ways of testing fungi? Anything else? Other than your advice of "don't eat it unless you know what it is", this isn't really helpful information.

You know what a death cap looks like, thats the most helpful information you could ever have about Fungi.

reply to post by angrysniper


I agree. how do we know the more exotic mushrooms in the supermarket are safe?

Bah...


That puny thing isn't a mushroom. Its a sickly little toadstool.


These morels are the real mushrooms. Lots of free meals for a few weeks every spring. Yum













[edit on 8/9/08 by makeitso]

reply to post by argentus



Indeed it is. Learn now, eat later.

A good external web page with some edible fungi and pictures. I am not endorsing this web page, just pointing you to it as a source.

Possible edible fungi

Originally posted by harvib
reply to post by angrysniper

 

I agree. how do we know the more exotic mushrooms in the supermarket are safe?

Is that for real or sarcasm? if its real.................

Rofl angry. Yeah I can teach you a thing or two. Do your dang homework and don't rely on others to take you by the hand to do right.

A few mushroom resources:

everythingmushrooms.com... ion-syringes-w-16ga-needles-pr-59.html -- primarily U.S. based.

www.spores101.com... -- Canadian based, but claims to ship worldwide.

The difficulty -- in searching webistes -- is the prevailing association between growing mushrooms and the Amanita Muscaria. In short, it's difficult (for me) to find websites that sell edibile mushroom spores that don't ALSO sell "magic" mushrooms. These are not a survival good IMO.

LOL. I am being serious. If so called experts die from eating the wrong mushroom then is it not possible that those mushrooms in the supermarket haven't been misidentified. Especially those that have been identified as wild.

reply to post by makeitso


Agree. Morels are my favorite, and I've been without them for 14 years. *sob* They are my absolute favorite mushroom.

maybe someday.......... if the world calms down.......... we'll travel to the Pacific Northwest again........ *sob*

Great thread Dan thanks for starting this.

I found this little bit of info on wiki...

Of the many thousands of mushroom species in the world, only 32 have been associated with fatalities, and an additional 52 have been identified as containing significant toxins. By far the majority of mushroom poisonings are not fatal, but the majority of fatal poisonings are attributable to the Amanita phalloides mushroom.

I'm not to sure about the reliability of it as it is off wikipedia.

I searched for the Amanita phalloides and hell if that isn't the scientific name for the death cap!