#mushroom poisoning

[rebeccathenaturalist]

For those who don't know, the death cap (Amanita phalloides) is one of five mushrooms, along with four Amanita species known colloquially as destroying angels, that I refer to collectively as the "deadly Amanitas". They all contain amatoxins that cause massive cell death in your liver within a few hours of consuming them, and half a cap can kill a healthy adult. There's no reliable cure, and all that can be offered is supportive care in the hopes you don't end up needing a liver transplant or simply dying.

This is why I bang the drum of identification so hard in my foraging classes. It is NOT enough to just look at a bunch of photos of mushrooms; you HAVE to be able to carry out a detailed observation of the physical characteristics of a mystery mushroom and then be able to use your observations in conjunction with LOTS of tools (not just one app or one field guide) to arrive at a positive I.D. You don't need to be a scientist to do this; you just need patience, critical thinking skills, and lots of practice.

I also want to emphasize, once again, that you should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever use an ID app as your only tool, even if it's a really solid one like iNaturalist. Apps can be wrong more than occasionally, and I treat iNat as a way to get some suggested species to look into that might match my mystery mushroom, not the end point of identification.

There's no minimum number of field guides you should use, either; I've heard the assertion that if three field guides agree it must be right, but what if there's been new information that's come out since they were published? Apps, field guides, websites, blogs, journal articles, online foraging groups, other foragers in-person, classes--these are all the many resources available to you, and if you are relying on only one, you're much more likely to end up with a dangerous misidentification.

I see my job as a foraging instructor as doing my very best to make sure you don't end up as yet another cautionary tale, not just show you a bunch of pretty pictures. We have multiple examples of people who, for example, misidentified a poisonous mushroom with an app and ended up seriously regretting it. We don't know the whole story here, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's what occurred in this instance.

Be careful, be thorough, and when in doubt, throw it out. You can also contact me any time if you want my opinion on the ID of a particular mushroom--but DO NOT take my word as your only source!

[itsawritblr]

"Poison control centers fielding boom of calls tied to big wild mushroom crop."

"The Minnesota Regional Poison Center says calls from April through July tripled when compared to the same time period last year."

Story from KARE 11.

OK, folks. This is pertinent to me because I'm a mystery writer, and I researched poisonous mushrooms for one of my books.

The second I heard that there were people running around the woods, identifying mushrooms with a fucking app, I bet my editor that poisonings would rise. I won that bet.

Do not fuck around with wild mushrooms.

Even people who've studied them for a long time can be fooled; believe me, I've talked to these people. And this is a gamble that, if you lose, will make you want to shoot your brains out rather than die the way you're going to.

Let me repeat: You're going to.

Some mushroom poisoning, like from the Destroying Angel, won't show symptoms for hours. And then you're hit with diarrhea and vomiting. After a few hours it lessens, and you think you're recovering. Oh no, you fool, it's just beginning. In a day or so your vital organs will shut down. Your liver will turn to goo. You'll be in extreme agony. And you'll die slowly.

Did I mention there's no cure? Short of a liver transplant. If you're very, very, very lucky and it happens very, very quickly. In short: It won't.

There are semi-edible mushrooms which resemble Destroying Angels. But if you guess wrong, better have a loaded gun nearby, because you won't want to reach the poisoning's second phase.

Choose wisely.

Just don't do this shit, OK? Don't follow a trend because it's a trend. If you want, go in the woods, find mushrooms, say, "Wow, isn't that a cool wild mushroom!", take a picture, do not goddamn touch it or let your dog or kid touch it, and go to the grocery store and buy some mushrooms.

Stop being fucking sheep. It'll be the death of you.

[fanciedfacts]

Just one drop and you're history "The Deadly Death Cap Mushroom"

[crystal-p1lls]

Update of my favorite OC 🫶

[phd-in-disinformation]

MEDICAL INFORMATION QUALITY RATING:

Source(s): 0/4

Authenticity/Timeliness: 2/4

Emotionality: 3/4

Total: 5/12 Information Quality: Mediocre Consideration: The way the information is provided appears to be indicative of misinformation. However, if the pictured mushroom is indeed the "Destroying Angel," then what is stated appears to be consistent with the literature.

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Explanation: I am not a mycologist and thus cannot identify the mushroom pictured, but under the assumption that it is indeed the Amanita Mushroom, then it appears that "amanita virosa" is highly poisonous. The symptoms of amatoxin poisoning include gastrointestinal distress (e.g., stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) within 6 to 24 hours, then progression to the liver after about 12 hours (i.e., hepatitis) with the potential for some improvement, before liver and kidney failure around 24 hours with evidence of seizures, coma, brain edema, and encephalopathy. The patient is very likely to die at this final stage. The mechanism of action is that the creation of several important proteins are prevented--which are highly conducive for life. Thus, it appears that the OP and the reblogger's information is consistent with the current literature (if the mushroom pictured is indeed the amanita virosa mushroom).

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Lower scores do not necessarily indicate mis- or disinformation, only that the way the information is provided should be considered critically. Always maintain skepticism and complete further research in all cases. Visit this blog for further details on rating system. I may make mistakes sometimes.

For those not in the know, this is one of the Amanita mushrooms referred to as a Destroying Angel. Never, ever, ever, ever forage with an app. Especially for mushrooms.

[troythecatfish]

Here’s my personal recommendation of a article to check out:

[gretavdr]

Everyone is entitled to privacy

There has been surpassing interest in the media about the mushroom poisoning case in rural Victoria. Erin Patterson prepared beef wellington for a lunch with her former parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband, Ian. Three of her elderly guests are dead and the fourth, Ian Wilkinson, remains in a critical condition in hospital. Their symptoms fit…

[richdadpoor]

Google Search AI Gives Ridiculous, Wrong Answers

Google’s experiments with AI-generated search results produce some troubling answers, Gizmodo has learned, including justifications for slavery and genocide and the positive effects of banning books. In one instance, Google gave cooking tips for Amanita ocreata, a poisonous mushroom known as the “angel of death.” The results are part of Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience. Google’s…

[98chao]

my pitch for a season 2 of last cookie standing

[rebeccathenaturalist]

I am going to say this until I am blue in the face: NEVER RELY ON AN APP FOR IDENTIFICATION, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMETHING YOU INTEND TO EAT. Apps are great tools, but they can be wrong, and we have multiple cases of people eating a toxic mushroom that an app told them was an edible species. Granted, the same thing happens with field guides, because you get people taking one (1) field guide out into the woods with them, and not cross-referencing with other sources or even looking at similar species.

You have so many options for references out there: field guides (including ebooks, and library copies), websites and blogs, identification apps, foraging groups on Facebook and other websites, online and in-person foraging classes. I have had people in my foraging classes ask me how many sources is enough, and I always tell them 'the more, the better." Not just three field guides, not just one group of people online, but as many sources as you can reasonably access. Pretend you are writing a paper and you're doing research--you want more references, and you want them to be reliable. That means you also need the critical thinking skills to tell whether the information you're getting is accurate or not.

Yes, it's a lot of work to do it right, but it's worth it. This is literally a matter of life or death in some cases; there are multiple species of mushroom that will legitimately kill you by dissolving your liver, for example. I have been practicing dedicated nature identification for almost two decades (including identifying and eating edible plants and fungi), I've been teaching nature I.D. classes since 2017, and I have a book on identifying animals, plants and fungi coming out next year. Trust me when I say an app isn't enough by itself.

[dangerdust2]

A new study has shown that a commonly used medical dye acts as an antidote for poisoning by the “death cap” mushroom, Amanita phalloides. The death cap is thought to be responsible for 90% of mushroom-linked fatalities each year. The research is published in Nature Communications.

No fun with fungi

Mushroom poisoning is a global issue that is thought to kill hundreds of people worldwide each year. Death cap mushrooms account for more than 90% of those deaths. Unsurprisingly, mushroom poisoning is a greater threat in cultures where the consumption of wild mushrooms is more commonplace. In China, nearly 40,000 illnesses and 800 deaths were recorded between 2010 and 2020.  

[fanciedfacts]

The deadly Death Cap Mushroom —

It takes one drop of this deadly mushroom to kill an adult. It's ordinary looking, yet very potent.

[nemfrog]

Poisonous. Edible and poisonous fungi. 1945.

Internet Archive

[sunseed-fandump]

Original Post

[lindagoesmushrooming]

Amanita muscaria

[julianplum]

🍄 🐸 🌷 🥀 🐌 // poison garden // gouache on hot press paper

everything pictured in this piece is a poison: henbane in blue, belladonna in green, amanita muscaria in red, rosy bonnet in pink, lily of the valley, strawberry poison dart frogs, hickory tussock moth & caterpillar, ladybug. not the snails, though! they're just hanging.

[id: an illustrative gouache painting on a dark background. lush intertwined botanicals with textured blue and green leaves weave between red, white, and pink flowers. red frogs and ladybugs perch on stems, colorful pink and red mushrooms burst from the ground, and a moth hangs off a leaf. snails stroll quietly over the tops of mushrooms and along the ground. /end id]