How People Get Poisoned By Wild Mushrooms

According to Wikipedia, lists of very important people are reported to have died from wild mushrooms poisoning and have made history for the need to do thorough research to prevent more deaths. It is feared that most of these deaths and serious illnesses resulted due to misidentification and confusion on species that seem to have same characteristics. The morel (Morchella) for example, is edible and very delicious. However some species are extremely dangerous (false morels) and if confused with the edible ones and eaten in big quantities can cause serious gastrointestinal distress.

Most cases of severe discomforts and deaths have resulted due to beliefs in traditional myths about wild mushrooms. Generally, traditional identification method should not be used to spot species in different locations. Most beliefs are proven wrong and are misleading. Belief that most dangerous species are bright colored is not supported by the facts. It is known that the lethal galerina is brown in color. The death cap is always loved by insects and animals and therefore overruling the traditional belief that if insects eat, then humans can eat. It does not matter the shape of the wild fungi for it to be poisonous or edible. Most beliefs have it that the edible ones are flat or rounded while the poisonous are pointed in shape. For example a mature death cap is round in shape. The death cup and the genus species have a fungal toxin that does not break easily simply by cooking or heating up. Therefore, it is not safe to say that if all mushrooms are cooked well they are not poisonous. Deadly Amanitas tastes very good but traditional beliefs have it that poisonous species taste bad. It is also not true that the poisonous species darken silver. The best advice is, do not eat it, if you are not sure of its safe nature.

Learning about the edible species and ability to recognize poisonous ones especially in cases where characteristics seem the same is the best practice. Some wild mushrooms are seen growing together with one species edible while the other poisonous and yet looking the same. This can be very mystifying and requires careful identification. Thorough researches and experiences in hunting should be applied and one should rarely use traditional methods to figure out things. The online information has quite a big library especially of photos, videos and write-ups on how to easily discover edible and inedible species.

Most victims will have gastrointestinal discomforts, which may cause vomiting, and diarrhea. In some serious cases, organ failure may occur due to high levels of toxins in the body. In most cases, victims have been hospitalized and in severe cases lost their lives. In some areas where these untamed species have sprouted, they are made poisonous by contamination with pesticides sprayed on the surfaces and other pollutants. It is advisable not to eat them when you see them growing in such areas. Species with coprine toxins are harmless but the moment one takes alcohol the effect start showing up alike the hang over symptoms. It is advisable to cook the wild mushrooms well, while searching for them, wash your hands thoroughly and avoid mixing them in one basket.

By: G. Money

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