Be careful if you go pick mushrooms

Here is a photo of the place of discovery.

Screenshot_20211122-202225_Gallery.jpg
 
It has a biscuit top, so must be the poisonous one.

Are they poisonous if rubbed on the skin? They cause liver damage when ingested, which doesn't show for days, until it's late to treat it. The poison circulates between organs continuing to cause damage.

There was a case that someone injected mushrooms and it grew inside his body until it killed him. They found protein breakdowns in urine, which is what they use for diagnosing, but had trouble determining the ailment.
 
sidetone said:
Are they poisonous if rubbed on the skin?
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No, there is no mushroom in the world which is poisonous in contact with skin.
Many believe one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world - Podostroma cornu-damae - is, but there is no evidence for this.

www.abc.net.au

Look, but don't touch! Bushwalkers warned about potentially deadly fungus

The world's second-deadliest fungus is spotted growing near a popular hiking trail in Far North Queensland, prompting a warning to bushwalkers.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

sidetone said:
There was a case that someone injected mushrooms and it grew inside his body until it killed him.
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www.livescience.com

'Magic mushrooms' grow in man's blood after injection with shroom tea

A man ended up at the emergency department with magic mushrooms growing in his blood.
www.livescience.com www.livescience.com
 
'Biscuit top' description has me lost, but something like 'Cap edges pointing down, rather than up, and it's not a smooth, shiny surface' would be better, IMHO. But even then, I'd be lost, and just leave the whole bunch alone.

Carefully reading the article that eternal_noob found in response to sidetone 's comments told me that unfortunately, sidetone did mis-understand the biochemical pathways of poisons and fungal infections. That article also failed to name the specific mushrooms the 'tea' was brewed from (I'm assuming that they're the pictured ones in the article).

Yeah, the guy was not properly educated, had a crazy idea that nearly killed him - that much was communicated by the article.

Edit: sidetone: The guy actually did survive (at least according to the article). Or did you follow the news to discover that he died later?

Edit 2: Deleted some parts after a good discussion of the article. Said a few things that I'd rather edit out.
 
I believe he died. They started to treat him late, because he had to admit what he did. It was that mushroom cells (maybe spores) survived his preparation process. The cells multiplied in his body, because it was warm, wet and dark. That one may not have had toxins, but it was deadly when taken that way.

I'm not sure what I misunderstood. I know poisonous mushrooms cause death through ingestion, because of how mycotoxins interact with the liver or other organs. I believed they were ok on the skin, but wasn't really sure. But mushrooms don't warn like plants do. Poisonous plants give irritations if they're poisonous, and a few are dangerous on the skin.

The mushroom head is shaped like a biscuit, the top part of it. Flatter on the top, with a slope away from the center that changes direction downward. The other mushroom head is more cone shaped.

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Edit - for clarification, those mushrooms caused death because of how its cells multiplied within the body, and caused damage that way, even if that mushroom didn't have toxins.
 
eternal_noob said:
The articles names them: His blood tested positive for a bacterial infection with the microbe Brevibacillus and a fungal infection from Psilocybe cubensis

It's the most common used magic mushroom.
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Thanks for pointing that out, eternal_noob .
sidetone said:
I believe he died. They started to treat him late, because he had to admit what he did. It was that mushroom cells (maybe spores) survived his preparation process. The cells multiplied in his body, because it was warm, damp and dark.

I'm not sure what I misunderstood. I know poisonous mushrooms cause death through ingestion, because of how mycotoxins interact with the liver or other organs. I believed they were ok on the skin, but wasn't really sure. But mushrooms don't warn like plants do. Poisonous plants give irritations if they're poisonous, and a few are dangerous on the skin.

The mushroom head is shaped like a biscuit, the top part of it. The other mushroom head is more cone shaped.

View attachment 12096
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Yeah. Sorry, sidetone! I got rather steamed reading that stuff (Just how nuts does one have to be to do it??? Just no sense of danger, no education... 😩 ) After talking with eternal_noob , I realized where I messed up. I ended up doing some side research on Google, and realized that beyond the touching part, you did understand enough to stay safe. So - my bad! Gotta police my own reactions better than that!
 
It's still the shape. Compare the image of the biscuits to the shape of the mushroom that's circled.

The biscuit looks less like those other mushroom heads.

Those ones change shape, but they don't look like the biscuit shape. Some are flat on top, but the part around the mushroom head edge is thinner. The non-poisonous flathead ones look more like pancakes than biscuits. Pancakes are thinner, and biscuits are thicker, when comparing that shape to the edges. I'm not sure if this is enough of a description, as it's kind of visual, and look at the shape of the biscuits.

There could be something else, but I'm missing it if it is.


He didn't know. Some things are hard to know all of the pitfalls. In hindsight, it's obvious though.


I don't mess with mushrooms, unless they're from the grocery store or they come on my pizza.
 
In Germany, we have a saying "Da Pilze nicht lesen können, sehen sie selten so aus, wie in den Büchern beschrieben", which roughly translates to "Because mushrooms can't read, they seldomly look like described in the books".

You may identify them correctly if they grow alone, but it's much harder if they grow next to each other. Look at the very first photo in the thread.
 
My favorite variety (Lactarius, which you normally ferment with salt, garlic cloves, onion and dill) has very biscuity tops, too:
images

But they can also look like this:
images


The important part is color, biscuity texture on the caps, and no collar on stems. Both of the pictured varieties are actually the same thing, they get prepared the same, and taste the same. Most people in US don't even pick them, but since I grew up eating 'em with steamed potatoes, I take advantage. I pick and eat them by the basketful 🤤 .
 
eternal_noob said:
In Germany, we have a saying "Da Pilze nicht lesen können, sehen sie selten so aus, wie in den Büchern beschrieben", which roughly translates to "Because mushrooms can't read, they seldomly look like described in the books".
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In Russia, especially in mosquito-infested areas like Siberia in summer, you're supposed to use mosquito repellent. And when your brand of mosquito repellent proves ineffective, the joke is: Those mosquitoes didn't read the ads for the repellent, so they didn't know they were supposed to be repelled. You can make a joke out of anything that way. 🤣
 
grahamperrin said:
In my thirties I tried, failed, to don a suede trilby that I purchased in my late teens. Alarming discovery: one's head mushrooms with age. YMMV.
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I actually had to google what a trilby even is. Expensive hats are very much a British thing. In US, something comparable would be a nice outdoor jacket by a reputable company (Think The North Face, Columbia or Helly Hansen), those tend to go for around $500 easy.
 
are mushrooms no good by the time you can get a spore print color? That would be a go-to for recognizing them.

Also, in the US, Deathcaps apparently resemble straw mushrooms (leading to the death of many East and Southeast Asian people who don't know better)
 
BSD-Kitsune said:
are mushrooms no good by the time you can get a spore print color? That would be a go-to for recognizing them.

Also, in the US, Deathcaps apparently resemble straw mushrooms (leading to the death of many East and Southeast Asian people who don't know better)
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What's a 'spore print color' ? Do you mean a color printed photo album for identifying them? You can get a nicely printed color guide even out of season, and take it with you for next season... o_O
 
You lay a cap down on some paper for a few hours/overnight and it'll drop spores. Each species has its own color of spore, so it can be used to rule out lookalikes.
 
BSD-Kitsune said:
You lay a cap down on some paper for a few hours/overnight and it'll drop spores. Each species has its own color of spore, so it can be used to rule out lookalikes.
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Hmmm... For me, it's the first time I come across an info tidbit like that. Nothing wrong with it, I just usually pick what I know for sure, rather than invest time and effort in analysis like that. When I come home with a full basket of good stuff, it's a lot of work just cleaning and soaking them. :)
 
I assume that's a safe bet. Rather than pick mushrooms when I've been outdoors, I would rather hunt small animals, or if the right season, search wild fruits. I'm well and truly able to admit on the topic of mushrooms I don't know enough to not end up high/sick/dead
 
I have a fear of mushrooms. I am OK with spiders dark hights skeletons really most of dose mainstream phobias/fears . and MUSHROOMS is what iam afraid of . Interestingly enough there is a phobia of mushrooms called Mycophobia but it is mostly described as "fear of mushrooms because they are poisonous" but iam not like that .it's kinda from something around how they look and grow but I don't know what .

so in summary I would be pretty ok just running in the opposite way.
 
baaz said:
I have a fear of mushrooms. I am OK with spiders dark hights skeletons really most of dose mainstream phobias/fears . and MUSHROOMS is what iam afraid of . Interestingly enough there is a phobia of mushrooms called Mycophobia but it is mostly described as "fear of mushrooms because they are poisonous" but iam not like that .it's kinda from something around how they look and grow but I don't know what .

so in summary I would be pretty ok just running in the opposite way.
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You're missing out on chantrelles and shiitake... just typing that made me hungry. 🤤
 
Yes, this is quite interesting, mycorrhizal fungi connect trees with their mycelium. Good analogy.
By analogy to the many roles intermediated by the World Wide Web in human communities, the many roles that mycorrhizal networks appear to play in woodland have earned them a colloquial nickname: the Wood Wide Web.
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