DEATH CAP MUSHROOM....

Amsonia

no, but I do grow my own shiitake mushrooms on logs, and after seeing the recent article in my news feed yesterday , I spent some time learning the difference, as, to me, they have some similarities to the death cap...the white gills and all...but it looks like there are some easily distinguishing features.

I buy my mushroom spawn from fungiperfecti and inoculate my own logs. It's fun and they make mushrooms for years with almost no work after the initial log plugging. Yum!
 

greatdane

Very cool, Amsonia!

I love mushrooms!
 

MizGrace

I rarely eat mushrooms because I worry how safe they are. I buy from a supermarket then if something goes wrong its on their head not mine.Rather safe than sorry with mushrooms, I have tried kombucha been ok sometimes, then once got quite unwell with it.
Goodluck in your ventures not saying dont try things, just make sure to know what it is you are doing first.

MizGrace
 

banbha

I heard a story of a family who thought they might have eaten death cap mushrooms by accident and so all went to the hospital for treatment and flushing because they found their dog, who had eaten some mushrooms, dead by the front porch.

It turns out when they got home from the hospital early the next morning there was an apologetic note on the door from the man who had hit and killed the dog instantly with his car, but couldn't stop at the time due to his own emergency and just put the dog by the porch.

So they were safe the whole time, thank goodness; but what an experience. And of course the poor dog!
 

EvaSegovia

NO WHITE MUSHROOMS WITH WHITE GILLS!!! NEVER EVER EVER!!!! (Death Angels!) NEVER!!!!! (Shiitake are more beige or peach) On another note, a friend of mine planted shallots close to daffodils, and consequently poisoned herself and her son with the shallot soup she'd made using daffodil bulbs... Luckily, they're both fine... But never do that either...
 

toadwytch

I go on forays on Mount Lemmon with friends of mine to collect oyster mushrooms, morels, and boletes (and hopefully someday chantrelles). Delicious on a turkey burger :) Collecting mushrooms is safe if you know exactly how to identify them, and fortunately all mushrooms in the Amanita family have pretty distinctive traits like a volva and partial veil, etc. And not all of them are poisonous - death caps and destroying angels are the worst offenders, but Caesar's amanita is supposed to be healthy and delicious.

It's seasonal, but probably my favorite hobby. Just in case anyone is interested...
- Never go shrooming without a field guide. All the Rain Promises and More is great once you're familiar with the basics, Mushrooms Demystified is too dense to backpack with but so, so good for look-alikes.

- If you're not 100% sure what it is, toss it! Mushrooms can look very different based on how developed they are. Young amanitas can look almost like puffballs, etc.

- Sort your mushrooms in paper bags as you go, and if you find a group that look "almost" like others you collected somewhere else, don't be tempted to throw them in the same bag - if they might be a different species, act like they are!

- Don't bother with little brown mushrooms unless you know what you're doing; they're almost impossible to ID. School yourself on the poisonous mushrooms in your region before you set foot outside. Best bet is to memorize the key features of a few specific mushrooms you want to hunt for and stick to collecting those specimens until you get used to the way mushrooms can change in appearance as they grow.