Beginners guide to fungi
There are several thousand macro fungi in Britain so where do you start if you wish to learn about picking them, easy you learn the ones that kill you. I have tried to keep the list to really dangerous ones, that have a likelihood of killing if consumed. I have tried to be a thorough as I can.
In humble opinion the best way to learn about fungi is to get out and pick them, feel them, look at the gills and spore print them. No fungi can poison you by touching it. Picking a singular mushroom to study it is unlikely to damage the organism the produced the fruit body. It is a very diverse subject that can take years to master, and you can’t learn it in one day. But like every other aspect of wild food the more you interact with the subject the more you will know.
Non-gilled fungi
Turban fungi, false morel
Gyromitra esculenta
Gyromitra infula
Gyromitra gigas
Gyromitra brunnea,
Looks more like brain on stick than a morel; it contains hydrazine which produces incurable kidney failure if consumed undercooked. It can be eaten when boiled for ten minutes but the vapours have produced kidney failure in chefs who have inhaled the steam coming off the pot.
Cudonia circinans Redleg jelly baby, it grows in scotland, it is know as deadly poisonous on the continent. It has the same chemicals as turban fungus. There are other fungi that also contain hydrazine but i can find no reference of them causing poisoning, and I have personally consumed some of these well cooked in moderation without ill effect.
Gilled fungi
Cyclopeptides
These are responsible for the vast majority of deaths due to fungi poisoning. Amanitas, Lepiotas and Galerinas produce liver failure after a period of wellness. Cortinarius mushrooms again have a latent phase but the symptoms of poisoning are different as the final illness has nervous system problems and kidney failure. There is no antidote for this type of poisoning, once effected there is a signifcant chance of organ failure and death.
Amanita
The section of the amanita family the has the bad guys in it grow from a bag like structure called a volva and have ring on the stem. The edible amanitas either don't have a ring as in grisettes or no volva as in blushers, but still great care needs to exercised when picking amanitas for the pot.
Amanita virosa Destroying Angel
Amanita verna
Amanita phalloides var. alba
Amanita phalloides Death cap
Death Cap
Amanita bisporigera
Amanita tenuifolia
Amanita ocreata Death cap (occidental)
Lepiota
This family contain the very delicious parasol mushroom, but also contains deadly ones, that are no more that 6cm across rather than a parasol that is at least 12cm.
Lepiota cristata
Lepiota clypeolaria
Lepiota brunneoincarnata
Lepióta helvéola
Lepiota josserandi
Galerina
Galerinas are little brown mushrooms with brown spores; the two biggest members of the group are also the ones that are the most poisonous. They are as deadly as death caps. Some of the little ones might be as well but nobody thinks to eats them.
Galerina marginata
Galerina autumnalis
Galerina venenata
Galerina unicolor
Galerína stylífera
Conocybe filaris
Again the Conocybe filaris is a little brown mushroom. The deaths it produces are nearly entirely restricted to young people looking for a high, and mis identifying it.
Cortinarius Webcaps
Like the amanitas, the Cortinarius group have distinct features such as a cobweb like veil around the bottom of cap, that adheres to the slimy glutinous layer on the top. This veil will collapse on to the stem when it ages leaving either ring or tatty brown lines down the stem. The spore print is brown.
Cortinarius rainierensis.
Cortinarius speciosissimus
CortinariusCallisteus
Cortinarius orellanus
Cortinarius rubellus
Cortinarius splendens
Cortinarius splendens var. meinhardii
Muscarine
Muscarine is a nerve poison, that is antidote-able with a atropine injection. Symptoms happen within two hours, and treatment needs to be reasonably prompt.
Clitocybes
Clitocybes are funnel shaped mushrooms with white spore print, there are several very good edible fungi such as honey fungus and cloud caps. But even these can produce problems to some. The small white ones are avoided and the rest is eaten in moderation after careful identifying.
Clitocybe dealbata
Clitocybe cerussata
Clitocybe Phyllophila
Clitocybe rivulosa
Clitocybe candicans
Clitocybe truncicola
Inocybes
Inocybes are typically thatched roof shaped with radial lines and a brown spore print
Inocybe geophylla
Inocybe erubescens ( patouillardii) Red staining inocybe
Inocybe bongardii
Inocybe godeyi
Inocybe fastigata
Inocybe maculata
Mycena pura
Amanita muscaria and amanita pantherina contain insufficient levels of muscarine to cause death with accidental use. Deathe have occured from the dilberate consumption of panter caps followed by atropine been misperscribed by doctors.
Gastero-irratants
There are quite a few fungi that cause significant gastric problems but they don’t normally kill.
Entoloma lívidum has been known to kill. The spore print is pink there is couple of entolomas that can make you feel very ill so generally they are avoided.
Allergic problems
Paxillus involutus (Brown Roll-rim)
An odd group that though has in past been eaten in large quantities it has the nickname of the mycologist killer. It supposedly tastes fantastic but can cause a fatal allergic reaction. It can be eaten without ill effect for years until the reaction occurs. The reaction causes heamolytic anaemia and is fatal.
Tricholoma equestre poisoning - (Man-on-Horseback, chevalier)
Tricholoma equestre has recently been found to be toxic when eaten repeatedly in quantity. Eating more than ½ kg of any wild food in one sitting, radically increases the chance of toxic effects, but we all have the capacity to over consume.
