this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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Science Memes

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Mushroom ID (mander.xyz)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 172 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Looks like a destroying angel (e.g. Amanita virosa) to me. This and the death cap together account for the vast majority of mushroom poisonings in the world. Cooking it will not destroy the toxins, nor will acid. Symptoms tend to appear 5-24 hours after eating, too late to pump the stomach. Half a mushroom can be enough to kill you.

I don't recommend going out to pick mushrooms unless you know what you're doing. If you do, stay away from the white ones. You can still get terrible stomach cramps and diarrhea from other colors of mushrooms, but the white ones have the most dangerous species.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Easiest way to avoid problems I've heard is to never pick any mushroom with ribbed underside. If the underside looks like a sponge, it's usually safe to eat. At least where I'm from.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Might be valid advice for some regions, I don't know. But mushrooms tend to vary quite a bit in appearance. Sometimes ribbed species don't have very visible ribs, or younger mushrooms don't quite have all the characteristics of their mature form. If you really want to get into picking mushrooms, there's often local groups you can join with a resident expert who can tell you which ones are safe.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Rule of thumb with mushrooms is that these id tricks tend to be regional and not always accurate unfortunately. Nature is a bit more of a kaleidoscope.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Exactly. Don't trust a stranger on the internet to help you avoid death.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

But do go to that really famous Facebook group if you suspect a poisoning for help with an ID. They've got a ton of experts and doctors use them lol.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah those groups are great. I like the snake bite one also.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

It's mostly true. Most of the poisonous mushrooms of central Europe are not "sponges".
The worst one I have found once is seldom lethal: Rubroboletus satanas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubroboletus_satanas
I guess people don't usually pick stuff that looks like that. Though there are similar ones that taste pretty good.
Toxic boletus usually taste really bad.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Easiest way to not die from bad mushrooms is to not eat them because they're fucking disgusting anyways

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You're technically correct on one point, and totally entitled to your opinion on the other. But brown mushrooms (not from a can) sauteed into a hamburger steak gravy will kick it up about 14 notches, give or take.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

I absolutely hated mushrooms my whole life because of a miserable first experience with them on pizza. The pizza place must have used the absolute worst, flavorless, slimiest canned mushrooms in the world. The were rubbery and disgusting. I was like 8 years old and refused to eat them until about five years ago.

I had the most wonderful ramen at a restaurant recommended by my friends and it had shiitake mushrooms in it. I explained my aversion and they encouraged me to try it and my god the difference was incredible. I absolutely love shiitake now but I totally understand people who don’t like them

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, the sponge underside mushrooms are boletes, and I am not aware of any that are poisonous.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

There are some that are, and they can be hard to identify as well. Still a good idea to never eat what you find unless you’re with an experienced mushroomer to corroborate your find.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

"How can I know they're an experienced mushroomed?" "Well, for one... they're not dead."

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

What about a base?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Not sure about this one, but acid resistance is pretty relevant because of the typical stomach environment. In general, amatoxins are just very stable and it's difficult to deactivate them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

They sound a bit like prions in that way lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

i don't think you want to eat it after that anyways.