5 deadly mushrooms that are common in the forest

If you are interested in collecting mushrooms for food, there are hundreds fungi that produces edible mushrooms that has a vast variety of flavor, and is a good ingredient for lots of different dishes. However, in this blog post I will focus on some of the most deadly mushrooms that you can find in the forest.

Before starting, I just want to clear up a common misconception. Most mushrooms are not actually poisonous. Most are in fact not, but a lot of people are afraid to pick any mushroom because of the poisonous ones. That is a good rule, but getting to know the poisonous mushrooms are really not that hard, and in my country there are about 10-15 mushrooms you need to learn to stay away from. The rest are mostly non-edible, but not poisonous. So if you are interested in picking mushrooms, learn the ones that you need to stay away from, and a few good beginner mushrooms, and you can gradually expand the number of known mushrooms until you are comfortable with picking most of them.

Also note that this blog does not contain all deadly or dangerous mushrooms, and you should always get your information on this from a local source. The fungi of Asia is vastly different from that in Europe or America, so get to know your local mushrooms before picking.

Anyway, on to the list of 5 deadly, but common mushrooms!

5) Deadly webcap (Cortinarius rubellus)

This is an extremely dangerous mushroom, and here in Norway I find this everywhere during the late summer. It is extremely common, and a single mushroom is enough to kill a human.

The poison will not actually kill you right away, death is actually coming for the consumers up to 4 weeks after eating it! This almost sounds like a weapon from a novel or movie, but it is true. The deadly component is orellanine, and there is no known antidote, so the only "cure" is dialysis and eventually a kidney transplant. The symptoms you get in the first few weeks are very mild and most people think its just a cold, but you will gradually get worse until your liver shuts down.

If you are picking mushrooms, learn to spot this one! I guarantee that you will find hundreds of it in conifer forests.

4) False Morel (Gyromitra esculenta)

The False Morel almost looks like a human brain, so use your brain to remember to stay away from it. This mushroom is deadly if eaten raw, and even is cooked improperly. However, it's considered a delicacy if cooked right, but make sure you know what you are doing before attempting this. Most people stay away from this and most Morels due to the fact that a lot of people are having problem separating this from the edible morels. This mushroom is not as common as the other ones on the list, but some areas have lots of them.

Inside the False Morel you will find a toxin called gyromitrin, which will be turned into monomethylhydrazine after being eaten. This will affect the liver and the nervous system, and if you eat enough you will become dizzy, get a headache, and eventually fall into a coma which you might not wake up from.

This mushroom is found in both Europe and North America, so learn how to spot and stay away from this one.

Just a quick edit, because some people brought it up. Some people forage and eat this mushroom without any problems, and while most mushrooms won't kill you, the right one might. The levels of the gyromitrin in the mushroom seem to vary a lot in each individual, so the mushroom you eat might be perfectly safe, or deadly, all depending on the toxin levels. I have always been taught that you should stay away from this mushroom at all costs, but it would seem that some people disagree, and that is of course fine. However, be aware that this mushroom can potentially kill you if you eat it improperly cooked!

3) Destroying Angels (Amanita virosa / Amanita ocreata)

These mushrooms from the Amanita genus is closely related to the Fly Amanita, which is not all that poisonous, but the Destroying Angels are! The Amanita virosa is the European version of the mushroom, while A. ocreata is the North-American version, and both are equally deadly. Don't ever try to consume any of these, and never pick and any Amanita species unless you are 100 % certain that you know that it is edible.

The are actually several deaths from these mushrooms every single year, mostly from people thinking its a Agaricus species, which has a lot of edible mushrooms in its genus.

These mushrooms are very common in the summertime here in Norway, and I'm sure you will find it easily in a lot of other countries as well. Make sure you don't pick up this one, and throw away all the mushroom in your mushroom net or basket if you for some reason mix one of these in the bag.

The toxin in the Destroying Angels are amatoxin, which affects the liver. Within the first 24 hours of consuming this you will get delirium, vomit, diarrhea, cramps and lots of pain, but it is usually too late to save the liver once you start noticing the symptoms. If you are lucky you might be able to get a liver transplant before you end up getting killed by the toxins.

2) Galerina marginata

This is another deadly mushroom I find a lot when I'm outside. It grows directly on dead wood such as logs, and are found in pretty much all of the world. The problem with this deadly mushroom is that it looks a lot like some other, edible mushrooms, so a lot of people mix up these ones with edible species.

The toxin here is once again amatoxin, the same as from the Destroying Angels, so get over to the hospital as soon as possible if you consume this!

1) Death Cap (Amanita phalloides)

A final Amanita species, and this is the most dangerous and deadly of them all. This mushroom is responsible for most of the human deaths from mushroom poisoning, and yet again amatoxin is the responsible toxin.

The cap on this mushroom can be greenish, yellowish or white, and it might have the padded dots you usually associate with the Fly Amanita. The phonology can be pretty changing, with one individual looking a lot different from other individuals, so accidentally picking this or the Destroying Angels is pretty common.

This species is luckily only found in Europe, so you Americans don't need to worry about this one.

Sources

A lot of it is based on knowledge I have from picking mushrooms, but all facts were checked on Wikipedia to make sure I didn't remember anything incorrect.

Thanks for reading!

This is my first proper post on Steemit, so please give me some feedback, and I will make sure to have all positive and negative feedback in mind when I make my next post.

I intend to make more nature related posts in the future, so make sure to follow me if you like these sorts of posts.

All images are used with the Creative Commons license from Wikimedia Commons.