By: Philip F Stuart MD, PhD (Microbiology) and mushroom lover

Philip F Stuart MD, PhD (Microbiology) and mushroom lover — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:10:23 +0000

The pretty orange mushroom in the lady’s hand at the top of this article is a VERY poor choice of opener. It has white SPORES ( forget about the gills), a full veil that has left it’s remnant on the stem, classic bits of issue that look like spots on top of the cap and is very commonly found just about everywhere. Oh , did I mention that it is not quite as deadly as an Amanita virosa, and some of the other Amanita group, but it does kill more than a few souls annually. Look it up in a good mushroom book/guide, not just a mushroom picture book. Learn all of the identification features you have to apply to properly identify a species in order to determine if it’s edible. By the way, the original foolproof four are sulphur shelf, puffball, inky cap, and ?. Even I can forget a name. I’ll add the following. No matter how experienced or expert you are at mushroom hunting, treat each event as if you were a novice and each pick as if it were a brand new species. Read the guide book and follow the rules. Philip

Comments on: 2023 Fall Mushroom Forecast: The Optimal Time to Forage for Fungi

By: Philip F Stuart MD, PhD (Microbiology) and mushroom lover