Mushrooms
How frequent are mushroom ingestions?

Every year across the United States, more than 9,000 cases of mushroom ingestions are reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Many hundreds of cases of mushroom ingestions occur each year in California. Children under the age of 6 years account for a majority of these cases. The consequences of mushroom poisoning can be severe.


What is the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool?

Because there is so much misinformation about toadstools and mushrooms, the terms need definition. Some people mistakenly believe the word "mushroom" means an edible or safe variety and the word "toadstool" means a poisonous or bad mushroom. This is incorrect. Many mushrooms are poisonous and some toadstools are edible or safe.


How poisonous are mushrooms?

Medically speaking, "poisonous mushroom" means any mushroom or toadstool that causes an adverse or negative reaction when eaten. Symptoms can range from 6 hours of vomiting to lethal liver or kidney failure.


How many poisonous mushrooms are there?

In the United States, there are about 5,000 types of mushrooms. Of these, about 100 are responsible for most of the cases of mushroom poisoning. Less than a dozen species are considered deadly. However, death from other species, even so-called "safe" mushrooms, has occurred in very young children or in very ill adults. Some of the mushrooms that can cause death in healthy adults are the Death Cap, the Destroying Angel, the False Morel and mushrooms in the Galerina species. Almost every year, someone in California dies from eating the wrong mushroom.


"There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."


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