Poisonous Mushroom Field Guide
There is no such thing as a poisonous mushroom field guide that's 100 percent reliable. Knowledge is key, and the more information you learn about poisonous mushrooms, the wiser you will become.
Amateur and professional mushroom hunters alike have been poisoned by misidentifying a mushroom. Always be 100 percent sure that a wild mushroom is safe; the only way to do that is by cultivating a spore print and doing chemical tests.
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Three Main Types
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There are three main types of mushrooms that cause virtually all deaths associated with mushroom poisoning. They are the Amanitas, a generic category called the "little brown mushrooms" and false morels.
The little brown types are very easy to recognize just by looking at them. Any mushroom that is small and brown should be avoided, no matter what.
False morels are also easy to recognize, but because they look so much like real morels, it takes more than sight to fully identify one.
Amanitas come in so many different shapes, sizes and colors that it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between an edible species and a poisonous Amanita.
Amanitas
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Amanita muscaria is highly poisonous.
Amanita mushrooms account for around 90 percent of all poisonous mushroom cases. Even if you are extremely competent and very well informed, it's often difficult to tell a poisonous Amanita from a non-poisonous type.
Amanitas have one distinctive feature that makes them unique, but you'll have to get on your hands and knees to find it. All Amanitas have a bulbous base. If you look at the image, the one on the right plainly shows how the base of the stem bulges out. However, also notice that the mushroom on the left has no distinctive bulge. Sometimes that bulge doesn't grow above ground, in which case, the actual mushroom will have to be dug out to inspect the base. The key to this is digging the entire mushroom out of the ground so the stem does not break above the bulge.
The deadliest mushroom known is commonly called "The death cap," along with it's pure white sister called "The destroying angel." The "angel" smells sickly sweet and closely resembles the highly-edible and prized meadow mushroom, which is cultivated and sold in grocery stores everywhere. More deaths are caused by the "angel" than all other mushrooms combined, due to that similarity.
But again, the bulge in the base gives them away every time, and if you find a mushroom with a bulge by digging it up, it is best to avoid this type at all costs!
Galerinas
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Deadly Gallerina.
The quintessential little brown mushroom is the galerina, or deadly galerina, as it is commonly referred to. They are primarily found on dead and downed wood or stumps, and more often than not, they form in clusters.
Galerinas are very common, and contain the same toxins as Amanita; the difference is that they are small and do not readily resemble any kind of edible mushroom in appearance. Therefore, although deadly poisonous, just on sight alone, they are not very appealing, and are generally avoided as a matter of course.
With that in mind, any and every little brown mushroom should be avoided and never ingested unless full spore and chemical tests are performed to make positive identification.
False Morels
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False morel.
Morels are probably the most consumed mushroom that there is. Prized for their flavor, morels are instantly recognizable with their wrinkled caps and thick stems. Which is exactly what a false morel looks like. There are, however, two distinctive ways to determine which is which.
The biggest distinction between the two is that real morels are spring mushrooms, and false morels generally come up later in the year. Which means, if you find a morel past mid-June, chances are it is going to be a false morel. On rare occasions, false morels will come up in the spring, and on equally rare occasions, real morels may come up later in the year.
Real morels have caps that are attached to the stem. False morels have caps that aren't attached. To test a mushroom, try to run your pinky finger up the side of the stem and under the cap. On a real morel, your pinky will be positively stopped by the membrane that holds the cap securely onto the stem. On a false morel, your finger will travel beneath the cap nearly reaching the top. If that happens, don't eat it, it's a false morel.
Other Types
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There are many other types of mushrooms out there that are considered poisonous, but not deadly. If ingested, most of them will cause a very bad upset stomach, hallucinations or nausea.
A brief field guide like this cannot possibly go into every species and type of poisonous mushroom. It is safe to say that if you have identified an edible mushroom and it tastes bad, it is a poisonous type and your identification skills are faulty.
However, under no circumstance should a determination of a poisonous or non-poisonous mushroom be made by tasting it. Many Amanitas, particularly "destroying angels" and "death caps" are said to be very tasty when eaten.
Before consuming any wild mushroom, be 100 percent certain that it is not poisonous through spore printing and chemical testing analysis. If you are not willing to do that, leave the mushroom picking to others, and get yours from the neighborhood grocery store.
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