These mushrooms... don't even touch them

The course begins and with it the long-awaited rains that precede autumn and the long-awaited mushroom season. This is an outdoor activity that attracts many new fans every year, which means new episodes of hospital discharges due to poisoning that is too frequent. For a self-respecting “setero”, the first thing should be to know well those dangerous species that can be found in our fields and mountains. Events such as the one that occurred last November, when four people were hospitalized at the General University Hospital of Albacete after collecting mushrooms in a city park and then tasting them, should never be repeated, much less considering that there is no mushroom so delicious as to risk your life trying it.

I therefore consider that it is important to take this opportunity to remember some useful tips and to list false rules transmitted generation after generation and that are usually mentioned in books and manuals dedicated to the study of fungi, in order to avoid the consumption of dangerous species that we can easily find on our way out.

I also take this opportunity to always recommend, and for any questions in the identification of species, to go to mycologic experts such as those who are part of our Mycological Society of Albacete.

Basic Tips

• It is essential to carefully observe the characteristics of the collected specimens (hat, blades, foot, meat,...) to make a correct identification. We must be cautious and, if we are not absolutely sure about the edibility of the species, it should never be consumed. For a good identification, it is necessary to extract the complete specimen, tearing it off with all its characteristics (including the volva at the base of the foot if it exists) and altering the mycelium as little as possible.

• Mushrooms are generally indigestible and should not be kept too long after harvest. Those that are very ripe or those that are in poor condition should not be consumed and should not be collected in plastic bags that favor their fermentation. It is good to avoid eating raw mushrooms unless we are totally sure of their safety. We should also know that certain species considered to be “excellent edibles”, such as Boletus edulis Bull., can cause allergic reactions in certain people.

• It is preferable not to collect in contaminated areas such as roadsides, public parks,... Mushrooms easily absorb and accumulate pollutants such as heavy metals that would pass into our body once ingested.

• If we don't have enough experience, we should not consume these mushrooms:

— Specimens with volva, plates and white, yellow or greenish colored rings (genus Amanita).

Amanita phalloides Secr., the mushroom that causes the most deaths every year.

— Small or medium-sized mushrooms (5 cm in diameter) with white plates (genera Lepiota, Clitocybe).

Lepiota brunneoincarnata Chodat & C. Martin.

Clitocybe dealbata (Sowerby) P. Kumm., which are very toxic, can be fatal.

— Very small mushrooms (1 cm in diameter) that grow on wood (genus Galerina) or that grow on meadows (genus Psilocybe).

Galerina marginata sensu Horak on wood, mortal.

Genus Psilocybe, hallucinogenic.

— Mushrooms with cerebriform hats (genus Gyromitra).

Genus Gyromitra, toxic.

— Mushrooms that secrete whitish or yellowish latex or mushrooms with pores instead of sheets that bluish when cut (false nickels in the first case and toxic bollets in the second).

False nickle with an acrid flavor.

Boletus SatanaSlenz.Toxic.

False rules

• Mushrooms eaten by animals are edible for people (false, since animals and people have different physiology and animals can be adapted to certain toxins present in mushrooms).

• If we cook a mushroom with a silver coating and it blackens, the mushroom is toxic and if it doesn't, it's not. False, one of the most dangerous mushrooms, Amanita phalloides Secr. It doesn't blacken silver and one of the best edibles, Cantharellus cibarius Fr., does. The same thing is said but substituting garlic for silver; it is also false.

• Cooking toxic mushrooms with plenty of vinegar and salt eliminates their toxicity (false, it can even increase).

• If a mushroom tastes or smells good, it is edible (false, the Amanita phalloides Secr. It tastes sweet).

• All mushrooms that change color when touched are toxic (false, nickel-green or Lactarius deliciosus (L.) Gray changes color when handled and is edible).

• The mushrooms that come out of the wood are edible (false, the species Galerina marginata (Batsch) Kühner appears on wood and is deadly).

There are no universal rules for knowing if a mushroom is edible or toxic, experience and careful study of fungi will help us recognize the different species, which we can enjoy observing them... even if we don't taste them.