• superkret@feddit.org
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    2 months ago

    You can easily tell them apart by cutting them with a knife: The false brown cap will show a stronger blue discoloration under ultraviolet light if the soil contains manganese at >20% bioavailable water content, and the temperature didn’t drop below 12 degrees Celsius in the past month.

  • FinishingDutch@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Yep. Years ago I interviewed someone for a radio program here in the Netherlands. This was a forest ranger, on the topic of people foraging for mushrooms. It was the hip thing to do at the time.

    He explained how wildly dangerous it is for average people to do. Especially when looking up things online.

    He showed me two images that looked basically identical. He explained to me that one mushroom was edible and delicious. And that it could be found in the forests in the United States. The other, identical looking mushroom can be found in European forests. That one liquifies your internal organs and causes you to shit yourself to an agonising death.

    He explained that each year a handful of people die from eating it. Because they looked up a guide online, and failed to understand that there’s regional differences between edible and deadly mushrooms. And by the time they got medical attention, there was nothing that could be done.

    I’m not a fan of mushrooms anyway, but I’d certainly never be dumb enough to go pick some myself. That shit’ll get you killed.

    • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      In France you can take them to a pharmacy and they will be able to determine the mushrooms for you

      • Sadbutdru@sopuli.xyz
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        2 months ago

        The local pharmacist in my parent’s village died from accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms ☹️

      • psud@aussie.zone
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        2 months ago

        It’s very trusting to let a professional from an unrelated profession make life or death decisions for you

        • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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          2 months ago

          It’s part of their education, not only what is edible, also what to do/prescribe when mushrooms are ingested that cause malicious symptoms.

          So it’s most literally part of their profession.

    • shneancy@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      honestly even worse is destroying angel. That thing (well same species(?) different kinds but all as deadly) can be found on all continents! and it looks similar to yum mushrooms in all places :) number 1 cause for mushroom related deaths, and it also liquidifies your organs! whoo!

      i’m so glad the texture of mushrooms makes my skin crawl so i never get the idea to go out there and forage them for food. Wikipedia link 4 different edible shrooms that look similar to that one and to my eyes they all look the same, and idk about you but the level of anxiety I’d feel preparing dinner with something that is as far as i can tell edible would be unreal

  • wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io
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    2 months ago

    A general rule is if it has pores instead of gills, you’re probably in the clear.

    Except for that one in Europe, that shit will megadeath you.

    In all seriousness, the general rule I’ve heard for foraging wild unknown things is:

    • cut it open and rub it on your skin, wait an hour, if it gives you a reaction, stop here.
    • touch it to your lips, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
    • touch it to your tongue, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
    • chew a bit and spit it out, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
    • swallow a small amount, wait a few hours, if it gives you discomfort, stop here
    • if you’ve made it this far, it’s likely ok, do so at your own risk tolerance

    Roots are generally OK, particularly if you have access to double boil them.

    For mushrooms:

    • pores are generally safer than gills
    • don’t eat it if it’s bioluminescent
    • don’t eat if it oxidizes quickly when you cut it open
    • don’t eat it if it bruises blue or red
    • learn how to detect what a bolete is. Boletes are generally safe, unless it breaks one of the rules above
    • Slime: Just say no.
    • make sure there’s not a mushroom growing on your mushroom. Double the mushroom is not double the fun.
    • learn what a destroying angel looks like, even when it’s young. Appreciate it from a distance, but give that fucker 5 feet of space at all times.

    I am by no means an expert. I’m just a rando guy from Appalachia with some wild ass Russian buds and we do some funky shit down here. Take everything I say with as much trust as you give to anyone on the Internet.

    When in doubt, take it to an expert and even then, consume at your own risk tolerance.

    • Obi@sopuli.xyz
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      2 months ago

      That’s interesting, my general rule for foraging wild unknown things is: don’t.

    • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      There was a guy a few years ago who tried to live off grid. He died, having left behind a journal detailing his final days. In it, he logged the exact process you outlined above for various things he foraged, which included wild potato seeds. Turns out those things pass all the above tests, but contain a deadly neurotoxin that builds up over time (that even modern science didn’t really know about). Poor guy starved because he was too weak to even crawl.

      nature be scary fellow humans. Be careful out there.

      https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4726722/into-the-wild-author-reveals-chris-mccandless-cause-of-death

      • Zron@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        He also wandered into the Alaskan wilderness with basically just a sack of rice and a .22lr rifle.

        He was a a couple miles from safety the entire time, but did not buy a map so believed he was stranded when the river rose and cut off the main trail. But there was another trail with a raised cable crossing over the river a few miles upstream.

        He was totally unprepared and essentially just committed extended suicide. The fact that he remembered some basic tips from a Boy Scout handbook doesn’t mean he was an expert. Kid was an idiot who got in way over his head.

      • hardy@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        That some guy ISNT JUST ANY GUY! 😤

        • Documentaries were made about him
        • A very successful movie was made about him “Into the wild”
        • Countless Youtubers keep making videos about him; Thoughty2 made a very good video about him…
    • psud@aussie.zone
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      2 months ago

      All that to find whether a random plant will poison you

      Animals are so much easier: is it an animal? It’s good to eat

        • psud@aussie.zone
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          2 months ago

          Sure. Go for healthy animals. There are also several nasty viruses that have passed from animals to the humans who ate them. But shit happens. Given a random plant or a random animal, I’ll take the animal

    • Shard@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      For mushrooms the only good advice is, if you don’t know what you are doing, don’t go foraging for mushrooms. Rules and guidelines that apply for one region might not work for another. The risk reward never works out if you’re inexperienced. You either get a tasty treat or incurable certain death. It’s not a great gamble.

      • psud@aussie.zone
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        2 months ago

        The people who die from death cap mushrooms here (Canberra, Australia) all learnt about mushrooms in another country, where death caps don’t grow, but an edible mushroom that looks just like them does

        • Shard@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          If you’re even half competent, you could (not recommended) actually do some basic electrical work at home and come out of it alive and well after a few youtube videos and some reasonable precautions. I can’t same the same about mushroom foraging.

    • sorrybookbroke@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      don’t eat it if it bruises blue

      Or do if you’re up for an interesting time and it passes the test above. Eat about three grams for some nice sights and 6 before sitting in a dark, cool room to meet something unknown

  • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    My friend forages for porcini mushrooms out near Tahoe. I thankfully don’t like mushrooms, so he’s not offended when I decline, but idgaf how good he is at finding them, it only takes 1 fuckup and you’re dead. He says there’s no mushrooms that look like it and as long as you only look for that one, you’ll be fine. Frankly imo mushrooms are nasty as hell even when you get the kind you know won’t kill you at the store. I have no desire to risk my life to eat wild fungus.

  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    FYI you can actually safely lick all mushrooms that we know off. The bad ones will taste bitter if there’s every a confusion between the species. Though if you’re really unsure don’t risk it.

    • tegs_terry@feddit.uk
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      2 months ago

      I think there are surprisingly few poisonous ones out there, and fewer that could actually kill somebody.

      • smb@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        at least no one ever returning from a forest said a mushroom had killed him.

  • CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Idk if op meant to fearmonger, but mushrooms are hardly ever toxic and hardly ever fatal.

    It is now thought that of the approximately 100,000 known fungi species found worldwide, about 100 of them are poisonous to humans.[14] However, by far the majority of mushroom poisonings are not fatal,[15] and the majority of fatal poisonings are attributable to the Amanita phalloides mushroom

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_poisoning

    That said, definitely be safe and if you arent sure, dont eat it.

      • psud@aussie.zone
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        2 months ago

        That seems unlikely to be murder, people really don’t generally murder friends who are close enough to invite to lunch

        • dustycups@aussie.zone
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          2 months ago

          She’s in jail right now.

          I don’t think there has been a verdict yet though.

          Edit: she’s

    • Whelks_chance@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I’m less interested in the total number of species, and more interested in my likelihood of holding one

      • psud@aussie.zone
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        2 months ago

        I see about 5 unknown mushrooms for every one known deadly one (death cap, growing under the canopy of an oak)

  • Nicoleism101@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    Never had a problem in middle temperate Europe or heard about anyone who had.

    I even pick up these fuckers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera though many avoid them because of relative similarities to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides.

    It is delicious and like the best nature has to offer here. You coat it in breadcrumbs and cook in oil on a pan. It tastes better than any steak. However it is a pain in the ass to find and a real treasure.

      • Nicoleism101@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        Honestly even if I happened to eat a mildly poisonous shroom (which never happened) it would be fine for me personally. There is huge amount of edible mushrooms but we stick to few select safe ones that are hard to mistake.

        I have done much worse things to my body with drugs and alcohol poisoning every other day. One instance of light poisoning per year or something like that would be like nothing. Not that it ever happened because I stick to the rules my parents teached me and their parents teached them and so on.

        I had food poisoning more times (above zero) than mushroom poisoning.

        I wouldn’t dare to pick mushrooms abroad. I wonder if climate change will fuck us one day though.

    • lemming@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Not so much Amanita phalloides as Amanita pantherina, that one looks much more similar. But I agree, if you know what you’re doing and don’t pick mushrooms with which you don’t have experience with and aren’t sure about, you’re good.

      I used to pick up even Amanita rubescens, an acual (although edible and tasty) Amanita, so even more similar to poisonous ones. But I didn’t have an opportunity for quite a few years and now I wouldn’t dare, until I got an opportunity to verify with someone experienced and trustworthy.

      • MeThisGuy@feddit.nl
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        2 months ago

        what’s the picker’s rule?
        lick it, wait 15 mins, take a nibble, wait 15 mins, then eat it
        or just give it to your friend and see what happens

        • psud@aussie.zone
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          2 months ago

          Know exactly what it is. Follow the identifying steps in a book about mushrooms in your area until you have learnt which mushrooms live in your locale and can pick them by sight

  • souless@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Some of the good tasting butterfiles evolved to taste foul to increase their chance of survival. Mushrooms on the other hand have mastered the art of deception. What can heal the brain can also force you to die a painful death.

    • HonkyTonkWoman@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Huh, that’s really interesting about the butterflies. Do you know if that’s how Pipevines & Viceroys developed their poison?

      I didn’t know there were poisonous butterflies until I read about Pipevines coating their clutches with poison for protection.

      I found out about mushrooms the fun way.

      • souless@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Yes, evolution is a reaction in response to stimuli and dangers present in their environment. Another example this time provided by Darwin is the case with peppered moths. The majority were white colored as they found protection being blended in to the light colored environment.

        The industrial revolution introduced pollution that changed the color of nature, in response the black colored moths quickly gained the majority because they blended in better so they had a greater chance to survive, years later once the pollution improved the white moths once again thrived because of the incredibly complex quick acting process of natures natural selection.

        • HonkyTonkWoman@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          Well, that’s awesome. I hope to photograph a Viceroy one day, but I don’t think I’m in their current habitat.

          I baby sat for a kid whose mom was a herpetologist. She showed me the line on the Viceroy’s wings, differentiating it from a Monarch, and taught me it was poisonous to predators.

          Then she stuck a snapping turtle in my face, scarring me for life. She was pretty damn awesome.