Mushroom experts offer newbie fungi foragers advice on safe practices

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Fungi are sprouting in clusters after weeks of heavy rain in the Bay Area. That may be good news for those interested in mushroom foraging, but as many inexperienced foragers join the scene, expert collectors are urging anyone interested to get proper training before biting into a misidentified mushroom. 

Last month, the California Poison Control System reported an outbreak of amatoxin poisoning from foraging and consuming amanita phalloides, also known as death cap mushrooms. The California Department of Public Health issued an advisory urging the public to stop foraging and consuming wild mushrooms. 

As of Dec. 11, 23 cases of severe poisonings were identified in the Bay Area and Monterey County. All patients were hospitalized with two requiring a liver transplant. One adult died. Poisoned individuals ranged in age from 19 months to 56 years old. All developed nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain within 24 hours, according to CPCS. 

Immigrants are particularly at risk of mushroom poisoning outbreaks because some may mistake toxic mushrooms for edible ones they find in their home country, said CPCS Medical Director Dr. Craig Smollin during a Dec. 9 press conference.

“It was a very big year for amanita phalloides,” said Mike McCurdy, president of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. 

The death cap mushroom is one of the most fatal species and is invasive to California, he added. The toxic fungi hitchhiked its way to California on the roots of European cork oak trees. McCurday said the Filoli Estate in Woodside was one of the first places to import these trees on the West Coast. 

“There is a general knowledge throughout the millennia that mushrooms can be poisonous,” said Kathryn Meier, toxicology chair of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. “But there’s groups of people who are pretty naive to the risks that could happen if they eat the wrong mushroom.”

There are thousands of mushroom species across the globe and while there are many edible species that people have become familiar with such as chanterelles, they also have toxic look-alikes. 

“There is no easy way to learn about mushrooms,” said McCurdy. “It takes years to really develop a good overall knowledge.”

McCurdy has been mushroom-foraging for over 40 years and started building his knowledge around fungi after attending a foray hosted by the Mycological Society. Since 1977, he said he’s seen the community’s interest in foraging steadily grow, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that interest spiked. 

“During COVID, it just went crazy. People wanted to get out into the woods, and it was a safe place to do something fun,” he said. “There was a real spike in interest during COVID and it’s become a huge thing.”

As fungi foraging continues to gain popularity, McCurdy encourages those who are less experienced to attend forays guided by experienced foragers. Learning how to properly identify mushrooms in the wild takes years of hands-on experience – seeing, smelling and touching the mushrooms, he added.

“If one is going to collect wild mushrooms and eat them, then you really need to get some training in your local area over a period of time so that you can develop this discernment and knowledge of what is safe to eat,” said Meier, who spent 36 years working in poison control. 

Amatoxin mushrooms, although toxic, reportedly taste and smell normal, she added. To an untrained forager, nothing about it would signal a red flag. It’s not until six to 24 hours later that they will start experiencing severe food poisoning symptoms, said Meier. By then, the amatoxin has already caused damage to the liver. 

Local resources for mushroom learners

McCurdy said patience and training from experts is paramount. 

The Mycological Society of San Francisco offers many opportunities for the public to learn more about mushrooms and have many experts within the club that can help identify them.

McCurdy also advises against using plant identification apps and field guides for entry-level foragers. Apps are often inaccurate and can cause potential poisonings if used to identify mushrooms intended for consumption, he said. 

Although McCurdy acknowledges that there are a plethora of field guides available, some of the questions that need to be asked to discern a toxic mushroom from an edible one are subjective, he said. 

“No one should be trying to identify mushrooms from the field guide and then eating the mushrooms without getting that verified,” McCurdy added. “Get an experienced mushroomer to tell you that it’s okay.”

He encourages the community to join local mycological societies, attend meetings and to get help with identifying mushrooms in person. 

The San Francisco club frequently partners with the San Mateo County Parks Department to conduct forays in local parks to collect various mushrooms to display at its annual Fungus Fair. In return, the Mycological Society provides the parks with a list of species that they found. 

Mushroom foraging is not permitted in San Mateo County parks, said Katherine Wright, senior interpretive park ranger, but the parks department offers guided mushroom identification hikes throughout the winter. On these hikes, guests can learn about the different species of fungi that live within the park’s ecosystem and the role it plays as a decomposer. 

The Mycological Society of San Francisco holds meetings every third Tuesday of the month from September through May at the Randall Museum. McCurdy said this is a great opportunity to bring in collected mushrooms for proper identification. 

Other mycological clubs include the Peninsula Mycology Circle, Bay Area Applied Mycology, Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz and Sonoma County Mycological Association. 

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