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Although most of the mushrooms mentioned in the text are poisonous, the consequences after eating them can vary. The most dangerous are those that can even lead to death! Their consumption causes damage to organs: liver and kidneys, spleen and heart. Deadly poisonous mushrooms contain substances such as: amanitin, phalloidin, giromitrin, orelanin. They are mostly lamellar fungi, and this type includes the well-known toadstools – not necessarily the red ones!
The second group are mushrooms, which are unlikely to kill us, but can also have very serious health consequences. They contain muscarine, which irritates our nervous system. Muscarinic symptoms include sweating, lacrimation, drooling, slow heart rate and difficulty breathing, among others.
| FUN FACT |
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| There is only one substance that stops muscarine from working – atropine. |
Below we have prepared a list of the most dangerous mushrooms that we can find in our forests. Even avid mushroom pickers should get acquainted with their photos and descriptions.
death cap
We start with the infamous leader of this ranking. Many of us have been hearing from childhood to avoid toadstools with a wide berth. It is not only the most poisonous fungus, but also the most poisonous organism naturally occurring in our country! One fly agaric can kill an entire family. It is full of substances that our body is unable to break down – this only happens at temperatures above 250-300 degrees Celsius. This means that even when boiled, baked or fried, they are still dangerous. Two of the substances found in this fly agaric are lethal to humans: phallotoxin and amatoxin.
The view of the mushroom can be deceptive – first of all, toadstools are usually combined with a red hat with white dots. The stinkhorn is taller and has a pale green, almost white color. In addition, it smells good and you can often see various creatures on it. In addition, its appearance resembles edible mushrooms: greenish dove, and sometimes green goose. How to distinguish between them then? The fly agaric usually has a taller stalk decorated with a tuber with a sheath.
The toadstool, the second poisonous fungus in this family, has an action very similar to that of the stonecrop. Due to its white color, it can be mistaken for a mushroom.
Fly agaric
Less known than the red fly agaric, but even more poisonous (it has the same substances, but in a higher concentration). Often found in Poland, its toxins affect the functioning of our brain. Already a few hours after eating the mushroom, you may experience milder gastrointestinal symptoms, but over time you may also experience dizziness, problems with balance, hallucinations and hallucinations, and even loss of consciousness. Toadstool poisoning requires hospital treatment.
It looks a bit like a red cousin – but it is brown, with lighter dots. The yellow toadstool is also poisonous from this family, and of course the red toadstool. Poisoning with the latter is paradoxically the rarest, because it is easy to recognize and, in fact, from an early age, as children, we are educated, in schools and by our relatives, to avoid it.
The red curtain
The occurrence of this kind of fungi in Poland is fortunately, relatively rare. This is good because it is highly poisonous. This type of mushroom has a brown cap that tints red, which sometimes resembles a goose. This can be confusing especially for amateur mushroom pickers.
The substance responsible for its poisonous action is cortinarin. It mainly attacks the kidneys and leads to their failure. Even a small amount of curinoma can lead to a tragedy, because cortinarin accumulates in the body, and poisoning with this type of fungus appears only a few days after its consumption.
The first symptoms may be confused with ordinary food poisoning. It takes 2 weeks for full symptoms to appear, which makes diagnosis difficult and therefore reduces the chance of early treatment. The bearded curler is also poisonous from this family.
A venomous funnel
Also called bleached. It has a flattened cap and a whitish color (the young mushroom is completely white). We will notice the symptoms of poisoning very quickly, in the first hour after ingestion. These include severe sweating, blurred vision, lacrimation, and severe stomach pain. Consumption of this type of mushroom can also be fatal.
Poisonous bellflower
A mushroom with a large hat, and additionally very shiny and white-gray. Bellflower has a characteristic smell – it smells like… flour. Small amounts will cause stomach problems, large amounts like its predecessors – even death. Of course, one has to bear in mind that “small and large amounts” will mean something completely different for everyone. However, this does not change the fact that this specimen should be avoided.
Chestnut chrysanthemum
Its other names are Babi Uchi and May Mushroom. It is very distinctive because it has a brown, wrinkled skin. For this reason, it may be mistaken for a morel by some. This mushroom is poisonous, and in the mushroom atlas we find information that it is also deadly.
The form of consumption is important, because raw is highly poisonous due to the content of gyromitrin, which in turn decomposes during cooking. Nevertheless, it is not recommended to eat it even in this form. Usually it just causes severe stomach pain, but it can also cause bone marrow damage and blindness.
Inedible mushrooms – but not for everyone?
There are also fungi such as lemon scruff, for example. Poisonous in principle, but when served in small amounts, it can serve as a spice mushroom. Young fruiting bodies of this mushroom are in some countries added to soups or sauces – experts compare its taste to truffles.
Interestingly, some mushrooms are classified as either poisonous or edible depending on the country. This is the case with rolled krowiak, which is currently considered poisonous in Poland, but our eastern neighbors treat it as edible.
Some of the mushrooms we know and love, especially boletus, also have their poisonous varieties. Worst of all, poisonous porcini mushrooms are very similar to their delicious and valued varieties. Satan’s boletus, rooted and purple, are inedible and poisonous mushrooms. Here we found an interesting material about boletus:
Edible mushrooms can also harm us
The question immediately arises: but how? True, many mushrooms are edible, but it all depends on how they are transported, stored and prepared. As a rule, mushrooms are difficult to digest, so they should be avoided by children and the elderly, as well as those suffering from diseases of the liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.
Only fresh and plump specimens
First of all, overripe and simply old mushrooms cannot be eaten. Choline under the influence of bacteria may have an effect similar to the already mentioned muscarine. Likewise, we should not pick unripe mushrooms. When they are not fully formed yet, we can confuse poisonous mushrooms with edible ones.
Storage method – choose a basket
Mushrooms should not be kept in plastic, e.g. in a plastic bag or a bucket. Due to the low air flow, they can become poisonous … So it turns out that collecting mushrooms in a braided basket is not only a tradition, but also a very wise decision!
After harvesting, either in the belly or in preserves
Mushrooms cannot be stored for too long. It is best to eat them or process them on the same day, they can last up to a day in the refrigerator. They need to be boiled, baked or fried, or made into preserves.
What about raw mushrooms?
Of course, there will be a few species that should not be harmful if eaten raw, but it is worthwhile to use thermal treatment for all mushrooms as a preventive measure. We should also not combine them with alcohol, because then they become even more difficult to digest (alcohol reduces the protein, making the fungus resistant to digestive juices). The most common complaints after such combinations are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
WARNING! Remember, even if you have doubts when analyzing the atlas of mushrooms, be sure to take an experienced mushroom picker with you to the forest, or do not pick “unsure” mushrooms, leaving them alone in the forest. Do you have any good advice for beginner mushroom pickers? Or maybe you had some unpleasant adventure related to your mushroom picking? Be sure to share with us in a comment as a warning!
Bibliography:
ekologia.pl/wiedza/grzyby/
grzyby.pl
https://zywienie.abczdrowie.pl/
https://www.poradnikzdrowie.pl/