Wild mushrooms

[Rosyrain]

I know that there are some people who make a lot of money going into the woods and hunting for mushrooms to sell at the market or for restaurants, but was curious as to how people learn to identity what mushrooms are good and what ones are poisonous. Would you be afraid of accidentely picking one that was not good to eat?

 

[Pat]

I would be too afraid to eat the wild mushrooms or to give them to someone else. I am sure there has to be some type of course on hands on teaching to help a person identity the harmful plants. We get some large white mushrooms in our yard that I have been told are harmful, I also kill them.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I don't know much about mushrooms, but I imagine it's the same as identifying plants or animals. You learn to identify the ones you want, and just as important, you learn to identify any that look similar to the ones you want. A lot of times it likely depends on where they grow, the conditions they grow in, the time of year, etc. Identification is easy with a little experience.

 

[Durgan]

It helps if you live in a good mushroom area. Coastal mountain areas are full of mushroom. I learned to identify most of the poisonous mushrooms in my area and know about five types which are eatable. My area is lousy mushroom picking. At first I knew nothing, then gradually got a few books and went on picking forays with some local groups and learned a bit at a time. It is a never ending learning experience. NEVER eat any mushroom that you cannot identify with absolute certainty.

The best teachers were old folks from Eastern Europe, where they are real mushroom hunters. North Americans are afraid of mushrooms due to lack of exposure.

Mushroom hunting can be most stimulating, and takes a lot of energy since there is much walking through bushy areas and rough ground. It is easy to get lost but with a hand GPS this danger is eliminated. I always used a magnetic compass before GPS came on the market. Taking pictures of good finds is also fun. Ninety percent of what you find are impossible to identify. I have an expression LBM which means little brown mushrooms-meaning I haven't a clue.

 

[Corzhens]

I would be too afraid to eat the wild mushrooms or to give them to someone else. I am sure there has to be some type of course on hands on teaching to help a person identity the harmful plants. We get some large white mushrooms in our yard that I have been told are harmful, I also kill them.

Same here, I wouldn't dare touch a mushroom with the intention of eating. There is actually a mushroom growing by the side of our mango tree and I'm sure it is not edible. I have read of mushroom poisoning which happened in the provinces that's why people are warned of wild mushrooms. Besides, people in the house don't relish mushroom and we seldom buy.

 

[remnant]

There have been many cases of mushroom poisoning since some wild mushrooms contain alkaloids which are poisonous. We used to eat them as children. I discovered that broad leafed mushrooms were not poisonous. But I have also seen some literature to the effect that mushrooms with green colorations or hues however subtle are poisonous.