cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39826218
California officials are warning foragers after an outbreak of poisoning linked to wild mushrooms that has killed one adult and caused severe liver damage in several patients, including children.
The state poison control system has identified 21 cases of amatoxin poisoning, likely caused by death cap mushrooms, the health department said Friday. The toxic wild mushrooms are often mistaken for edible ones because of their appearance and taste.
“Death cap mushrooms contain potentially deadly toxins that can lead to liver failure,” Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “Because the death cap can easily be mistaken for edible safe mushrooms, we advise the public not to forage for wild mushrooms at all during this high-risk season.”
There is a white mushroom that is edible that looks strikingly similar to a death cap that grows in the pacific northwest. There is like one structural difference and if you rely on AI images or identification apps there is an extremely high probability of misidentification, don’t bet your life on something so stupid
I would guess you’re thinking of the white dapperling (Leucocoprinus leucothites). That one is supposed to be a pretty mediocre edible to begin with, absolutely not worth all the poisonous lookalikes it has.