Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Hey, that mushroom could be poisonous

Q. I was wondering if there is an easy way to determine which mushrooms are poisonous. Do certain mushrooms always grow by certain trees? If small rodents feed on certain mushrooms, are they safe to eat? I am just looking for an easy method to identify mushrooms, any help will be appreciated.

-- S. F. of Okawville

A. Sorry, there is no easy way to determine which mushroom species is safe to eat and which is poisonous. As a fact, there are safe and poisonous mushrooms in the same genera.

As an example there is the Blushing Amanita (Amanita rubescens) is the only safe to eat mushroom of the Amanita genera and all the rest are poisonous from mild poisoning to actual killing mushrooms in a short period of time such as the Destroying Angel (Amanita virosa) and Death Cap (Amanita phalloides). You need to be familiar with characteristics of mushroom anatomy including whether it has a stalk to support the fruiting body, whether it has gills or pores below the cap, the color of the spores, how many veils it has, color, what time of year it is found.

About the only one that most mushroom hunters can easily recognize is the Common Morel (Morchella esculenta) with its honeycomb cap structure found in spring . But another general rule is to closely examine the mushroom's stalk to see if there is a ring of tissue near the cap and another ring of tissue near the base. There is a high possibility of this being a poisonous mushroom if both are present. But at times the bottom basal ring of tissue may dry up and not be easily noticed.

Certain mushrooms do grow closely with certain types of trees. In fact, scientists now know that certain trees actually grow better when the soil contains certain mushrooms.

This close association between tree roots and fungal hyphae is termed Mycorrhiza. Particular relationships have been correlated with morels and elm trees. There are relationships between pine trees and spruce tree and certain mushrooms. Oak wooded areas seem to have a large number of mushroom species as well. Any activity that damages mushrooms might also cause the decline of the associated trees.

Rodents feeding on mushrooms can be misleading as to the safety of the mushrooms. Mice, chipmunks, and squirrels can safely eat certain mushrooms that humans cannot ingest without some complications. It may not be a life-and-death situation, but in certain cases, the pain a human endures should warn others. The alcohol funnel cap mushroom (Clitocybe clavipes), found mainly in conifers and birch trees, can cause gastric pains when consumed with alcohol. Rodents don't usually eat mushrooms and drink alcohol together, whereas humans sometimes like their steak and mushrooms along with an alcoholic beverage.

Several books should help out with mushroom identification, including "Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms" by Nancy J. Turner and Adam F. Szczawinski and "Mushrooms Demystified" by David Arora. The first gives the details and description of most of the poisonous mushrooms of North America and the second gives all the mushroom characteristics for identification as well as the habitat that they are usually found.

Send your gardening questions to Charles Giedeman, Lifestyle, P.O. Box 427, 120 S. Illinois St., Belleville, IL 62222-0427.

Do It Now

RAKE: Rake leaves and mulch if possible to add to any gardening area for additional organic matter.

TREES: Set up burlap screens around any newly planted broad-leaved evergreens to protect from winter winds and sunlight.

HOSES: Put away hoses before winter freezes begin.

BIRDS: Continue feeding birds. Once you start, they begin to depend upon you.

-- Charlie Giedeman