Wild mushrooms may look delicious but can be very poisonous. Avoid picking or eating unknown mushrooms because some of them can be fatal even when cooked.
Mushrooms are living things in the fungi kingdom that have visible flowers or reproductive structures. There are both edible and useful types, as well as poisonous types. Wild mushrooms are a popular food in many regions of Thailand. During the rainy season from May to August, which is the mushroom season, villagers like to collect wild mushrooms to cook and sell in local markets. This results in food poisoning from eating poisonous mushrooms, and in some cases, it can be serious enough to cause death!
10 characteristics of poisonous mushrooms
- Mushrooms with a bumpy cap
- Mushrooms with a ring under the cap
- Mushrooms with small hairs or spines at the base.
- Mushrooms with a strong smell when ripe
- Mushrooms with brown or brightly colored caps to attract prey.
- Mushrooms that are completely white
- Mushrooms that grow near animal waste
- Mushrooms with caps that have fin-like shapes instead of slits.
- Mushrooms that look like brains or saddles. Some types can be boiled and eaten, but some are very poisonous.
- A bud mushroom with white flesh. A mushroom that grows on or near animal feces.
Swan Egg Mushroom
If ingested, it can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, low blood pressure, and even death.
How to sort
- Swan egg mushroom, round, light brown with a yellow tint, slightly flat on top, the skin cracks into large scales, similar to puffball mushroom but has roots.
- The mushroom has a smooth, white skin with soil stains and no roots. When it gets older, it turns brown or almost black and the flesh is tough.
Stone mushroom or black cap mushroom and black cap mushroom
Amatoxin poisoning occurs when people eat this poisonous mushroom. Symptoms occur within 6-24 hours. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting. And symptoms appear for about 1 day. After that, liver and kidney failure may occur and death may occur.
How to sort
- The mushroom cap or black cap mushroom has no comb-like lines on the edge of the cap and the stem is solid all the way when the stem is cut.
- Edible white enokitake mushroom has a creamy white/yellow cap surface, smooth and shiny. The cap edge has comb-like ridges and a hollow stem along the entire length when the stem is cut. In the case of the worm-shaped enokitake mushroom or the chicken-dung mushroom, the cap surface is dark brown in the middle of the cap, gradually fading to the edges, smooth surface. The cap edge has comb-like ridges and a hollow stem along the entire length when the stem is cut.
Charcoal Mushroom
Symptoms occur within 2 hours, with gastrointestinal irritation. After 6 hours, muscle pain, liver and kidney failure, and possible death occur.
How to sort
- Charcoal mushroom, large conical cap, dark brown to black, yellowish-brown sparse fins, and red latex when cut open.
- Small edible charcoal mushroom. The cap is small, bowl-shaped, white-gray to black, with dense white fins and no red latex is found when the mushroom is cut open.
Chinese hat mushroom and poisonous umbrella mushroom
It looks like many types of edible termite mushrooms and some poisonous Chinese hat mushrooms often grow near termite mounds like termite mushrooms, causing locals to mistake them for edible termite mushrooms, and this has happened frequently. When people eat these poisonous mushrooms, they will develop symptoms within 30 minutes to 2 hours, with symptoms such as excessive sweating, tears, and salivation. Patients with severe symptoms will have a slow pulse and may die within half an hour. As for the poisonous umbrella mushroom, it produces toxins that irritate the digestive system, nausea, vomiting, and may cause difficulty breathing.
How to sort
- Chinese cap mushroom, the cap surface is rough, the center of the cap is a raised button, the edge of the cap is torn when the fins open, the color is yellowish brown and pinkish brown.
- The poisonous umbrella mushroom has a smooth surface. The center of the mushroom cap is a raised button. The fins are pinkish-brown.
Green-finned pebble mushroom
When these poisonous mushrooms are eaten, symptoms occur within 15 minutes to 4 hours, causing irritation of the digestive system, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea.
How to sort
- Green-finned gravel-headed mushroom with a bowl-shaped cap. The center of the cap has large scales. The fins are white and turn green-gray when mature. สมัครสมาชิก UFABET วันนี้ รับเครดิตฟรีทุกวัน The stem has a double-edged ring.
Misconceptions about mushrooms!
- Mushrooms with insect bite marks are edible.
- Boil mushrooms with rice and the rice does not change color. It is an edible mushroom.
- Boil mushrooms with onions, the water turns black, it’s poisonous mushrooms.
- Boil the mushrooms and stir with a silver spoon. If the spoon changes color, it is poisonous.
How can you prevent eating poisonous mushrooms?
- You should only eat mushrooms that you know and are absolutely certain that they are edible.
- Mushrooms should be cooked thoroughly before eating, especially the egg-stage enoki mushrooms.
- People who are allergic to mushrooms should avoid eating mushrooms.
- Do not eat mushrooms with alcohol, as some mushrooms can become toxic when consumed with alcohol.
- If you experience poisoning from eating mushrooms, you should see a doctor immediately.
Please avoid picking and eating wild mushrooms, mushrooms that grow naturally that you don’t know or aren’t sure if they are edible. Don’t pick mushrooms in areas where chemicals are used because mushrooms will absorb toxins from the chemicals into the mushrooms. Don’t eat raw mushrooms because it can be poisonous. Always remember that all types of poisonous mushrooms, even when cooked with heat, cannot destroy the poison. Most importantly, “If you don’t know mushrooms or aren’t sure, don’t pick, don’t buy, don’t eat.” If you have any questions, you can ask for more information at the Department of Disease Control hotline at 1422.