June 2002

Timely alert on poison mushrooms

Recent rains followed by warm weather have created ideal growing conditions for poisonous mushrooms, Victoria’s acting Chief Health Officer Dr John Carnie has warned.

‘People gathering wild mushrooms around Melbourne, in rural Victoria and from their own gardens should take great care to make sure their harvest doesn’t include any poisonous varieties,’ Dr Carnie said.

The warning highlights the dangers of two of the State’s most dangerous varieties, the Yellow Staining mushroom, Agaricus xanthodermus, and the Death Cap fungus, Amanita phalloides.

Dr Carnie’s warning coincides with the arrival of the mushrooming season, spawned when rain encourages growth of the fungi in the still warm earth.

‘While commercially-sold mushrooms are safe, poisonings do occur when wild mushrooms have been gathered and toxic species are inadvertently included,’ Dr Carnie said.

‘Anyone who becomes ill after eating mushrooms should seek urgent medical advice and, if possible, take samples of the whole mushroom for identification,’ he said.

Dr Carnie said the commonly found Yellow Staining mushroom turns yellow when the cap or stem is bruised by a thumbnail.

‘These are often gathered and mixed with field mushrooms and can cause nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea in some people,’ he said.

‘The most dangerous variety however, is the Death Cap, usually found near deciduous trees, especially around oaks, in some Melbourne suburbs and rural areas.

‘The Death Cap is extremely toxic and responsible for 90 per cent of all mushroom poisoning deaths.

‘Death can follow within 48 hours of eating it,’ he warned.

The Death Cap is a large mushroom, with a cap ranging from light olive green to greenish yellow in color.

The gills are white and the base of the stem is surrounded by a cup-shaped sac.

Mapping undertaken by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne has found the Death Cap to be widespread across Melbourne in public and private gardens.

Dr Tom May, Senior Mycologist at the Gardens, said the Death Cap has been found in South Yarra, East St Kilda, Yarra Bend, Kew, Camberwell, Deepdeene, East Malvern, Surrey Hills, Burwood, Sandringham, Wheelers Hill, Emerald and in regional areas such as Gisborne.

‘The Death Cap appears in autumn and early winter, from March to June, and is most common a week or two after good rains in April and May,’ Dr May said.

‘If you have any doubts about a species of fungus or mushroom, don’t eat it,’ Dr Carnie said.