shroom picking

[neckdeep]

An antidote for a-Amanatin was announced today. 90% of mushroom poison fatalities are attributed to a-Amanatin. The antidote blocks the process, it does not reverse organ damage. At 8 hours post ingestion it's too late so victims must get to a hospital immediately upon showing symptoms. Do not wait to see if the victim improves. Interestingly, it's not a special antidote but a common dye, indocyanine green, used for medical imaging. So, its probably widely available at most hospitals.

And don't forget to cook those morels. Some doofus up in Bozeman recently poisoned a lot of people serving raw morels in sushi rolls. Multiple hospitalizations and two fatalities.

That false "stabilization" is a hallmark of liver necrosis. The initial poisoning symptoms subside but the liver is already dead. It's common for victims to appear to get better for a short period before organ failure kills them.

[skaredshtles]

An antidote for a-Amatin was announced today. 90% of mushroom poison fatalities are attributed to a-Amatin. The antidote blocks the process, it does not reverse organ damage. At 8 hours post ingestion it's too late so victims must get to a hospital immediately upon showing symptoms. Do not wait to see if the victim improves. Interestingly, it's not a special antidote but a common dye, indocyanine green, used for medical imaging. So, its probably widely available at most hospitals.

And don't forget to cook those morels. Some doofus up in Bozeman recently poisoned a lot of people serving raw morels in sushi rolls. Multiple hospitalizations and two fatalities.

Are raw morels a problem, inherently?

[neckdeep]

Are raw morels a problem, inherently?

Yes. Morels contain hydrazine.

[skaredshtles]

Yes. Morels contain hydrazine.

Interesante. Thanks for the info.

[Timberridge]

Yes. Morels contain hydrazine.

rocket fuel...

It seems mushooms are doing their darndest not to be eaten.

[neckdeep]

I don't eat any mushrooms with true gills. Who needs the stress? Not me. Eliminate any possibility of eating an amanita, lepiota or galerina.

I won't eat LBMs and I recommend you don't either. I've been poisoned by supposed liberty caps foraged by a friend of a friend. This was many years ago. Long before I knew anything about mushrooms and the risks. Puked and shit my guts out. Had profound neurological symptoms like discoordination, shallow breathing, drowsiness, muscle weakness.

Never again.

[tgapp]

I don't eat any mushrooms with true gills. Who needs the stress? Not me. Eliminate any possibility of eating an amanita, lepiota or galerina.

I won't eat LBMs and I recommend you don't either. I've been poisoned by supposed liberty caps foraged by a friend of a friend. This was many years ago. Long before I knew anything about mushrooms and the risks. Puked and shit my guts out. Had profound neurological symptoms like discoordination, shallow breathing, drowsiness, muscle weakness.

Never again.

I think this is a great take. Not even oysters though? I count those as gilled, and I eat them.

I also eat A. campestris, but only after thorough identification (and making sure that it's not actually secret A. xanthodermus), and only after thorough cooking.

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[RootSkier]

Damn, I'm sorry to hear that RootSkier. I'm reminded of the charts that show a positive correlation between level of avalanche education and fatality rates; higher levels of training are correlated with more avalanche fatalities. I wonder what he was eating?

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I believe the assumption is that he was eating rehydrated morels. I don't know any more than what his wife posted on his Facebook page:

"Our hypothesis, pending autopsy results that will take 8-12 weeks, is that it was morel mushroom poisoning. There were two retired MDs on the trip who cared for Peter through the night, and we have all done much research on morel mushrooms in the days since. Here are some important things to know if you forage for morels, much of which is information disseminated after 2018 when Peter first started foraging after doing his own extensive research: 1) the water from reconstituting the morels should not be used, 2) the morels should be boiled for at least 10 minutes, 3) the morels should always be cut in half before using, so that the completely hollow stem can be verified, 4) the true morel also has a toxin that can build up in the body over time, so morels should be consumed in moderation, and 5) a person can develop a sensitivity to morels and can have a bad reaction or fatal event even after having consumed them without any issues for years. Please take a moment to Google the "early morel," which is the false morel closest in appearance to the real morel. It also has a hollow stem, although there are sometimes white fibers in the stem, and the stem is attached almost unnoticeably near the top of the mushroom cap, unlike the true morel. False morels have a deadly toxin that typcially takes 6 hours for onset, but based on Peter's reaction time of an hour or so to the dinner he prepared, it is likely that the cause was one or more of the 5 points listed above. We are heartbroken and don't want this to happen to anyone else."

[neckdeep]

I don't agree with everything in that Facebook post. I hate to say it but all that seems like it eliminates the possibility he made a mistake and its mistaken IDs that kill 99% of victims, not some sudden but delayed accumulation of toxins.

For starters, MMH poisoning severe enough to kill can kick in a lot faster than 6 hrs. MMH in fatal doses can show severe symptoms in 1 to 2 hours. It's nasty stuff. So, the more likely cause is that he ate dried gyromitra esculenta. Drying doesn't break down gyromitrin.

The post mentioned false morels but described verpa bohemica, the "early morel". That's not the false morel to worry about. Worry about "the brain" morel. Basically, the post has jumbled together facts and opinions about morchellas, verpas and gyromitras. That is understandable when one is trying to rationalize a tragedy while one is grieving.

Just saying. The fact pattern is counter to the experience of millions of people who eat morels but it definitely describes what can happen when you consume gyromitra esculenta. Dried brains cooked in a pot with a lid on will make gyromitrin stew and if consumed on a relatively empty stomach, the gyromitrin breaks down to MMH as soon as it hits stomach acid. That's a stomach full of monomethylhydrazine. It literally turns into rocket fuel.

MMH is volatile and the fumes coming off the cooking vessel are dangerous. If brains are cooked in a closed vessel, they may not purge. I've read a doctor's article that specifically said if the person who cooked the "morels" is notably sicker than other people who also ate them, then the attending physician should suspect gyromitra esculenta.

[babybear]

Ugh that is unfortunate about your buddy, Root.
We listened to this podcast episode last summer about mushroom poisoning.
The host is terrible as is the storytelling but it was super interesting to learn how it impacts the body and bodily systems.
Neckdeep alludes to how the poison keeps recirculating throughout the body but this podcast lays it out in all it’s terribleness

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000560502184

[muted reborn]

But did anyone else eat those mushrooms that night besides Peter?

[sb]

Sad to hear this.

Good info.

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/...nt-in-montana/

[RootSkier]

But did anyone else eat those mushrooms that night besides Peter?

It is my understanding that everyone did and everyone got sick to varying degrees.

[RootSkier]

Also I have eaten a metric fuckton of morels because they are EVERYWHERE around here and thanks for your comments, I guess?

My point is that people who are fucking straight weirdos about evidence fuck up sometimes.

[babybear]

But did anyone else eat those mushrooms that night besides Peter?

That was also a question I had about the situation

[muted reborn]

Also I have eaten a metric fuckton of morels because they are EVERYWHERE around here and thanks for your comments, I guess?

My point is that people who are fucking straight weirdos about evidence fuck up sometimes.

Sorry about your friend. I've never picked any mushrooms in the wild or have eaten a morel before.

[Buke]

This topic has me bummed. I only forage Chanterelles (and a cauliflower mushroom once) because they're pretty simple to positively identify and my understanding is that misidentification has pretty minimal risk (at least in the PNW).

I've recently been interested in doing some morel foraging, especially the variety that pops up after a forest fire. I understand that morel is pretty easy to positively identify but all this talk about poisoning associated with morels has me thinking I should probably not bother. Too bad because I absolutely love morels in a cream sauce over a steak.

[skaredshtles]

I'm mostly getting into it for the porcini.

[yeahman]

The whole foraged mushroom thing just doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

[ghosthop]

Foraging skills come in handy when you're backpacking, there is something special about cooking a meal that includes items you procured from the wild. Trout and wild chives, we've brought game steaks and made a sauce from berries we picked while hiking in the late summer before, and mushrooms are all so great.

The sickest I've ever gotten backpacking was in the Wind Rivers after finding a giant chanterelle. We trimmed the buggy bits and cooked the rest with dinner and I shit my brains out all night.

I think the flavor of wild mushrooms speaks for itself. I will happily pay the premium for PNW chanterelles well after they are gone in the Rockies as long as they are fresh.

[neckdeep]

The sickest I've ever gotten backpacking was in the Wind Rivers after finding a giant chanterelle. We trimmed the buggy bits and cooked the rest with dinner and I shit my brains out all night.

That's why you shouldn't eat old mushrooms that are past their prime. They can carry bacteria and molds that will give you food poisoning.

The true giant chanterelles (californicus) are native to the pacific coast. If you find a "giant" chanterelle in the wind river range, its probably a very very old chanterelle.

These are prime Wyoming chanterelles (roseocanus) and, as you can see, they are not giant. It's also quite unusual to find just one big chanterelle, they usually grow in troops.

[MakersTeleMark]

Drool. The good type.

[The Reverend Floater]

Did a quick stab today and found zero morels. But I did add to my library with a Brownflesh Bracket as well as a Common Field Cap.

Took my 7 year old daughter with me and she had an absolute blast, as usual. Along with the fungi, we saw elk, mule deer, a moose and calf and a few new edible plants that she pointed out. Pretty fun.

Also measured the soil...we're now at a consistent 55* so it should be game on annnnny day.

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[bodywhomper]

Kid found these today next to where we park a car.

Found this in the middle of my neighbor’s rx burn

[neckdeep]

Amanita of some sort; note the volval remnant covering the cap. Maybe it's a choice edible coccora or maybe it's one of those lethal ones. Avoid. Scariest genus of mushrooms to eat.