Deadly mushrooms kill 61-year-old

by jessica.lam | July 17, 2008 at 09:39 am

3751 views | 2 Recommendations | 15 comments

Mushrooms prove to be unsuspecting and as deadly as ever. Be wary of what you eat, even if it is pretty.

Westchester County's health department says Zoila Tapia found the pure-white mushrooms July 6, in a wooded area along Interstate 684 in Bedford, a town about an hour's drive north of Manhattan.

The 61-year-old White Plains resident was hospitalized after eating the mushrooms and died July 10. The mushrooms are among the prettiest but deadliest in the world and often are called the destroying angels.

The destroying angel and the death cap (Amanita phalloides) are responsible for the overwhelming majority of deaths due to mushroom poisoning. The toxin responsible for this is amatoxin. Symptoms do not appear for 5 to 24 hours, when the toxins may already be absorbed and the damage (destruction of liver and kidney tissues) done. As little as half a mushroom cap can be fatal if not treated quickly enough.

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Amy Judd

at 09:58 on July 17th, 2008

That is sad. I never eat anything I find along the side of a road however.

rpshen

at 10:06 on July 17th, 2008

Very sad. But ppl have always said that most mushrooms are deadly and only few species are edible. The worst thing is that they look identical too!

celes247 (not verified)

at 15:21 on July 28th, 2008

Actually, only a handful of mushroom species are truly deadly. There are many that are poisonous (though not lethal), and many that are edible. We don't see these edible mushrooms at the grocery store because it's difficult to cultivate them.

And yes, there are many look-alikes, that's why you never eat an all-white mushroom with a ring.

Vilhelm Sjostrom

at 01:04 on July 18th, 2008

Photo taken In Pernaja, Southern Finland in September 2007
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/1467382357/

Vilhelm Sjostrom has contributed a photo to this story.

shcheah

at 01:48 on July 18th, 2008

Don't eat what you don't know and you will live longer.

shcheah has contributed a photo to this story.

KateM

at 03:13 on July 18th, 2008

These mushrooms look glorious as they pop their heads from the soil - but you should never eat one without knowing exactly what sort of mushroom it is!

KateM has contributed a photo to this story.

AM Photo

at 03:14 on July 18th, 2008

This is one among many mushrooms growing on dead logs around my community.

AM Photo has contributed a photo to this story.

sondya

at 04:00 on July 18th, 2008

I wish I knew how to determine whether a field mushroom is edible or not. My photo was taken in a public park in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand.

snaphappykate

at 04:55 on July 18th, 2008

Several of these mushroomed after a recent rain. Since there is no guarantees, I don't consider eating wild mushrooms. "When in doubt... don't!", is the motto to LIVE by.

I'm not a mushroom expert but I think I've photographed a Amanita spp. Possibly a 'Destroying Angel' (Amanita virosa) or Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) since both can be yellow, with cup, ring, and have warts.

snaphappykate has contributed a photo to this story.

John Hansen

at 07:25 on July 18th, 2008

These mushrooms are small, about the size of a dime. Note the size in comparison to the white clover leaf on the right. These mushrooms appeared one morning in the front lawn. They where shriveled up by noon.

John Hansen has contributed a photo to this story.

Alex Saunders

at 09:07 on July 18th, 2008

These are wild oyster mushrooms but they have a very similar relative that is poisonous but not lethal.

Alex Saunders has contributed a photo to this story.

nicoscoots

at 12:02 on July 18th, 2008

The mushroom in my photo is not poisonous, nor edible. I never advocate ingesting mushrooms found in the woods unless you can be 100% sure of what it is, preferably consulting with an expert first. The ones that look like button mushrooms are usually the most toxic (Amanitas).

nicoscoots has contributed a photo to this story.

Nicolas Rao

at 13:12 on July 18th, 2008

I do not really know if these mushrooms are poisonous are not, but they do spring up after the first rains in the year. We do not really have spring in Chennai, India but it is just after the colder months and after a light shower, they spring up on old bark and slowly turn brown. I have actually played with the image of the little white mushrooms to make them more pleasing to the eye, but they are in fact pure white and get brownish as they dry.

joysaphine

at 23:53 on July 20th, 2008

I am wary about identifying mushrooms. Some edible ones have very dangerous 'look-alikes' and so the correct identification is imperative if you collect wild mushrooms. Dont rely on books with drawn pictures for identification - find books and photographs taken in natural light and read carefully for surroundings etc to make sure. If ever not absolutely positive as to what the fungi is - then play safe and dont touch.

joysaphine

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:56 on July 20th, 2008

jay.el, I like this story. It's good stuff.