The state has seen a spate of mushroom poisonings in the last several months, including one in Humboldt County, amid what the California Department of Public Health describes as a “superbloom” of the highly toxic death cap and western destroying angel varieties.
“Environmental factors including early fall rains followed by a warm, wet winter have helped these mushrooms grow in greater numbers,” the agency told the Journal in an email. “Additionally, they are appearing in areas where they have not been usually found. Because they closely resemble safe-to-eat varieties, even experienced foragers have had challenges distinguishing them.”
The death cap (Amanita phalloides) and western destroying angel (Amanita ocreata) are “the most common mushrooms involved in serious, often fatal, poisoning from foraged mushrooms in Northern California and the Central Coast,” the CDPH said.
Most of the 39 cases have taken place in Monterey County and the Bay Area, according to the state agency, with those sickened ranging in age from 19 months to 67 years. At least four people died in the outbreak and three others needed liver transplants.
Few new details have been released in the local poisoning, including the person’s current condition. When the county Department of Health and Human Services made the announcement on March 18, the individual was reported to be “in an out-of-area ICU suffering from amatoxin poisoning after consuming mushrooms foraged by a friend in Humboldt County.”
In response to follow-up questions from the Journal, a DHHS spokesperson said in an email late last week that no further information was being released at this time and the CDPH’s Office of Communications similarly responded that the agency was “not able to provide updates on an individual’s medical condition.”
The state outbreak has been centered around the death cap, which recently made an appearance on the North Coast, and the variety was initially assigned as the “likely” cause for the local case. It was later attributed to the similarly toxic western destroying angel, which has a range that spans the Pacific Coast.
The identification was made using “a photo shared by the ill person” in consultation with “several California mycological societies,” according to the CDPH. “No additional mushrooms were foraged and there are no remaining foraged mushrooms to test.”
The ones involved, the agency said, were “collected in Six Rivers National Forest within Humboldt County” and CDPH was “not aware of any other reported poisoning” connected to the incident.
As previously reported, county health officials said the mushroom picker appeared to be “an experienced forager” who shared them with the sickened individual on March 13. After eating the mushrooms that day, according to the DHHS release, the person began feeling ill the next day and went to a local emergency room before being transferred to an out-of-town hospital.
Amid the fall outbreak, state health officials issued an advisory advising against wild foraging Dec. 5, noting the death cap and other toxic mushrooms “can easily be mistaken for safe, edible mushrooms due to their similar appearance and taste,” and “cooking, boiling, drying or freezing these mushrooms does not make them safe to eat.”
Mandy Hackney, president of the Humboldt Bay Mycological Society, which puts on a fair each year that includes a display of toxic mushrooms, said that while the poisonings are tragic, the key to prevention is education, not fear.
And, she notes, “foraging has been around as long as humans have and as long as humans are around there’s going to be foraging.”
“I would start with the classic: know before you go,” Hackney said in a recent interview. “You should be doing your homework before you even go out and are starting to collect and look for things, so then you have a general idea of what it is you are looking for: what habitat, what time of year, what are the main characteristics.”
And, she said, have support, pointing to the book “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast,” as a resource, along with apps like iNaturalist and mushroom identification social media groups, as well as the society itself.
People also need to be mindful that the appearance of a mushroom can be impacted by a multitude of factors and they should not depend on just one feature or another in trying to make an identification.
“It can change, it can rain, or it dries out, or someone came along and kicked half of it … some of the characteristics are really fragile on some mushrooms and they just wear away, and it can be difficult to ID,” Hackney said. “Also, there’s the reality that we have some species that are identical to the eye and the only way to get them to species is either by DNA or microscopy. There’s that factor.”
In the wake of the recent local poisoning, the society has been putting up posts on its Facebook page with information on how to identify the western destroying angel and the death cap.
A recent interloper on the North Coast, the death cap was first spotted in the Shelter Cove area around the early 2020s and has been found in Eureka, Hackney said.
And, the society’s posts emphasize, “Never eat a wild mushroom unless you are absolutely certain of its identification, like recognizing a banana. When in doubt, throw it out. Some species can look dangerously similar, and no meal is worth your life.”
“I think we really just want people to be safe,” Hackney said. “That is why we are constantly adding to those posts: ‘When in doubt, throw it out.’ Nothing is worth your life. That’s the part that really hits home.”
Kimberly Wear (she/her) is the assistant editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400 or kim@northcoastjournal.com.
California Department of Public Health Information on Mushroom Poisoning
Symptoms:
• Symptoms may not appear until 6 to 24 hours after eating a poisonous mushroom.
• Mild symptoms (even mild nausea) can be the beginning of a more severe reaction. Sometimes early symptoms go away within a day, but serious to fatal liver damage can still develop within 2 to 3 days.
• Seek help immediately, if you or someone you know has eaten a poisonous mushroom. Do not wait for symptoms to appear. Treatment is more difficult once symptoms start.
Common early symptoms include (but are not limited to):
• Stomach pain
• Cramping
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Drop in blood pressure
• Fatigue
• Confusion
Mushroom poisoning can lead to serious complications, including:
• Liver damage (sometimes leading to the need for a liver transplant)
• Kidney damage
• Hallucinations and euphoria
• Seizures
• Death
What to do if you may have eaten a poisonous mushroom:
• Immediately seek medical care and call the California Poison Control Hotline at (800) 222-1222 if you or someone you know may have eaten a poisonous mushroom. The hotline can tell you exactly what to do in the case of a mushroom poisoning. They also provide guidance to medical providers to help ensure proper care. The hotline is free and operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 200 languages.
• When you go to the hospital take any of the uneaten mushroom with you if you can. Experts can identify the mushroom, which can help with your medical care. To preserve the mushroom, place it in a paper bag or waxed paper (not plastic) and refrigerate. If you don’t have the mushroom, photos of the mushroom (including its cap, stem and underside) can be helpful.
Disposing of poisonous mushrooms
How to handle poisonous mushrooms: Touching a poisonous mushroom usually does not pose a risk. But always wash your hands after you touch one.
How to dispose of poisonous mushrooms: Put the poisonous mushroom into a sealed bag and place them into the regular garbage. Alternatively, you can place them into the municipal compost bin. Do not place poisonous mushrooms in home compost.
This article appears in ‘Everybody’s Gotta Bring Their Skills’.
