Be Wary Of Wild Mushrooms, Experts Warn

Local mushroom experts issued a warning Monday after a North Idaho woman became ill from eating wild mushrooms.

The Twin Lakes area resident was treated for gastrointestinal pain last Wednesday in Kootenai Medical Center’s emergency room, said Tim Gerlitz, president of the North Idaho Mycological Association.

“I chatted with her on Saturday morning, and she’d just started to feel better,” said Gerlitz.

The woman had eaten two large raw mushrooms that her husband had collected while he was turkey hunting.

“We teach people never to eat any wild mushrooms raw,” said Gerlitz. “It’s one of the biggest problems. Some may be safe to eat when cooked, but when raw, have the potential to create upset.”

The association sent a sample of the offending mushroom to a laboratory for exact identification. Gerlitz, who went into the field looking for the fungus, believes it was gyomitra gigas, or snowbank mushroom.

The woman also might have eaten a gyomitra escalanta, a related species, which was growing nearby.

That species, also called a false morel, contains a compound used in the manufacture of rocket fuel, Gerlitz said.

“You actually have to boil the substance, cook it out of the mushrooms,” he said. “Most mushroom guides name that as poisonous, and recommend against consuming it.”

Some poisonous mushrooms can’t be made safe by cooking. Gerlitz recommends that people save samples of wild mushrooms they eat, so they’ll be available for identification in case of illness.

The woman had no field guides or practical experience to guide her, Gerlitz said.

Many edible mushrooms grow in the spring and fall, Gerlitz said. People looking for a thorough grounding in what’s safe to eat can join the Idaho Mycological Association, he said. The group meets monthly.

Gerlitz can be reached at home, 772-9212, for more information.

, DataTimes