Fungi Foragers Freaked

Re:Fungi Foragers Freaked by superjan on Sunday October 16, 2022 @07:03AM (#33222707)

I do hunt mushrooms occasionally, and an app is useful if you understand the limitations. If the app gives you a name, the next thing to do is consult a mushroom book to learn if there is a risk of mixups with poisenous species.

In Western Europe, for instance, there is are edible wild champignons that are very similar “groene knol ameniet”, which is deadly.

I recently read that fatalities are on the rise because east europeans that migrate here look for wild champignons but do not know about the poisenous lookalike: it does not grow in the forests they grew up in.

Every region has some mushrooms species that you can learn to easily recognize and that don’t have “evil twins”. You should be aware that this varies by area.

So apps can be a useful tool but a good book that covers the region where you pluck is essential.

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Re:Fungi Foragers Freaked by jeffrallen on Sunday October 16, 2022 @03:17PM (#33226372)

The problem is that the culture of secrecy around mushrooms makes it uncomfortable to ask those questions in a new place. I learned mushrooms in a certain place, and even after 10 years in a different place I have not learned the local specialities.

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