MUSHROOM foragers are being warned to seek expert advice before picking the fungi this autumn, following increased mushroom growth in the Central Highlands in previous weeks.
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The warning coincides with the arrival of the mushrooming season, which occurs when rain encourages growth of the fungi in the still-warm earth.
Mushroom forager, executive chef and proprietor of the Lake House in Daylesford, Alla Wolf-Tasker, said that although it can be tempting to go out and pick mushrooms, they can be easily confused and have drastic consequences.
“Autumn is the most prolific time for most varieties, but you have to know what you’re doing, you have to go out with someone who knows what they are doing,” she said.
“There are a lot of poisonous mushrooms out there. It’s fraught with danger so people need to be very circumspect going out mushrooming.”
In Canberra last January two people died after they ate death cap mushrooms. It is believed the fungi was picked in the suburb of Braddon and had been mistaken for the edible straw mushrooms used in Asian cooking.
Ms Wolf-Tasker said foraging for the fungi was new to Australia, even though her parents first taught her when she was just five years old.
“In Europe you can actually go to the local pharmacy and they’ll tell you if something is borderline or not,” she said.
“Here it’s becoming more popular but we don’t have the expertise yet.”
Ms Wolf-Tasker said she teaches all her young chefs how to forage for mushrooms, and, in particular, which varieties not to touch.
Acting Victorian chief health officer Dr Michael Ackland identified two of the state’s most dangerous varieties, the death cap (amanita phalloides) and the yellow staining mushroom (agaricus xanthodermus).
“Anyone who becomes ill after eating mushrooms should seek urgent medical advice and, if possible, take samples of the whole mushroom for identification,” he said.
“The most dangerous variety is the death cap, usually found near deciduous trees, especially around oaks, in some Melbourne suburbs and rural areas.”
The death cap is a large mushroom with a cap ranging from light olive green to greenish yellow in colour. The gills are white and the base of the stem is surrounded by a cup-shaped sac.
They are responsible for 90 per cent of all mushroom poisoning deaths.
