Identifying poisonous musrooms
There is a tribe in Cameroon that has a name for every type of snake likely to be found in their tribal area. It makes excellent sense. They know that their most venomous snake is a black mamba, and that’s what they call it. It is both ground-dwelling and arboreal, so it might drop on you, or you might upset it by treading on it.
They also have a name for a snake they have been unable to identify: black mamba. You can appreciate the logic.
It is mainly silver-grey, the ‘black’ in its name being derived from its threat display, in which it opens wide its black mouth. Its venom is neuro-toxic, which is not a pleasant way to go, so the tribe prefers to keep well away from the possibly 3m long snake. As, indeed, do I. A sentiment I think I share with every other sensible person in the world.
The reason I know the nomenclature a tribe in Cameroon awarded snakes is because of the naturalist, Gerald Durrell, who visited the country a number of times, studying the animals and collecting specimens, which included snakes. He wrote of his experiences. I enjoyed his writing style and his books are worth seeking out. Durrell was aware of their naming methodology so when someone came to him with a bag containing, he was told, a black mamba, he guessed it was a snake this person could not name with any degree of certainty so opened the bag.
He guessed wrong.
He had to drive himself to the nearest hospital for treatment and, if memory serves, was in a critical condition when he arrived. My way of looking at mushrooms is that if Durrell, an experienced naturalist, can make a mistake and nearly die through misidentification, I think of all the fungi that can be misidentified, some of which may be dangerous, just waiting to be dropped in a pan and fried.
And I have another reason for being wary. Many, and I presume all, but I haven’t read them all so it would be a guess to say all, but it’s one I’d bet on, books, websites and YouTube videos suggest keeping a bit of a mushroom you have foraged in order for doctors to be able to identify the poison should you be suffering from mistaken identity. If this is a universal rule, there has to be a reason, and it is that even skilled mushroom hunters have to assume they might be wrong.
It’s not a nice way to go, this poisoning by mushroom and some poisons allow you some degree of notice of dying; you feel ill, then feel much better, but the next step is agony until it is only the thought of dying that keeps you alive. But not for long.
Consider this: I do not know enough to be certain on my identification of mushrooms, this despite the number of books I have on mushroom identification. It seems unreasonable to me to identify mushrooms on this website and online when I don’t trust myself. If Durrell can be mistaken, despite being a pro, so can an amateur like me.
I’m adventurous. But I’ll allow someone, probably lots of people, to eat a foraged mushroom before I’d be tempted, and even then, I’d feel the need to watch them for a few days.
Don’t eat foraged mushrooms. If you do, keep a bit of it in a bag so if you regret not following my advice, you stand a change of telling me so.
