Start here: the golden rules

Wild mushrooms can be a wonderful part of spending time outdoors. They can also kill you. A few of the most dangerous species look a lot like popular edible ones, and there is no simple trick that sorts safe from unsafe. The rules below are what experienced foragers actually rely on.

The golden rules

1. Never eat a mushroom you have not positively identified. “It looks like” is not identification. If you are unsure, you do not eat it.
2. Get an expert to confirm every new species in person. A website, an app, a photo sent to a friend, or a book alone is not enough. See Lesson 8.
3. Learn the dangerous species first. Before you learn what to collect, learn what can hurt you. See Lesson 5.
4. Check every specimen, every time. Look at the whole mushroom, including the base of the stem, which is often buried. Cut and keep a sample of anything you are unsure about.
5. Cook it, and start small. Many edible mushrooms are not safe raw. Eat a small portion the first time you try a new species, and keep a raw sample in the fridge in case a doctor needs to identify it.
6. Know the rules where you are. Permits, limits and bans differ by state, province and land manager. See Lesson 2.
7. Do not rely on folk tests. Animals eating a mushroom, silver spoons, peeling the cap, boiling it, or “it smells fine” do not tell you whether a mushroom is safe.

What to do if something goes wrong

If you or someone else may have eaten a wild mushroom and feels unwell, or you are unsure what was eaten, get help immediately. Symptoms from some dangerous species can be delayed by many hours, so waiting for symptoms is a mistake.

• United States: Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 in an emergency.
• Canada: call your provincial poison centre, or 911 in an emergency.

Take a sample of the mushroom, or photos, with you.

A good first season

For your first season, treat foraging as learning, not harvesting. Walk, photograph, and learn to describe what you see. Join a local group. Bring finds to an expert. Over time you will build a short list of species that you and your local experts are confident about.

This site is a reference to help you learn and ask better questions. It cannot tell you that a particular mushroom in your hand is safe to eat.