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Sacha[_3_] · 08-09-2008, 10:57 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 8/9/08 20:53, in article ,
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote:

The message
from echinosum contains these words:

The stories suggested that they had eaten some rare Cortinarius spp as
a mistake for chanterelles. As an expert said, it is a very odd mistake
to make. So they may have picked fungi often, but apparently without
knowing very much about what they were doing.

I never eat any Cortinarius - there are too many poisonous ones in that
genus, and sometimes it's difficult to tell which is what.

Just found this online in the Times:

"Michael Jordan, from the Association of British Fungus Groups, a mushroom
conservation charity, said it was likely that Mr Evans and his family had
mistakenCortinarius speciosissimus for chanterelles. ³This species grows in
similar locations and can look similar to edible chanterelles,² he said. Mr
Jordan said the mushroom was extremely toxic. ³If people are in a decent
state physically and you get them on to dialysis fast enough it is possible
to survive, but there have been a smattering of cases across Europe where it
was lethal. The liver is broken down into a pulp,² he said."
snip

Another article said that Nicholas Evans frequently picks and eats mushrooms
he finds in the wild. Perhaps our Devon ones (he lives near here) are
slightly 'kinder'. ;-))
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon