Concept
Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, mushroom foraging, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for culinary use, though medicinal and psychotropic uses are also known. This practice is popular throughout most of Europe, Australia, Japan, Korea, parts of the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, as well as the temperate regions of Canada and the United States. Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushroom, such as those illustrated in the accompanying chart, are essential for correct visual mushroom identification. Numerous field guides on mushrooms are available and recommended to help distinguish safe, edible mushrooms from the many poisonous or inedible species. A spore print is a mushroom identification technique commonly used by mycologists and mushroom hunters to help identify the genus of a specimen and differentiate between similar looking species. Knowing where and when to search for mushrooms is an important identification skill that takes practice. Most mushroom species require specific conditions. For example, some species only grow at the base of a certain type of tree. Finding a desired species that is known to grow in a certain region can be a challenge. Mushroom hunting can be associated with significant health risks if it is done without caution since many mushrooms that are safe for consumption have lethally poisonous look alikes. Even if consuming a poisonous mushroom does not result in death, some can still cause permanent organ damage. Mushroom poisoning has killed an average of about 3 people a year in the United States. According to National Poison Data System (NPDS) annual reports published by America's Poison Centers, the average number of deaths occurring over a ten year period (2012-2020) sits right at 3 a year. In 2012, 4 out of the 7 total deaths that occurred that year, were attributed to a single event where a "housekeeper at a Board and Care Home for elderly dementia patients collected and cooked wild (Amanita) mushrooms into a sauce that she consumed with six residents of the home.
