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Wild Shrooms Kill Calif. Man

82-year-old had a passion for mushroom foraging

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 13, 2009 12:40 PM CDT

(Newser) – A California man’s passion for collecting and eating wild mushrooms has cost him his life, the LA Times reports. The 82-year-old ate a generous portion of a deadly variety and died of poisoning a week later. His family had long warned him of the risks, but the man had learned the art from his immigrant Italian parents. Last year, nearly 900 people were sickened in California after eating poison mushrooms, and one person died.

Mushroom foragers can run into trouble when using books as a reference, one mycologist said. "For every edible mushroom, there's a poisonous look-alike. But in the Amanita group," he said, referring to the type eaten by the latest victim, "it is literally playing with death."

Amanita ocreata mushrooms are pictured in this undated photo. (Wikimedia Commons/Darvin Deshazer)

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Wild Shrooms Kill Calif. Man

82-year-old had a passion for mushroom foraging

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Cops: Man Poisons Rice Krispies to Kill Wife

Fernando Porras busted as he flees from hospital

Pesticide Patrol: The Dozen Worst Fruits and Veggies

Soft, thin skin more susceptible to chemicals

Killer Lung Fungus Hits Northwest

Spores lodge in tissue; kill 25% of those infected

Relax, Expiration Dates Are Nearly Meaningless

Food dating is utterly unregulated, and unreliable

Pa. Farm Recalls Diseased Enoki Mushrooms

Giant supermarket chain takes fungi with risk of listeriosis off shelves

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Wild Shrooms Kill Calif. Man

82-year-old had a passion for mushroom foraging

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

food • California • food safety • poison • fungus • mushrooms

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Cops: Man Poisons Rice Krispies to Kill Wife

Fernando Porras busted as he flees from hospital

Pesticide Patrol: The Dozen Worst Fruits and Veggies

Soft, thin skin more susceptible to chemicals

Killer Lung Fungus Hits Northwest

Spores lodge in tissue; kill 25% of those infected

Relax, Expiration Dates Are Nearly Meaningless

Food dating is utterly unregulated, and unreliable

Pa. Farm Recalls Diseased Enoki Mushrooms

Giant supermarket chain takes fungi with risk of listeriosis off shelves

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?