Wild mushroom warning

Don't eat mushrooms that you pick. Poisonous mushrooms in Northern California look very similar to edible varieties that grow in Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the Americas.

Anyone who develops any symptoms after eating wild mushrooms or has questions about whether to eat them should call the California Poison Control System Hotline at (800) 8-POISON ((800) 876-4766).

Clinical pharmacists, nurses and physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning are available 24 hours a day. They have access to translators to provide assistance in numerous languages for those who do not speak English.

Source: University of California

Death caps at a glance

On Nov. 8, three Lodi-area family members said they ate Death Cap mushrooms, or Amanita phalloides. The victims told Lodi police they found the poisonous mushrooms in the Lodi Lake Nature Area.

Here are some fast facts about the Death Cap mushrooms:

— A deadly beauty: Despite its beautiful appearance, it is the leading cause of fatal mushroom poisoning worldwide.

— European born: The mushroom used to be found only in Europe, but it is highly adaptable to new areas. Based on literature and documents focused on the mushroom, experts believe the earliest the mushroom arrived in Central California was around 1938. The mushrooms are believed to have arrived on the roots of imported ornamental trees that were most likely cork oak.

Since then, the mushroom has expanded throughout California from the Sierra foothills to the Channel Islands.

— A symbiotic relationship: The Death Caps grow off the roots of mainly live oak trees, but they have also been found on pine trees in Marin County and with Tanoak in Mendocino County.

— A year-round threat: The Death Caps sprout at all times of year, but they are the most abundant during the fall and early winter. During spring and summer, they can appear in coastal fog drip or where there are irrigated oaks.

— Thriving in California: The invasive species has grown better in California then elsewhere in the world. On some oaks, there can be dozens of the mushrooms growing off the roots.

— Painfully poisonous: The mushrooms' poison can result in liver failure or even death. The mushrooms contain toxic amatoxins, which the body has great difficulty completely eliminating. It is an excruciatingly painful type of poisoning, and the toxins attack the liver, sometimes causing permanent damage.

— Treatment: The treatment is intravenous silibinin, which is a derivative of milk thistle. It protects the liver by preventing it from absorbing the amatoxins. The liver can then recover once the amatoxins is eliminated from the body. Europe has used the treatment for two decades.

Source: "Amanita phalloides: Invasion of the Death Cap" The Bay Area Mycological Society

Mycology at a glance

What is mycology?: Simply put, it's the study of fungus. It applies to mushrooms, lichens, yeasts molds, truffles, plant pathogens and medicinal fungi.

For more information, visit:

— The Mycological Society of America, www.msafungi.org
— The Bay Area Mycological Society, www.bayareamushrooms.org
— The Davis Mycological Society, psychology.ucdavis.edu/sommerr/dms/
— North American Mycological Association, www.namyco.org.