Foraging for mushrooms is always fun. It gets you out of the house and into nature. This is a great way to raise your mood, lose weight, and learn new things. That said, while foraging is a blast, you must know which mushrooms are edible and which aren’t. Learning to recognize toxic mushrooms in the wild is essential for your survival, and if your family—especially children—are out there foraging with you, picking the wrong mushroom and eating it can be deadly. So learn more about how to recognize these unfriendly fungi here.

Get a Guidebook

If you’ve had to decide between cultivating or foraging your mushrooms, and you’ve decided to forage, getting your guidebook is essential. It helps you navigate around the various kinds of mushrooms in the wild. It can also teach you which mushrooms are toxic and which aren’t. And you don’t need to get a physical one. You can easily download an app on your phone where you can take a picture of a mushroom, and the app will provide you with all the information you need. That way, you can know what’s poisonous and what’s safe.

Physical Attributes

If you want to know which mushrooms are edible and which are poisonous the old-fashioned way, here are some rules of thumb. You should avoid mushrooms that have a red stem or red cap. Obviously, only some varieties are poisonous, but for a novice, this rule of thumb is invaluable because many poisonous mushrooms have this exact composition, and it can be difficult to tell them apart.

You want to avoid mushrooms that have white gills. White gills are the stem ring of the mushroom. Additionally, if you’re new, avoid mushrooms that have a bulbous or sack base since it’ll keep you on the safe side. Finally, if all else fails and you aren’t sure, move on and don’t pick that mushroom. You have nothing to lose by moving to the next one.

Start Slow

If you want to become a master forager, starting slow will be wise. Go deep and not wide. If you want to learn about mushrooms, start with two kinds at a time. Research toxic mushrooms so that you know definitively that a variant is poisonous, and research edible ones and their properties to know which is safe. Determine where these mushrooms are, which grow in which season, and identify marks. If you do this, you’ll be able to recognize toxic mushrooms in the wild with ease.

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