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Comment by galleywest200 | Hacker News Reader

Correct, photos are not adequate when trying to identify a mushroom yourself for the first time (when intending consumption). You need to do things such as spore-prints [1]. It is also strongly advised to go out into the field with those who are already experienced and have them teach you to identify, and not to be "self-taught".

Your local mycological society would be more than happy to educate you.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spore_print

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The other reality is that in most regions there's only a handful of truly dangerous fungus groups with look-alikes that, while edible, are not particularly choice. And the really delicious fungus often have look alikes that are not delicious and may cause GI issues, but wont kill you.

So while all of this should come with a warning to talk with others and do research, it's not impossible to learn what's edible and enjoy foraging. The internet is great at making us afraid of the outdoors. But you just need to take a few precautions if you do eat fungus such as picking one person in your group with a solid GI system to eat a tiny bit and wait 24-48 hours. If they're good, make a note in your journal, take some detailed photos and try eating it again.

Some of the best eating I've ever done was sauteed butter-footed boletes in an omelet.

Maybe this is regional but all these comments seem way overblown. Just learn to spot death caps and if you're not sure, avoid mushrooms with gills completely and pick only ones with the spongy undersides like summer caps. I've eaten foraged mushrooms hundreds of times throughout my life based on only my grandmother's description of what I should and shouldn't pick.

The ratio of edible:lookalike-and-very-poisonous is regional and varies widely. Would be a fun dataset to visualize.

Anecdotally, I've heard that northern Europe is a relatively "safe" place (i.e. a high score on that ratio) and that the U.S. is, in general, more "dangerous". No firsthand experience to make a claim on the subject, though.

You leaned what was safe from someone who'd been doing it for a long time. You had the kind of live expertise that's necessary to be safe.

Some mushrooms require microscopic examination of spite shape to distinguish between possibilities and edible varieties.

It's best to find safe species in your region and learn to distinguish them and their look alikes by forwarding with a very knowledgeable and experienced mycologist.

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