MUSHROOMS GROW ALONG WITH ALARM

Spate of illnesses and deaths in California caused by toxic fungi varieties spurs debate among amateur foragers

- BY KAREN GARCIA

CALIFORNIA health officials reported 39 illnesses attributed to death cap mushrooms between Nov. 18 and Jan. 18.

(DEA/P. PUCCINELLI/De Agostini)

David Yturralde arrived at the mushroom talk in Newport Beach recently armed with a pen and paper and a host of questions. The goal, he said, was to demystify those fascinating fungi that popped up on his grass after heavy winter rain.

He's long been interested in the mushrooms that sprout on the front lawn of his San Clemente home, but he’s always been too timid to pick any. And there's no way he’s collecting any to taste, he said.

“Mushrooms are mysterious little things because right away your parents tell you, as a child, don’t eat that,” he said.

But after hearing about recent illnesses and fatalities related to the death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, in California, Yturralde and several others who gathered in the Environmental Nature Center's conference room sought answers about which mushrooms in the area are deadly.

In the last three months, California has seen a sudden uptick in the number of people becoming sickened and dying after accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms found in the wild. Although the fatalities have occurred along the Central Coast and in Northern California, the phenomenon has prompted concerns and discussions among mycological societies and amateur foragers across the Golden State.

The most recent death was reported on Jan. 27 by public health officials in Contra Costa County, who confirmed a 60-year-old man died after eating wild mushrooms, bringing the total number of fungi-related fatalities to four.

Public health officials could not identify which wild mushroom caused the man’s death, said Nicola Gillette, spokesperson for Contra Costa Health. But officials said the man, who was described as being of “Hispanic descent,” died after eating wild mushrooms foraged at a regional park in the county.