Identification: is this mushroom edible?

Discussion in 'Fungi, Lichens and Slime Molds' started by Many_figstree, Jun 5, 2020.

  1. Many_figstree

    Many_figstree Member

    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    vancouver
    pretty big
    just wondering.
    smells like a good edible mushroom but ...
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

    Messages:
    1,215
    Likes Received:
    375
    Location:
    Estonia
    Could be a member of the Cortinarius family. Many of them are poisoneus. If it is Cortinarius, then you can check presence of the orellanine by lighting its cut surfaces with UV light, because orellanine is fluorescent. Some Cortinariuses are edible, but I don't recognise your mushrooms as edible ones. Unless you positively ID these mushrooms as edible species, don't try them!

    My wild guess would be Cortinarius albofragrans.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2020
  3. Frog

    Frog Generous Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,539
    Likes Received:
    320
    Location:
    B.C., Canada
    Impressively large find!
    Appears to be either an Agaricus or
    Leucoagaricus. Some Agaricus are edible and some will cause gastrointestinal distress.
    Region? Habitat? Odour? Bruising colour?
     
  4. Many_figstree

    Many_figstree Member

    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    vancouver
    I didn't eat :)
    From someone's lawn in Burnaby. smells like ordinary edible one. next time I will try UV light on them. thank you all.
     
  5. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,788
    Likes Received:
    271
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    UV light may work on orellanine, but it won't tell you anything about the many other possible poisons. A spore print will provide more useful information. My guess is that it is Leucoagaricus leucothites, a common edible mushroom in the Vancouver area, but not one that a novice should eat because it resembles some very poisonous Amanitas. Leucoagaricus leucothites has a white spore print, and Cortinarius mushrooms generally have rusty-coloured spores. So it should be easy to discriminate between the two. The other possibility mentioned by Frog, Agaricus, has brown spores, but spore print colour alone won't give you a positive ID. You should know exactly what species you have found before eating any mushroom.
     
    Many_figstree and Frog like this.
  6. Many_figstree

    Many_figstree Member

    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    vancouver
    much appreciated.

     

Share This Page