I found clumps of mushrooms on the grass beside some trees. Here are 2 pictures. I couldn't be sure what type of mushroom they are or if they're poisonous or not. I have boiled them in water with silver coins and the silver didn't turn color. I don't know how else I can test them.
Haha... Anyway, it may be species of Tricholoma. I suppose you are not serious in telling how you test the edibility of wild mushrooms?! Cheers, Harri Harmaja http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/harmaja/about_myself.htm
Oh my.... You boiled them with silver coins??? Does that WORK for anything? Ok..and I highly must say....don't do a taste test at all unless you have IDEAS first....even some mildly poisonous ones can leave you cramping pretty bad with just a taste. ugh Did these have any distinct odor...what kind of trees were they growing around...found near snow or?....DID you do a taste test??? lol I'll definately go with Harri on this. Try: Tricholoma atrosquamosum Tricholoma scalpturatum Tricholoma moseri Tricholoma terrum .....There's several differen't members of the Trich. family that these resemble.....however...very few have been positively tested for edibility.
Well on some websites it told me to boil the mushroom with silver coins. if the coins obtain tarnish then the mushroom is poisonous. However these mushroom didn't give the coins tarnish. Yes it seems to belong in that genus. But is the only way to test if it's poisonous or not is to eat it?? cause it looks quite safe and there are so many around this small forest behind my house. The mushroom smells like wet damp soil. and I have to check up on what trees it grows around with. someone told me cedar but i wasn't quite sure. it was pine trees, but what type of pine i don't know
My understanding is that the silver thing is true for ONE TYPE of poison. There are many many types of poisonous chemical in mushrooms. You're likely to get a negative result with any given test of a single toxin. In fact, you can do a hundred tests for poisions that all come up negative and still do your 101st test to find out that it is toxic. We know that you have a Tricholoma. We know it is NOT one of the common edible ones. Some Tricholomas have been suspected in DEATH. My advice is that if you choose to eat some, save some intact ones so if it kills you or puts you on the list for a liver transplant, those of us with the common sense not to eat something something we can't identify can learn from your mistake.
I don't think there is a simple "home" test for edibility/toxicity in mushrooms. And the test is definitely NOT trying to eat them, even a small piece or a lick. We need to be cautious with our advice here, people show quite a readiness to try new things and often display a recklessness about it. While the majority of mushrooms are harmless, some are so toxic that small amounts can kill. That is nothing to play with. Never eat a mushroom that you do not have a positive identification of.
Summarizing: 1) There is no shortcut to separate the edible and the poisonous mushrooms. 2) Whether a native or an immigrant, you must learn at least some edible species of your home district. 3) You also must get to know the poisonous species that occur in your home area. 4) The learning process comes true by reading handbooks, exploring the internet, consulting mushroom experts, making excursions alone and especially with an expert, and participating trips arranged by mushroom associations! Regards, Harri Harmaja http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/harmaja/index.htm
