With a cooler, wetter summer and more rain expected soon, SA Health and the Department for Environment are warning South Australians that wild mushroom season is well underway across the State including drier regional areas.
Just like the plants of the arid country, mushrooms take advantage of the wetter conditions to produce and disperse spores and establish new individuals. Desert puffballs stay for longer, drying out and rehydrating with the next rain shower to release their spores, but many fleshy mushrooms such as the poisonous yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus) and potentially deadly Lepiota brunneoincarnata can appear and disappear within days. Wherever, beech, oaks, chestnuts or hazelnuts are growing then there is always the potential for the most dangerous Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) to be present. A Lepiota poisoning case last Easter in the eastern Alexandrina Council area, highlights the potential for toxic mushroom ingestion to occur in areas outside of the Adelaide Hills. Toxic mushrooms can be a poisoning risk for dogs, cats, horses and cattle as well as humans.
Growing conditions are ideal and significant numbers of Death Cap mushrooms have already been found growing in easily accessible public spaces. Death caps are extremely poisonous and must not be eaten - they are difficult to distinguish from other wild mushrooms and can resemble edible species.
As well as Death cap mushrooms, other poisonous mushrooms that have caused fatalities or severe illness including species of Cortinarius, Galerina, and Lepiotahave been found in South Australia growing in public parks, botanic gardens, conservation and national parks and forests, nature strips, school ovals, childcare facilities, public playgrounds, roadsides, farm paddocks and home gardens in lawns and garden beds where compost, straw and mulch have been applied.
Wild mushrooms can pop up quickly and may look inviting to touch and eat but ingesting them can cause serious illness or death. This is why it is important to not eat wild mushrooms, to keep a close eye on curious children, as well as pets especially when outside.
Symptoms of mushroom poisoning include severe stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, which may take several hours to appear and can last up to three days. Poisoning from several varieties including death-cap mushrooms may have delayed onset of symptoms – up to 24-hours – and can cause life-threatening liver damage.
If any person suspects they or someone they know has eaten a wild mushroom, do not wait for symptoms to appear. Contact the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for advice and always call triple zero (000) in an emergency. If you suspect your pet has eaten wild mushrooms, seek veterinary attention immediately.
For more information about mushroom poisoning symptoms and prevention, including information in 36 languages, visit: bit.ly/3fT75RF