Poisonous Death Cap Mushrooms

Don’t eat mushrooms with white gills on the underside of the cap! It could be Amanita phalloides ” Death Cap mushroom.” I’ve been seeing them in gardens beds and on lawns recently in suburban Auckland gardens. It’s responsible for the majority of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide. Eating just half of the cap is enough to kill a person. It’s best to not even touch this mushroom. The reason people eat it is because it looks alot like the edible field mushroom, which initially has pink gills that turn brown then dark brown as it ages. So if you’re not sure if it’s safe, then it’s not safe to eat wild mushrooms. If you’ve got children it’s a good idea to warn them not to touch wild mushrooms, because they are attractive to curious children, when they see a white cap popping up in the lawn or garden.

Don’t eat these Death Cap mushrooms!

A younger Death Cap mushroom