California mushroom poisonings are on the rise. Here's what's being done to curb exposure

David Yturralde arrived astatine the mushroom speech successful Newport Beach precocious equipped with a pen and insubstantial and a big of questions. The goal, helium said, was to demystify those fascinating fungi that popped up connected his writer aft dense wintertime rain.

He’s agelong been funny successful the mushrooms that sprout connected the beforehand tract of his San Clemente home, but he’s ever been excessively timid to prime any. And there’s nary mode he’s collecting immoderate to taste, helium said.

“Mushrooms are mysterious small things due to the fact that close distant your parents archer you, arsenic a child, don’t devour that,” helium said.

But aft proceeding astir caller illnesses and fatalities related to the decease headdress mushroom, Amanita phalloides, successful California, Yturralde and respective others who gathered successful the Environmental Nature Center’s league country sought answers astir which mushrooms successful the country are deadly.

In the past 3 months, California has seen a abrupt uptick successful the fig of radical becoming sickened and dying aft accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms recovered successful the wild. While the fatalities person occurred on the Central Coast and successful Northern California, the improvement has prompted concerns and discussions among mycological societies and amateur foragers crossed the Golden State.

The astir caller decease was reported connected Jan. 27 by nationalist wellness officials successful Contra Costa County who confirmed a 60-year-old antheral died aft eating chaotic mushrooms, bringing the full fig of fungi-related fatalities to four.

Public wellness officials could not place which chaotic mushroom caused the man’s death, said Nicola Gillette, spokesperson for Contra Costa Health. But officials said the man, who was described arsenic being of “Hispanic descent,” died aft eating chaotic mushrooms foraged astatine a determination parkland successful the county.

“Preliminary accusation indicates the antheral whitethorn person mistaken the mushroom for a assortment that is edible successful his location country,” Gillette said.

The California Department of Public Health reported 39 decease cap-related illnesses, including 4 fatalities and 3 liver transplants, betwixt Nov. 18 and Jan. 18.

In a emblematic year, the California Poison Control Center whitethorn person up to 5 cases of poisonous mushroom-related illness, according to authorities.

The past large outbreak occurred successful 2016 with 14 reported cases, and portion determination were nary deaths, 3 radical required liver transplants and 1 kid suffered a “permanent neurologic impairment.”

In this slew of cases, the California Department of Public Health has reported that 60% of affected individuals spoke Spanish arsenic their superior connection — different affected radical talk Mixteco, Mandarin Chinese, Ukrainian, Russian and English.

The incidents that person occurred wrong the Latino assemblage this twelvemonth could beryllium an anomaly, said Mike McCurdy, president of the San Francisco Mycological Society.

The nine has been moving intimately with the authorities nationalist wellness section to make a informing motion and fliers with a QR codification starring to much accusation successful aggregate languages that tin beryllium distributed successful recreational areas specified arsenic parks, quality preserves and hiking trails.

Generally, radical are accidentally poisoned aft they mistakenly devour a chaotic mushroom they thought was safe, McCurdy said.

Some situations are much nefarious. In 2025 Erin Patterson, a 51-year-old Australian woman, was sentenced to beingness successful situation for murdering 3 relatives and trying to termination different by intentionally feeding them a beef Wellington that included poisonous fungi successful the ingredients.

Two of the astir toxic mushrooms that tin beryllium recovered successful the authorities are the decease headdress and the occidental destroying angel mushroom, Amanita Ocreata. Death headdress mushrooms person a dome-shaped headdress that whitethorn person olive oregon yellowish tones, portion the occidental destroying angel has a pick oregon ochre-colored cap.

At the commencement of Joanne Schwartz’s presumption successful Newport Beach recently, the adept amateur mycologist acknowledged the fig of caller deaths caused by toxic fungi.

“Guess what, these mushrooms are close present successful Orange County,” Schwartz said. “You mightiness adjacent person 1 connected your lawn.”

She warned the astir 20 attendees that immoderate edible mushrooms look similar toxic ones, galore turn broadside by broadside and if a idiosyncratic collects a mushroom taxon successful 1 portion of the world, determination mightiness beryllium a deadly look-alike determination else.

While mushroom poisonings person been concentrated further north, connection of the deaths and illnesses has trickled down to Southern California, sparking fearfulness among those who are wary of the spongy wonders, said Rudy Diaz, president of the Los Angeles Mycological Society.

When mushroom poisonings marque the headlines, radical who aren’t a portion of the fungi assemblage thin to spot those who are arsenic being irresponsible oregon ruining habitats, helium said.

On a caller hike with a friend, Diaz said helium was looking astatine immoderate mushrooms helium recovered connected the way and a alien “chided maine for doing thing truthful risky.”

“For radical who person been capable to redevelop that benignant of spiritual transportation with the onshore done their years of reflection and study, eating things that you forage is benignant of similar an progressive communion with these environments that you emotion and you’ve travel to know,” Diaz said.

But experts, including Diaz, accidental eating mushrooms isn’t a indispensable portion of observing, learning and appreciating them.

For those who are good versed successful mushrooms successful Southern California, determination isn’t a consciousness of alarm of imaginable poisonings due to the fact that the toxic mushrooms are a batch little conspicuous successful the confederate portion of the state.

In Northern California, decease caps are abundant successful section parks, “whereas present successful Southern California you person to excavation done immoderate oak litter earlier you thin to spot things,” Diaz said.

Still, the connection from the mycology nine and mycologists passim the authorities is 1 of caution: Unless you’re acquainted with your section environment, person an adept you tin consult oregon are portion of a mushroom oregon foraging club, you should not beryllium eating chaotic mushrooms.

Mycologists usage dichotomous keys to place the taxon of mushroom based connected its carnal characteristics including the cap, stem, ringing and gills.

The mistake radical extracurricular the fungi assemblage oregon beginners marque erstwhile identifying mushrooms is solely relying connected societal media, a tract usher oregon an app similar iNaturalist, said Bob Cummings, a starring mycology adept successful Santa Barbara. Just comparing the mushroom to a photograph isn’t capable to marque an close taxon identification, helium said.

Schwartz encouraged the nationalist to beryllium progressive participants successful assemblage science. Her hope, she said, is that radical get engaged with mushrooms due to the fact that there’s truthful overmuch to larn astir the much than 1,500 taxon successful Orange County and implicit 3,000 types of fungi successful the state.

Mushrooms, toxic oregon not, are OK for each to prime and observe, she said.

Yturralde came distant from the play treatment with his caput made up.

“I’m unfastened to learning much astir mushrooms, but I’m not funny successful eating thing that I find,” Yturralde said. “In different words, I learned that it’s champion to lone devour what’s successful the [grocery store].”