Sunday, October 16, 2011

Better Safe Than Sorry


Day 3: If there is a motto to live by in the realm of mushroom gatherers, it is "Better Safe Than Sorry." While I suspect this beautiful teacup-sized 'shroom of being a member of the Lepiota family and therefore possibly edible, I am by no means certain. Even if I were 99% certain, I would not pick it and prepare it to eat because I would still have a 1% margin for doubt. If you are not 105% certain...make that 110% certain!...of your mushroom identification, do not eat your finds nor allow them to come into contact with any guaranteed-edibles in your basket. The Seattle Mycological Society may still hold their annual "Survivors' Banquet" in the autumn, and it was so named for good reason. There are many species which can only be positively identified by spore prints and/or microscopic examination and some, while not immediately deadly, can cause long-term damage to the liver.

That said, they make delightful photographic subjects.

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