Avoid Wild Mushrooms

With the onset of the rainy season, nature undergoes another cycle of change. Rain-soaked soil gives birth to a variety of species and plants, covering land with greenery. Nature is so vast that it embraces many diverse biological elements beyond the realm of plants, herbs and bushes. Mushrooms that fall into the fungi group are such natural organisms, which grow from decaying organic matter. The body of a fungus, called mycelium, exists underground. It takes food from the soil throughout the year. The rain softens the soil and provides moisture to the fungal tissues, forcing them to come out of the ground. The rainwater helps the tiny mushroom buds grow into full size overnight. This is a reason why the mushrooms grow abundantly during the rainy season.

Mushrooms are considered one of the nutrient-rich vegetable items, with many people preferring them. But all the mushrooms grown in the wild are not edible. The wild mushrooms are also poisonous. Those eating them suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, severe damage to the liver and kidneys, and even death. Medical experts say that the toxins found in poisonous mushrooms are not destroyed by cooking. The people who go to collect mushrooms in the forest, especially during the rainy season, fail to distinguish between edible and poisonous mushrooms. Every year, people fall sick and die after consuming poisonous mushrooms. Those living near the forests see it as an opportunity to pluck the wild fungi due to ignorance, poverty and carelessness.  

Recently, a 36-year-old woman from Dang died after consuming wild mushroom. Last month, seven members of two families fell ill after eating mushrooms collected from the forest, according to a news report of this daily on Wednesday. One death and two cases of illness caused by wild mushrooms were reported in Chitwan. Late last year, one death was recorded in Palpa district. It has been estimated that between 30 and 40 people die from consuming wild mushrooms during the rainy season alone. But the people in the remote areas have continued to collect and consume the wild mushrooms, risking their lives. In view of growing mushroom-related death cases, the government has repeatedly urged the people not to consume wild mushrooms. On Monday, the Ministry of Health and Population, along with the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, issued a notice, warning the people against the consumption of poisonous wild mushrooms.

In Nepal, the experts have registered around 1,300 species of above-ground, or visible, mushrooms. Of them, more than 100 species are highly poisonous. There has been a tendency to identify the mushrooms by their taste, colour or whether insects have eaten them but this is scientifically wrong. Poisonous mushrooms can hardly be detected through their appearance, colour or smell, for they resemble the edible mushroom. Botanists have strongly advised people to refrain from wild mushrooms. One of the deadliest poisonous mushrooms found in Nepal is Amanita virosa, commonly found in forests, bushes and irrigated pine woodland. Another poisonous species, Amanita concentrica, is also found in cultivated fields, shrubland and pine forests. It has become urgent to spread awareness of the toxic mushrooms among the people, especially those on the margins of society. Generally, people with low income go to the forest in search of mushrooms. Local representatives, teachers, cadres of political parties and social activists should inform the local community about the deadly fungi.