This year, there was a good harvest of Matsutake mushrooms due to the heavy rainfall in the summer, but for the same reason, there are also many poisonous mushrooms. Many people have mistakenly eaten them and become food poisoning. ■ The "poisoning department store" Kaentake Even touching them can cause inflammation The large number of white mushrooms growing everywhere are poisonous mushrooms called "Oshirokarakasatake". Neighborhood resident: "(Dog approaches poisonous mushroom) No, no! It's poisonous!" "I've been coming here for years, but this is the first time I've seen it. I've never seen it before, and this is the first time this year." At the end of last month, a woman in her 40s in Yamaguchi Prefecture fried Oshirokarakasatake that was growing in her garden in butter and ate it, and was hospitalized with poisoning symptoms. In addition, the bright red mushroom that looks like a human finger is a poisonous mushroom called "Kaentake". Last month, it was found in a park in Tokyo, and was discovered in the Hachioji and Okutama areas one after another. What kind of mushroom is Kaentake? Kazuo Odate, who has studied mushrooms for over 40 years and is the president of the introductory mushroom course, said, "It's like a department store of poisoning. (If you eat it) it poisons the digestive system and affects the nerves. It destroys the internal organs." Furthermore, even touching the fly agaric with your hand can cause inflammation and skin blisters. Local governments where fly agaric has been found in parks and other places have warned elementary schools not to let children touch them. Odate: "All fly agaric mushrooms contain highly toxic ingredients, so they are very scary mushrooms. I want people to be careful." ■Characterized by their pale purple umbrellas, a family that ate them were all hospitalized This year, there has been a bumper crop of Matsutake mushrooms, a delicacy of autumn, due to the heavier than usual rainfall since the summer. At the same time, there has also been a bumper crop of poisonous mushrooms. When walking through a mountain popular for mushroom hunting, you will find a mushroom with a bright red umbrella that looks like a poisonous mushroom growing just inside the mountain. Odate: "This mushroom is called 'Dokubeni Damashi' and is poisonous." If you go further... Representative Odate: "There it is! This mushroom is called Kusaurabenitake, a mushroom that is associated with many cases of poisoning." The mushroom growing on the ground is a Kusaurabenitake mushroom with a distinctive pale purple cap. At first glance, it looks like a normal mushroom, but it is a poisonous mushroom that can cause severe symptoms such as severe stomach pain and vomiting when eaten. We spoke to someone who has actually eaten it. Person who ate a poisonous mushroom: "I went mushroom picking and picked quite a lot. I cooked rice and ate it right away. Then I was the first to feel nauseous, and then one by one (my family) everyone started complaining about strange stomach problems and feeling sick, so we went to the hospital... The person at the health center said they thought it was a Kusaurabenitake mushroom." Kusaurabenitake had been mixed in with the mushrooms they had picked. A person who ate a poisonous mushroom: "I always picked and ate 'Murasakishimeji' mushrooms, so I picked them without any doubt because they were there. But I got scared and couldn't eat them anymore, and it's traumatic." The woman said that after this incident, she couldn't eat mushrooms anymore. ■The "expert's cry" Kusaurabenitake - how to tell them apart: look at the back of the cap While walking in the mountains, I found Kusaurabenitake again... However, upon closer inspection, it was the edible mushroom "Bunsentake". If you compare them, you can see that the caps are identical in color and shape. Kusaurabenitake is said to be "expert's cry" because even experts have difficulty distinguishing them. Is there a way to tell them apart? Odate: "If you turn it over, it's red, so you can tell them apart." If you actually look at the back of the caps of both mushrooms, Kusaurabenitake is pale pink. This is how you can tell them apart. ■How to tell the difference between the "king of poisonous mushrooms" There is a mushroom that is even more poisonous than Kusaurabenitake. Odate: "The most common case of poisoning in Japan is Tsukiyotake" Tsukiyotake are characterized by their thick flesh, and in autumn they grow on trees in piles. Over the past 10 years, Tsukiyotake has been the most common cause of food poisoning from poisonous mushrooms nationwide. On the 30th of last month, six people in Ehime Prefecture ate Tsukiyotake mushrooms they had picked in the mountains, mistaking them for edible mushrooms, and complained of vomiting and other symptoms, two of whom were hospitalized. They were supposed to pick Oyster mushrooms, but ended up picking Tsukiyotake mushrooms, which look similar. Both mushrooms grow on trees, and when compared, they have the same color and shape. Is there a way to tell them apart? Odate: "There is a black stain at the base. It is a very easy-to-identify Tsukiyotake mushroom." If you look at a photo of the base of the mushroom, you can see that there is a black part at the base of the Tsukiyotake mushroom. This base is said to be the key to distinguishing it. And more... Odate: "There is something like a border around the border between the stem and the folds, which is called a protuberance." In comparison, you can see that the folds on the underside of the cap of the tsukiyotake are raised toward the base. This is also a unique feature of the tsukiyotake and is said to be a way to distinguish it. What should you be careful of to avoid eating poisonous mushrooms? Odate: "To avoid poisoning, don't pick them (carelessly), don't eat them, and don't give them to others. Please follow these rules." Poisonous mushrooms were found one after another at the mushroom identification event Last month, a mushroom observation event was held in a park in Chiba Prefecture. About 30 participants found mushrooms and identified what kind of mushroom they were. Just inside the park... Former Chiba Prefectural Museum Researcher Toshimitsu Fukiharu: "This is a real 'Amanita'. It's an obvious poisonous mushroom." A terrifying poisonous mushroom that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and even difficulty breathing if eaten. In addition, the highly poisonous "Fukurotsu-take mushroom," which is called the "deadly mushroom," was also found. Fukiharu: "It's a poisonous mushroom that first causes digestive poisoning, then the liver and kidney values ​​deteriorate, and then you die." At a mushroom identification event held in Nagano Prefecture, a health instructor checked whether the mushrooms brought by citizens were poisonous. And then... Health instructor: "It's a poisonous mushroom called 'Okinuhadatomayatake.'" "You'd better not eat this one... it's considered a poisonous mushroom." Among the mushrooms brought, one after another, poisonous mushrooms that can cause respiratory distress were found. Person who brought mushrooms: "(All poisonous mushrooms) All dead. I brought three kinds and it was no good... I'd like to have them identified because I don't want to eat them unknowingly and get poisoned. I'd like to have them identified every year." (From "Hatori Shinichi Morning Show" broadcast on November 14, 2024) [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp