Are you a mycologist?
 

I'm very curious about all the mushrooms popping up in lawns and golf courses all over the place.

From a distance, they all look the same, rather like button mushrooms we buy in the supermarket. What are they? How can I tell if they are safe to eat? There are so many!

We were told by Jim Davis, from the University of Florida Extension....office in Sherriff station at Morse and 466, NOT to eat them. Jim is the go to guy for plant info.

Thanks, but did he offer any information about what they might be and why we shouldn't eat them? Mind you, I find them intriguing, but I'm not about to experiment without some solid guidance.

You know, he didn't give a name of the fungi, he said not to,eat them. I'm sure he explained why, I was distracted by something else that needed my attention. I'll take him at his word on this.
There are a number of mushrooms that grow in FL lawns and toxic and non-toxic look very much alike to the untrained. Better to caution on the side of safety.

I agree completely.

Recent article ...Mushroom thrive in wet weather - Orlando Sentinel

You can find more scientific information, but probably better to just consider them non-edible....for humans and pets alike.

If you are not a mycologist, you would do well to just eat the ones from the grocery store. They don't cost enough to justify the risk.

I wholeheartedly agree! :thumbup:


I'm not anxious to take an unplanned trip.

I used to live in Minnesota. Some years ago, we have a great number of Hmong immigrants from Viet Nam. Sadly, many of Minnesota's mushrooms looked very much like mushrooms they were accustomed to harvesting back home.

In some cases, entire families died of acute liver failure. It just isn't worth the risk unless you fully understand FL mushrooms.

Believe me, I'm not about to try them without expert guidance--just curious.

I think they are Parasol mushrooms. Parasol mushrooms often grow in "fairy rings" presumably from a central
rhizome.
They are mildly toxic and made more toxic growing on lawns and golf courses that are heavily fertilized.
I won't eat any mushrooms except from the grocery store. Even then I wash them carefully. I know what they're grown in.

:eek: