How can you tell if a mushroom is edible or not?

Answer 1

im an big fan of camping and read alot of survival stuff first you see if any animals will touch it if not ...not a good sign afteer that take a rough material and rub the inside of your forearm slightly raw now rub a small amount on your skin if there is a reaction such as swelling more redness than just from the running it is prolly not good next try a small amount internally and wait 8 hours if you get sick it's a no go

Answer 2

There is no magic or simple answer to this one, and most all chances on wife's tales can be deadly. There are too many wrong methods to place here.
You can get books on the matter, and study them for weeks, and then still not be sure as most will tell you that a microscope is necessary to check the color, size and configuration of the "spores", which is actually the deadly part.
The spores from one bad mushroom can contaminate a whole group if all placed together.
Here in Cleveland I had the same interest, and at that time they had seminars at the local history or health museum, and their method was to teach us of a few good ones, and instructed us to beware of the rest.
Also, spring mushrooms are the most likely to be good to eat, and fall mushrooms should all be suspect.
I could name about a dozen that are known to be edible, and easy to identify, but here again, names are not good enough, you have to be shown by someone familiar with them, even then, mistakes are made and can be fatal.

Answer 3

No. You are not asking the correct question. To my knowledge, all mushrooms are edible... it's just that some of them can kill you or do you serious harm.

You should be asking: How can you tell if a species is toxic or not?

To this there is no simple answer. There is a section of a book written by Xavier Maniguet, I believe, which gives a checklist for non-toxicity determination of fungi. The list systematically throws out every kind of muchroom which has toxic characteristics- leaving you with totally edible ones. (It also throws out non-toxic ones which resemble toxic ones.)

You could always find a mycologist to teach you how to find non-toxic fungi in your area (fungi aren't really plants, you see), or join a local morel hunting club.

Answer 4

There is a vast number of types poisonous mushrooms. It is very hard to learn them all. There are a few that are good to eat and easy to learn how to tell what they are. Even then the risk of a mistake is that you die so you have to be very careful no matter what. Most people say to stick to only those you know and are easy to identify like giant puffballs, shaggy manes and certain morels. You still have to look it up because one bite of an amanita can kill you. Squirrels eat the most deadly form of mushrooms. They have evolved the ability so don't count on seeing other animals eat it as a safe guide.

Answer 5

Eat it and see if you get terribly ill or feel just fine a few minutes later.