The perils of mushroom hunting
It may look harmless, but the farinosa is highly dangerous and damages the liver when ingested
If you want to eat mushrooms, don't pick wild ones - buy them.
That's Poison Information Centre director Dr Rick Lau Fei-lung's warning after the mushroom Amanita farinosa came close to killing a Hong Kong couple and made another man ill two days later.
The farinosa - named for its mealy appearance - is a member of a genus notorious worldwide for its 50 per cent mortality rate. Just one or two pieces could kill, Lau said.
Even so, it is not the most dangerous. That distinction goes to the Amanita phalloides - commonly known as the death cap, and most deadly not only among its genus but of any mushroom.
Lau said while there was no record of phalloides in Hong Kong, it was found in Shenzhen and Guangzhou - along with the related Amanita verna that regularly poisons people in the provincial capital - and its presence in the city was "very likely".
Most other commonly seen toxic mushrooms only upset the digestive system. But Amanita are hepatotoxic in that they also damage the liver and cause failure
"Most other commonly seen toxic mushrooms only upset the digestive system. But Amanita are hepatotoxic in that they also damage the liver and cause failure [of the organ]," he said.