Most poisonous mushrooms don't look sinister. They look like the ones in the supermarket, or the ones in the foraging book, or the ones a friend picked last year. That is the whole problem. This guide covers the species that most often cause serious poisonings in the UK, the edibles they are mistaken for, and what to do if the worst happens. The rule behind all of it: never eat a wild mushroom unless its identity has been confirmed by an experienced local expert, in person.
Why lookalikes are so dangerous: delayed symptoms
With most food poisoning, you feel ill quickly and you know what caused it. The deadliest mushrooms don't work that way.
- Amatoxins (in the death cap, destroying angels and funeral bell) usually cause no symptoms for 6 to 24 hours. Then come severe vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain, sometimes followed by a period where the person seems to recover while liver damage continues. Cooking, freezing and drying do not destroy these toxins.
- Orellanine (in the deadly and fool's webcaps) can take from a couple of days to two or three weeks to cause symptoms, by which time the kidneys may be badly damaged.
- Gyromitrin (in false morels) typically causes symptoms 6 to 12 hours later and can damage the liver and nervous system.
By the time someone feels ill, the meal is long forgotten, which is why early medical advice saves lives.
The death cap
The death cap (Amanita phalloides) is responsible for a large share of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide.
- Cap: smooth, usually olive-green to yellowish green, sometimes pale or almost white, up to around 15 cm (6 in) across.
- Gills: white, crowded, and free of the stem. They stay white as the mushroom ages.
- Stem: white, often with faint greenish markings, with a thin, skirt-like ring near the top (it can fall off).
- Base: a loose, white, sack-like cup (the volva) around a swollen base. It is often buried, so it gets left behind when a mushroom is snapped off.
- Where: on the ground with oak, beech, hazel and sweet chestnut, from late summer to late autumn.
People mistake it for field mushrooms, for puffballs when it is still a round "egg", for green or yellow edible species they know from elsewhere, and for green brittlegills (Russula), which have no ring and no volva.
Destroying angels
Destroying angels are pure white Amanitas with the same deadly toxins as the death cap. In the UK the destroying angel (Amanita virosa) is uncommon and more often found in the north.
Everything about them is white: cap, gills, stem, ring and volva. They are mistaken for button, field and horse mushrooms and, at the egg stage, for puffballs. Two quick checks rule out many mix-ups, though never all of them: edible Agaricus mushrooms have pink to chocolate-brown gills and no volva, and a true puffball is pure white and featureless inside when cut top to bottom, with no outline of a cap and gills.
Regional killers to know
Deadly webcap and fool's webcap
The deadly webcap (Cortinarius rubellus) has an orange-brown to tawny cap, often with a small central point, rusty-brown gills and a stem with faint yellowish zigzag bands. It grows in damp, acidic conifer woods, especially with pine and spruce, and is more common in the north of Britain and in Scotland. The fool's webcap (Cortinarius orellanus) looks similar but grows in broadleaf woods with oak, beech and hazel, and is rare. Both are mistaken for chanterelles because of their colour. A chanterelle has blunt, forked ridges under the cap, not true rusty gills, and young webcaps have a cobweb-like veil under the cap. See our chanterelle identification guide.
Funeral bell
The funeral bell (Galerina marginata) is a small brown mushroom on rotting wood, with rusty-brown gills and a ring on a thin stem. It contains the same toxins as the death cap. It is mistaken for velvet shank, sheathed woodtuft and honey fungus, which also grow on wood, sometimes side by side with it. Small brown mushrooms on wood are strictly for experts.
False morel
The false morel (Gyromitra esculenta) has a reddish-brown cap of brain-like folds rather than pits, and is chambered or cottony inside rather than hollow. It is uncommon in the UK and fruits in spring, often with conifers.
False chanterelle
The false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) is orange throughout, with thin, crowded, true gills that fork repeatedly, and grows among conifer litter, on heaths and on wood chip. It is not considered deadly, but it can upset stomachs and is not worth eating. If you can't separate it from a chanterelle, you can't safely separate a chanterelle from a webcap either.
Yellow stainer
The yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus) is the classic field mushroom mistake. Cut through the very base of the stem: the yellow stainer turns a vivid chrome yellow almost instantly, and rubbing the cap edge can turn it yellow too. It has an unpleasant inky or carbolic smell, stronger when cooked. It grows in gardens, parks, hedgerows and woodland edges, and causes vomiting, cramps and diarrhea.
Lookalike table
| Poisonous species | Mistaken for | Key differences | Where found (UK) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death cap | Field mushroom, puffballs (egg stage), green brittlegill | White gills, ring, sack-like volva at the base | With oak, beech, hazel, sweet chestnut, late summer to autumn |
| Destroying angel | Field and horse mushrooms, puffballs | All white, white gills, ring, volva | Uncommon, more often in northern woods |
| Deadly webcap | Chanterelle | True rusty-brown gills, cobweb veil when young | Damp conifer woods, mostly north and Scotland |
| Fool's webcap | Chanterelle | True rusty-brown gills, cobweb veil when young | Broadleaf woods, rare |
| Funeral bell | Velvet shank, sheathed woodtuft, honey fungus | Small, rusty-brown gills, ring on a thin stem | Rotting stumps and logs |
| False morel | Morel | Brain-like folds, chambered inside | Conifer woods in spring, uncommon |
| Deadly fibrecap | St George's mushroom | Bruises red, no mealy smell, usually from late June | Woodland and parkland in summer |
| False chanterelle | Chanterelle | Thin, forked true gills, orange throughout | Conifer litter, heaths, wood chip |
| Yellow stainer | Field mushroom | Chrome-yellow stain at cut stem base, inky smell | Gardens, parks, hedgerows |
Myths that put people in hospital
None of these "tests" work. Every one of them has been followed by a poisoning:
- "If it peels, it's safe." The death cap peels easily.
- "Silver or garlic turns black near poison." It doesn't.
- "Animals or slugs eat it, so it's fine." Slugs, rabbits and other animals can eat mushrooms that are deadly to people.
- "Cooking or boiling removes toxins." Not the deadly ones.
- "It smells and tastes nice." Survivors of death cap poisoning have reported that it tasted good.
- "Mushrooms on wood are all safe." The funeral bell grows on wood.
- "The app said it was edible." Photo apps are a starting point for learning, not a safety check.
If someone may have eaten a poisonous mushroom
- Call 999 if the person is seriously ill: unconscious, struggling to breathe, having a seizure, or collapsed.
- Otherwise call NHS 111 straight away, even if they feel completely fine. The deadliest species are the ones that cause no symptoms for hours.
- Don't try to make them vomit, and don't give them anything to eat or drink unless told to.
- Keep the evidence. Put any leftover mushrooms, raw or cooked, plus peelings and trimmings, in a paper bag (not plastic), and take photos. Take it all to hospital.
- Note the details: what was eaten, how much, when, and who else shared the meal. Everyone who ate it needs advice, not just the person who feels ill.
The short version
- The death cap and destroying angels kill more foragers than anything else, and cooking does not make them safe.
- Always check the gills, ring and base, and dig up the whole base to look for a volva.
- Webcaps, the funeral bell, false morels, the deadly fibrecap and the yellow stainer are the other UK species to know on sight.
- No myth or kitchen test can tell you a mushroom is safe.
- Never eat a wild mushroom unless an experienced local expert has confirmed it. If you're new, start with our mushroom foraging for beginners guide and check the foraging calendar for when these species fruit near you.
- If you want gourmet mushrooms with no identification risk at all, grow them: see the easiest mushrooms to grow at home.