ID for fungus found under black plastic

[Dragonyka]

Hi,

I turned back some black plastic that has been covering an area of my allotment for approx 9 months and found this underneath. There are lots of old wood chips in the ground here but other than that I have no information sorry.



It's probably something really common, but I don't know where to start trying to identify it hence the pics here for you experts.

Thanks

[Chris Yeates]

It's a Psathyrella - a difficult genus even with microscopy I'm afraid . . .

cheers

Chris

[Dragonyka]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

It's a Psathyrella - a difficult genus even with microscopy I'm afraid . . .

cheers

Chris

Hi Chris, thanks for the quick response. I'll google it now I've got a name to start with

[Dragonyka]

Googled it!

Glad now that my 10 y.o. son who took the pictures didn't actually touch it.

I'll certainly remember in future to be cautious when coming across new fungi!

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Dragonyka

Googled it!

Glad now that my 10 y.o. son who took the pictures didn't actually touch it.

I'll certainly remember in future to be cautious when coming across new fungi!

What did Google come up with? Psathyrella is a relatively inocuous genus (unless you've wasted hours trying to name one!), and touching it won't do you any harm . . . .

Chris

[Dragonyka]

I just googled it and looked at the wikipedia entry.

Psathyrella

It was the section about being poisoned that worried me - I don't know fungi well enough to know how much contact is enough to poison you if, for example, you got some on your fingers and then licked them. And I doubt if my son had said he didn't feel well later that evening that I would have even considered that he'd touched a fungus earlier in the day. Scaring myself probably, but trying to make myself more aware of the potential at the same time, I think.

Thanks for the re-introduction of reality. Are there many fungi that are sufficiently poisonous to cause a reaction through accidental ingestion of a small amount?

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Dragonyka

I just googled it and looked at the wikipedia entry.

Thanks for the re-introduction of reality. Are there many fungi that are sufficiently poisonous to cause a reaction through accidental ingestion of a small amount?

Of course caution is advised when dealing with anything unknown, accidental ingestion of a small amount could lead to possible serious complications, but in that instance we are talking about a handful (of many thousands) of the larger fungi

touching and licking fingers would almost certainly be OK . . . . but why risk it?

That said there are more members of the flowering plants - both in the wild and in gardens - which could cause potentially lethal effects

think yew berries - I love them, but I know that you don't swallow the stone! I would never eat Chicken of the Woods (a good edible fungus) if it was growing on yew

in my experience kids are very sensible on these matters, but to get back to your find - don't worry about that Psathyrella . . . . really

I've just looked at that wikipedia item and three things occur to me:

(a) he thought (I'm not sure why, as they are very different) he was eating Agaricus - therefore one assumes he had eaten a fair amount - I would never eat any wild fungus I hadn't collected myself unless it had been collected by someone whose expertise I trusted, or a collection I had examined myself . . .

(b) given the above confusion - can he even be 100% certain he was definitely eating a Psathyrella?

(c) the consumption of alcohol with fungi can exacerbate any negative effects

we tend to avoid discussion of edibility on WAB - but in this instance I hope the Mod's will realise why I've expanded on this

Chris

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

we tend to avoid discussion of edibility on WAB - but in this instance I hope the Mod's will realise why I've expanded on this

Chris

No problem with this at all Chris.

The only other point I would add is, 'Wikipedia' is 'as is'. Anyone can add or edit content.

John

[mollisia]

Hello,

the description in the Psathyrella article in Wikipedia of the poisoning is not only strange in itself, it is also not correct to compare the given symptomes with the symptoms caused by Amanita pantherina.
Symptomes as described - means a combination of vision problems and breath problems - may occure in consumption of hallucinogenic fungi or with Muscarin, but not with the Ibotenic acid of Amanita pantherina. The most characteristic symptome for a poisoning with Amanita pantherina is a strong excitement, often leading to attacks of rage. This is usually followed by an overwhelming tiredness, making the patient up to 20 hours sleeping.
Another possibility which might explain the symptoms is a singular allergic reaction on the consumed fungus or the combination of this fungus and alcohol. The symptoms are not the symptoms of a Coprin poisoning as known from Coprinellus atramentarius.

best regards,
Andreas

[solus]

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

No problem with this at all Chris.

The only other point I would add is, 'Wikipedia' is 'as is'. Anyone can add or edit content.

John

It is because anyone can add or edit stuff on Wikipedia that it really should never be taken to be 100% correct on any subject - and if it was yesterday it may all have changed by tomorrow! Double check with a known reliable source and /or remember to keep that pinch of salt handy... Whatever the subject matter.