Penny Bun Bolete (Boletus Edulis) ??

[Andrewwild]

I think the pictures below are of a
Penny Bun Bolete (Boletus Edulis) which is not Poisonous??

Can i have confirmation, as my son picked it up. He did not put his fingers in his mouth, and his hands wre washed immedatly
It was found on the edge of a group of 3 trees in a park today


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[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Andrew,

The fungus does have the look of B.edulis, but I can't be absolutely certain from the photos.

However, handling the fungus - or any fungus at all that might be encountered in Britain, (including the very poisonous ones), will not cause any harm.

Putting fingers into mouth might carry a slight risk - if the fungus handled was poisonous, but the amount of toxins that would (or might be) be transferred by such action would be very small.

I certainly haven't heard of anyone becoming ill (attributed to a fungus) in such circumstances. Although it is obviously best hygene practice to ensure hands are washed after handling fungi - or anything else picked up in the countryside for that matter, before handling food.

It generally accepted that it is only by actually eating a poisonous mushroom/fungus, that any real harm might/will be caused.

So, no cause for alarm.

Might be worth while trying to explain the hazard to your son, but I appreciate that he may be too young to understand - in which case you can't do any more than keep your eyes on him.

Regards,
Mike.

[Andrewwild]

Thanks Mike, I've told my son (2 years old) about picking up things but as yet its not sinking in, I will keep renforcing the message as he gets older

Andrew

[fairplay]

Andrew, some common sense there from Mike, but I'd like to go a bit further -

The only way you could transfer sufficient fungal material to your mouth by handling a fungus is if you had quite long nails and you purposefully dug your nails into the fungus and sucked each finger in turn and maybe used the tip of your tongue to prise each teensy weensy morsel out from under your nails.
This is an extremely unlikely scenario, and even then, I doubt very much if you could transfer sufficient amounts of the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) in this way to put yourself in a life threatening situation - but best not to try it.

Neil.

[jonbem]

Originally Posted by Andrewwild

Thanks Mike, I've told my son (2 years old) about picking up things but as yet its not sinking in, I will keep renforcing the message as he gets older

Andrew

In the existing "namby pamby" "health & safety" & "NIMBY" situation we find ourselves in, if you are really worried then dress your child in a sealed suit & with its own air source of course, feed then on mass produced supermarket fodder, then let them take drugs and consume copius amounts of alcohol, then perhaps mother nature will find a happy medium for life on this planet.
In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) the bigger threat to our youth/children is the apparent lack of education of the current generation of parents of children in school years.

[Gerel]

Originally Posted by jonbem

In the existing "namby pamby" "health & safety" & "NIMBY" situation we find ourselves in, if you are really worried then dress your child in a sealed suit & with its own air source of course, feed then on mass produced supermarket fodder, then let them take drugs and consume copius amounts of alcohol, then perhaps mother nature will find a happy medium for life on this planet.
In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) the bigger threat to our youth/children is the apparent lack of education of the current generation of parents of children in school years.

What triggered this strange rant?

The degree of risk posed by fungi is not something that is known innately. It seems to me that the original post was perfectly sensible, i.e. "I don't think this is dangerous but I'm not sure?" and "is there any other action I should take to protect my child?". What's wrong with that?