Amanita? any suggestions please.

[diggleken]

There are a lot of harmful plants and fungi - it behoves parents and others in such as local countryside services who interact with kids to ensure children and adults are suitably aware and warned.
We cant live in a sterile utterly safe namby pamby environment but we can manage knowledge and awareness to minimise risk.
WAB is a good resource to learn to enable that.
Its just being sensible really.
Cheers
Ken

[andyj301]

Two things I've had since childhood are curiosity and impulsiveness, I've learnt the hard way to temper the latter and been lucky with it. Admittedly, kids eating fungi doesn't seem to be a problem, but that's possibly because they find other things to shove in their mouths first. My brother used to eat worms!

I was pretty sure the mushroom wasn't a deadly variety, but then the effects can vary from one person to the next. Also, my understanding is that most amanitas are pretty unpleasant and considering this one was within grasping distance of pre-schoolers in my local community... well, the learning continues

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by andyj301

Two things I've had since childhood are curiosity and impulsiveness, I've learnt the hard way to temper the latter and been lucky with it. Admittedly, kids eating fungi doesn't seem to be a problem, but that's possibly because they find other things to shove in their mouths first. My brother used to eat worms!

I was pretty sure the mushroom wasn't a deadly variety, but then the effects can vary from one person to the next. Also, my understanding is that most amanitas are pretty unpleasant and considering this one was within grasping distance of pre-schoolers in my local community... well, the learning continues

"I hope you dont fell all the Taxus, Laburnum and whatever poisonous trees and shrubs you else find, don't devast all crocus, daphnes and possibly all the flowers (who knows, may be they are poisonous?) you find in reach of a child - your town gonna be quite colourless ...." end of quote.

You're not listening are you. I'd hate to think what you would have done if you were carrying a chainsaw with you and a Yew tree or Laburnum were nearby, or if you had a spade - would you have dug up the crocus's ?

Seems to me you just want a Blue Peter badge.

Neil.

[andyj301]

Originally Posted by fairplay

"I hope you dont fell all the Taxus, Laburnum and whatever poisonous trees and shrubs you else find, don't devast all crocus, daphnes and possibly all the flowers (who knows, may be they are poisonous?) you find in reach of a child - your town gonna be quite colourless ...." end of quote.

You're not listening are you. I'd hate to think what you would have done if you were carrying a chainsaw with you and a Yew tree or Laburnum were nearby, or if you had a spade - would you have dug up the crocus's ?

Seems to me you just want a Blue Peter badge.

Neil.

If Blue Peter gave out badges for wind-ups I bet you'd have quite a collection

Andy J

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by andyj301

If Blue Peter gave out badges for wind-ups I bet you'd have quite a collection

Andy J

No attempt to wind you up Andy - just educate you, which i presume is what you are here for ?

Neil.

[thelawnet]

Originally Posted by andyj301

Two things I've had since childhood are curiosity and impulsiveness, I've learnt the hard way to temper the latter and been lucky with it. Admittedly, kids eating fungi doesn't seem to be a problem, but that's possibly because they find other things to shove in their mouths first. My brother used to eat worms!

I was pretty sure the mushroom wasn't a deadly variety, but then the effects can vary from one person to the next. Also, my understanding is that most amanitas are pretty unpleasant and considering this one was within grasping distance of pre-schoolers in my local community... well, the learning continues

It's far from true that 'most' amanitas are nasty, most are entirely innocuous. Also while there are reports of toddlers suffering mushroom poisoning, they all seem to result from ill-informed mushroom picking by their parents, not from children grazing on the lawn. Certainly my children find mushrooms rather less appetising than any of the many poisonous berries you can find around.

[Ditiola]

Not sure if I dare make any comments, but I can see both sides of the debate:

In a professional capacity I was often called to asses the possible dangers of fungi in grass areas used by very young children at City Council run and private nurseries. These nurseries were situated away from laburnum trees and other poisonous plants. In such cases there was often 20 young children and a couple of adults to supervise them, so unless they were sure of a safe environment they would have to keep the children inside even on nice days. If there was a case of poisoning I am sure that the parents would have been quick to make a claim!

When my son was quite young I gave him a Lactarius torminalis to taste, (very hot) and he has not been inclined to try to eat any other wild fungus without certification that its OK since!

Peter

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

Not sure if I dare make any comments, but I can see both sides of the debate:

In a professional capacity I was often called to asses the possible dangers of fungi in grass areas used by very young children at City Council run and private nurseries. These nurseries were situated away from laburnum trees and other poisonous plants. In such cases there was often 20 young children and a couple of adults to supervise them, so unless they were sure of a safe environment they would have to keep the children inside even on nice days. If there was a case of poisoning I am sure that the parents would have been quick to make a claim!

When my son was quite young I gave him a Lactarius torminalis to taste, (very hot) and he has not been inclined to try to eat any other wild fungus without certification that its OK since!

Peter

That (the fungi) is a completely different view to which Blah Blah County Council take. I will not mention the park for fear a person reading this will go out of the way to make themselves a nuisance, but growing in the woodchips placed on purpose in the children's play area, and in many other places around the country park, are Amanita phalloides - responsible for more fatalities than any other fungus. Also there are Gymopilus dilepis, various Psathyrella and Stropharia species, plus Volvariella caesiotincta all within 10 metres of the play area.

This park is in the country side and the council expect the public to treat it accordingly. The last thing the council want is a self appointed 'hero' to come along and save the world.

Neil.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by andyj301

@mollisia thanks for the suggestion on the species.

To both of you, I hope this judgemental and myopic, 'bleeding heart' attitude to environmentalism doesn't run too deep in the mycology community. First, you ought to know the mushroom had already been kicked over before I found it, otherwise I would've been willing to consider the possibility that any parent would have the sense to educate, or at least protect, their child. Also, by the tone of your comments, I have to wonder if you prize the wellbeing of a mushroom over the health of someone of your own species. It's just this sort of condescending attitude that will put off people trying to learn, you should look in the mirror before accusing others of poor judgment. Shame on you both.

Andy, I entirely empathise with your response, and although the replies to your post are based on science, they aren't 'socially smart'. One aspect of fungi, when considering young children, is that while few children over the age of two will be stuffing just anything in their mouths, many children will see fungi, either in terms of 'mushrooms as food', or recognise them from story books as something 'attractive'. I know very directly of one case where a certain play group member found a ring of fungi on the grass play area and she and her friends decided to sample them - no harm done in that case but an anxious time for partents, and nursery staff.

Yes it's sad that more people don't understand fungi, and don't educate chldren at an early age about safety and interaction with the natural world - but in the meantime removing obvious dangers from the reach of young children is the smart thing to do. Not for the first time this little corner of WAB has demonstrated a monumental lack of social awareness. It doesn't bother me because I'm a miserable git anyway - but it hardly meets with WABs stated objectives.

CM

[mollisia]

Hello,

what I intented to say with my contribution is not that I think one should be blamed for removing a fungus from a children's playground.
I wanted to open the eyes that to prevent the children from all danger in their world would be a sysyphus' task. You can not carry them on your hands safely through their life until they are grown up - they would never be ....

But of course I see that there are limits, how far you let your children make their own experiences. Of course I do not want my children to jump out of the window in the 7th floor, just to learn that one doesn't survive that And I wouldn't want them to bit into a Destroying Angle, nor in Belladonna or Taxus berries. But I wouldn't come to the idea, that I could bring the town council or the kindergarden chief or whomever before court if it would happen nevertheless.
There is an ancient word, which come out of use since several years. But the older generation still remembers that long ago, in the last century, people knew its meaning. It's called self responsibility

And I have also learned that those limits can be very different from parents to parents Even more from adults without kids

best regards,
Andreas