Your Weakest Link

[Rick]

Canid - See post #10 on this thread. Only 5 are considered deadly.

[canid]

and if that where correct i'd not be disagreeing. there are a dozen deadly species in the genus amanita alone. you could use a new feild guide.

[canid]

it's like an obstacle course. take the wrong path and blam! stomache cramps, blindness, psychoactive stupor, coma, etc. take the correct path and [also blam!] best meal you've had all week. live long enough and it transitions from obstacle course to park or garden.

living is a dangerous endeavor.

i often think about the nature of ecology, biological development, adaptation/evolution [or design] and come to the conclusion that while i have my ideas about the way things work, i'll never understand. i'll be happy just navigating the thing forever.

luckily, it's easy to form a safe enough understanding if you build from the experiences of others. my hat is off to all those who gave of their lives or their health to help show us what is food/medicine/etc. and what is harmful.

[wareagle69]

not that i'm dissagreeing just looking to learn so candid can you list the dozen aminitas that are deadly cuz i have about 20 books on mushrooms and i can't see that so i'm always looking to learn the names in latin would be great so as not to mis id any that are called two different but are the same

thanks much for the info

wareagle

[canid]

partial list:
Amanita arocheae,
A. exitialis,
A. ocreata,
A. phalloides,
A.smithiana,
A. subjunquillea,
A. verna,
A. virosa.

this excludes the several species currently being monographed and the species which have not been assayed or whoe's assays have not been bublished. much of the work being done on amanitas in the americas is currently in the fields of molecular biology and sequencing and a complete documentation of species in the new world is a long way off.

[mbarnatl]

For me is is plant identification.

[wareagle69]

that is only 8 of which only four are found in north america the rest are either eurpoe or asia, now i understand that this is the world wide web, but that still only leaves 4 deadly aminitas in the north american area that i research out of what 5000, but i like where your going with this makes me pull my books out before i run my mouth off.

always be prepared..

[Rick]

Thanks, but my field guide has done me well for a lot of years. I'm still here and I still enjoy my 'shrooms. The numbers I listed are primary to North America and were only provided to demonstrate there are few mushrooms that are considered poisonous and fewer still that are considered deadly. You'll note in the thread that I did agree with PGV that eating the wrong one sort of discounts the numbers. Being dead is still dead.

But not to get hung up on 'shrooms because the same could be said for many other plants that can easily be picked in the wild. Right here in the Midwest we have Poisonous Hemlock, May Apple, Oak, Shunk Cabbage, Milkweeds, Blue Bonnet, Thorn Apple, Red Maple, and Foxglove just to name a few. You may even have plants in your house that are poisonous to some unsuspecting youngster or pet. Caladium (a.k.a. Angel Wings), Spider plant, Dieffenbachia, Dragon tree, English holly, Daffodil, Snowhead, Foxglove, Poinsettia, Airplant or Hyacinth.

Citing examples like Amanita exitialis is helpful from an overall educational perspective but the vast majority on here won't run into it.

[Rick]

I hate talking about wild edibles because I always run off on some tangent looking for stuff for my own amusement. Here is a link to a nice site that has a chart listing what part of a plant is edible and in what season. Scroll down to see the chart.

http://www.plantbio.ohiou.edu/epb/fa...sonalSched.htm

[woodwose]

I have a book that tells ya to learn a few wild edibles that are common in your area of consideration... learn those well and don't worry about the rest (don't eat them)... too many to learn and it boggles the mind. Learn those few that are there all the time and trust those and stick to those when you're out there.

Regarding wild food... you've got to be talking about extended survival situations.. in the U.S. the areas that we are most likely to be in when a survival situation arises are populated enough and rescue organizations are plentiful enough that food consumption is at the bottom of the list before you're most likely to be rescued... You will spend a shorter time in the wilderness because of those factors... unless you didn't tell anyone where you were going in the first place??

[canid]

good advice.

[Pan]

I realy like wild foods and am fascinated by mushrooms! Here I harvest ringless honey mushrooms, blewits, lacaria and several species of lactariae.
But to the origional question I think cordage is my biggest weakness. We have alot of yucca here and they make a suitable twine but I realy wish I could figure a way to strip the fibers faster.

[Pan]

I have a book that tells ya to learn a few wild edibles that are common in your area of consideration... learn those well and don't worry about the rest (don't eat them)... too many to learn and it boggles the mind. Learn those few that are there all the time and trust those and stick to those when you're out there.

Regarding wild food... you've got to be talking about extended survival situations.. in the U.S. the areas that we are most likely to be in when a survival situation arises are populated enough and rescue organizations are plentiful enough that food consumption is at the bottom of the list before you're most likely to be rescued... You will spend a shorter time in the wilderness because of those factors... unless you didn't tell anyone where you were going in the first place??

You are probably right about rescue being likely here in the US(or atleast most parts) but my interest lies not only in wildrness survival but also wilderness living and preservation of nearly forgoten arts (such as foraging for wild foods). Also I really enjoy some of the flavors that I've discovered through studying these feild guides ( and trying these plants and fungi, though not halfhartedly).
I think that positvely identifying a new mushroom and eating it is one of the things I love most about my treks. When "positively" identifying I use all the notes including spore print color and spore shape (microscope needed). If you realy want to know and enjoy wild mushrooms DON'T BE SCARED, BE SURE!!!!

[canid]

you might steam or wilt them [very briefly] by passing them over a fire or boiling water. this will soften everything but the fiber bundles just slightly, and make seperation easier and less wasteful. this can be done with nettle at least and seems suited to some other plants such as yucca with a little tweaking.

[wareagle69]

i have spent more time learning what not to eat in my area than anything else that way if i see something i can positive id if it is bad then the rest is trial and error but at least i know it won't kill me..

[woodwose]

You are probably right about rescue being likely here in the US(or atleast most parts) but my interest lies not only in wildrness survival but also wilderness living and preservation of nearly forgoten arts (such as foraging for wild foods). Also I really enjoy some of the flavors that I've discovered through studying these feild guides ( and trying these plants and fungi, though not halfhartedly).
I think that positvely identifying a new mushroom and eating it is one of the things I love most about my treks. When "positively" identifying I use all the notes including spore print color and spore shape (microscope needed). If you realy want to know and enjoy wild mushrooms DON'T BE SCARED, BE SURE!!!!

I am not scared of it but cautious.. There are wild plants that I absolutely know what they are.. and that they won't harm me. I stick to those when in a pinch in the wild. otherwise I pack my own foods in and go prepared. If discovering what is edible and not is what you like to do while out in the wilderness that is fine for you and the information you gain from that activity is certainly helpful to others here. I look at survival from a different perspective though and concentrate on other aspects of it at present. More power to you...