Southwest part of Mo.

Veronica - Wow! I am impressed as usual with your knowledge of esoteric fungal information! I found another interesting tidbit in this article that states hydrazines are in only THREE species of edible mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus, Gyromitra esculenta, and Lentinus edodes, or Shiitake. Obviously G. esculenta must at least sometimes contain either more of or a stronger toxin than the other two, since there are few if any poisonings from either of the other two edibles mentioned, at least that I can find. I am sure the key is in the preparation of the mushroom, as the article you posted stressed. Cook your shrooms and you won't die - easy, right? Every account I have read, ten at least, of poisoning by false morels indicated either improper cooking or some kind of individual sensitivity, like when one person out of several becomes severely ill or dies while the rest are unaffected.

I am mystified by the false morel dilemma and this has been a great addition to my outlook on the issue. The world of the fungus ceases to amaze me! Thanks again V. for the article and awesome information!

Greggster - smguffer, from reading his posts for the past few weeks, seems quite well-informed on his mushroom facts and I think he "knows the difference" And what does eating psilocybes have to do with false morel poisonings?!? Psilocybin is not a deadly toxin like gyromitrin, and you don't fry up psilocybes for dinner! That would be pretty nasty to eat that kind of mushroom in very much quantity, and a very different kind of experience from exposure to gyromitrin definitely!

I feel that it is a choice for the individual, as I feel about just about everything else, and there is obvious, massive contradiction and confusion about whether a false morel will hurt you or not. If you are a cautious person, it would be your choice to not eat false morels ever, but also not store bought button mushrooms or shiitakes either, since they contain similar toxins as the false morel which are also destroyed by cooking. But if you like to live life on the edge, and some may say to the fullest, you might find an experienced old timer to show you the world of the "Reds" and try one! I have yet to brave the experience, but I am intrigued and definitely fall into the latter category of a person who is willing to go against conventional wisdom and trust the knowledge of a well-seasoned forager who can assure me of the well-established safety of our meal based on his or her personal experience.

So if it is safest to NEVER eat a false morel, should we NEVER eat store bought button mushrooms or Shiitakes either?

Sorry for the giant post - great topic!

But wait - there's more!

The wikipedia page for morels, Morchella species, states that our beloved quarry to which we devote so much adoration, contains small amounts of hydrazines also! On pages 271-272 of Paul Stamets' book Mycelium Running, he states that you can get sick from the vapors of cooking morels due to the release of toxic hydrazines caused by cooking. Crazy! So I have never heard that morels contain similar toxins as false morels, has anyone else? So the article I mentioned that claims hydrazines are in only three species seems to be inaccurate and there may be others as well!

Here's the link to that article which I forgot to include in the last post: http://books.google.com/books?id=vYeZVwpb8t4C&pg=PA566&lpg=PA566&dq=agaric+hydrazine&source=bl&ots=J2uV5JbgMB&sig=6sxKbvroi9D_JjEd6jg4scDl_Tc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=keFYU-3xHsmh8AGjnIHICA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=agaric%20hydrazine&f=false
The statement about three species is at the bottom of page 566 and continues on to the following page.

Cook your shrooms!

i think we all pretty much identify false morels in these parts as Gyromitra esculenta which have killed people. some people eat them and are fine, others arent. not sure if its an allergic reaction or if they're not thoroughly cooked. like i said, i think its a bad idea suggesting they're harmless or safe to eat for everyone reading these forums to see. but thats the last ill say about it.