Health bosses warn Victorians against picking wild poisonous mushrooms

Victorians are being warned against picking and ingesting the potentially deadly fungi.

Foragers are being warned about potentially deadly mushrooms growing across Victoria as the weather becomes wetter and colder.

Death cap and yellow-staining mushrooms appear during the autumn months, and if ingested,

can be poisonous.

The states’s chief health officer Dr Christian McGrath urged Victorians not to pick and eat wild mushrooms unless they are an expert, and clear any that are spotted growing out of the way of children and pets.

Yellow stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus) is a type of poisonous mushroom that grows in Victoria in autumn.

“Anyone who collects and consumes wild mushrooms of unknown species is putting themselves at risk of potential poisoning and serious illness,” he said on Tuesday.

“Consuming a death cap mushroom may result in death.”

All wild mushrooms should be disposed of using gloves and placed into landfill bins, with no home tests currently available to distinguish safe and edible mushrooms from poisonous ones – which can cause stomach pains, nausea vomiting and diarrhoea.

Mushrooms purchased from a supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable source are safe to eat, Dr McGrath added.

Ingesting wild mushrooms, such as death caps, can be potentially deadly and cause stomach pains, nausea vomiting and diarrhoea. Source: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

Multiple deaths have been reported from suspected mushroom poisoning in Victoria in recent years.

In April 2024, 53-year-old Rachael Dixon went into cardiac arrest and died after allegedly drinking a hallucinogenic concoction prepared from wild mushrooms.

She was attending a healing retreat when she drank the fatal magic mushroom tea.

Help is available around the clock via the Victorian Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26, or the Animal Poisons Helpline on 1300 869 738, to seek urgent medical advice.