Am 15.09.2011 21:32, schrieb Orchid XP v8:

>> Are lay people warned to...
>>
>> a) not eat self-collected fungi that have a certain well-known look, or
>> b) not eat /any/ self-collected fungi unless they're /absolutely/ sure
>> of what they are?
>>
>> Is this because...
>>
>> a) the toxic species of fungi are so few that they can easily be
>> described and remembered, or
>> b) the toxic species of fungi are too many to be easily described or
>> remembered?
>
> How about
>
> c) Most of the toxic species have no known antidote and are usually
> very, very fatal.
>
> People are also advised to drive at 30 MPH in areas where people live,
> even if there are no people there.
>
> Alternatively,
>
> d) Most fungi actually look pretty similar to each other, and you need
> specialist equipment to tell them apart.

Note your use of the word "most" here, implying a significant number of 
toxic fungi in both cases, hence indicating that a) can be ruled out at 
any rate.

That aside, AFAIK c) is not true (only few fungi must be classified as 
"very, very fatal", at least in the sense of being frequently fatal even 
with good medical care), and neither is d) (I've never heard of any 
toxic fungi that need specialist /equipment/ to distinguish them from 
any edible species of fungi; AFAIK, the most that is required is a good 
deal of attention to visual details, and of course profound knowledge 
about the similarities and differences between edible fungi and their 
toxic look-alikes).


(Disclaimer: I Am Not A Fungi Expert, so don't rely on the above.)

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