GYROMITRA MUSHROOM TOXICITY

Course overview

GYROMITRA ESCULENTA, THE FALSE MOREL MUSHROOM, HAS UNIQUE TOXICITY. THE MUSHROOM DERIVES ITS NAME (ESCULENTA) FROM THE LATIN FOR EDIBLE. CERTAIN CULTURES, AS WELL AS MANY MUSHROOM GUIDES AND WEBSITES, CONSIDER THIS MUSHROOM SAFE TO EAT PROVIDED THAT PROPER PREPARATION TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS PAR-BOILING, ARE USED TO REDUCE ITS TOXICITY. UNFORTUNATELY, SEVERAL INCIDENCES OF POISONING HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN FORAGERS SEEKING AND INGESTING THE GYROMITRA ESCULENTA. IN GENERAL, MOST POISONINGS OCCUR WHEN FORAGERS SEARCH FOR TRUE MORELS, SUCH AS MORCHELLA SPECIES, BUT INSTEAD FIND AND CONSUME GYROMITRA. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE PRESENTATION OF GYROMITRA POISONING AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH THIS DISORDER.