OUTSIDE
Deadly invasive mushroom is spreading in B.C.
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by Martin Dunphy
he B.C. Centre for Disease Control has issued an alert for residents of southern British Columbia to watch for the world’s deadliest mushroom this fall. The death cap mushroom (scientific name Amanita phalloides) is an invasive species first discovered in Vancouver more than two decades ago. It is thought to have come here from Europe on the roots of imported trees. The poisonous fungus has been found growing on urban lawns in and around Victoria on Vancouver Island, on Galiano Island, all over Vancouver’s streets and boulevards, and up the Fraser Valley. Trees favoured by A. phalloides are sweet chestnut, hazelnut, hornbeam, beech, linden, and oak. The deadly fungus attacks the liver and kidneys, sometimes resulting in death or the need for organ transplantation. In 2016, a three-year-old in Victoria died of death cap poisoning. Vancouver mycologist Paul Kroeger, who has studied B.C. mushrooms for more than three decades, told the Straight by phone that commercial importation almost certainly is responsible for the death cap spread in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
In its early stages of fruiting, the death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) can resemble an edible fugus like puffballs; a later phase is similar to straw mushrooms. Photo by Paul Kroeger.
“Most of the Vancouver appearances were associated with street-tree plantings in the 1960s,� Kroeger, a consultant for the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC), said. “We think there’s a strong association with the recent spread [of A. phalloides] and the tree-nursery and horticulture industries.� Approximately 90 percent of fatalities caused by mushrooms worldwide are thought to be due to A. phalloides. The mortality rate after ingestion of death
caps is about 22 percent overall, with children under 10 only having a 50-50 chance at surviving. The fungus’s toxic compound, called amatoxin, is fatal in small doses and cannot be neutralized by cooking, drying, or freezing. Once eaten, symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and severe abdominal pain can appear within a half-dozen hours and up to a full day or more. Those warning indications often subside after a day or two, only to be replaced by severe signs of liver,
kidney, or multisystem organ failure within four to nine days. These can lead to hemorrhaging, convulsions, coma, and death. The BCCDC warns that pets are at grave risk as well. One of the contributing factors to the accidental eating of death caps is the fact that at two stages of its fruiting development, it resembles edible mushrooms: an early aboveground stage resembles the popular puffball mushroom, and a later stage bears a likeness to paddy straw mushrooms, which are sometimes used in Asian cooking. Kroeger told the Straight that if you have handled death caps, it’s best to take a simple precaution. “You don’t absorb much toxin through the skin, but you want to wash your hands afterwards.� The BCCDC notes in its alert that anyone who suspects mushroom poisoning should immediately call poison control at 1-800-567-8911. The centre also says that if you sight what you think may be death cap mushrooms in your neighbourhood, you should make note of the location, take photographs, and report it to the Invasive Species Council of B.C. g
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
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