The forest floor is a wonderous place of concentrated biological interactions. It is an area to be inquisitive, a habitat I visit to be inspired. But this place is to be respected too. One misidentification can result in people actually dying. When I first started mushroom hunting, if I came across a light-colored terrestrial fungus with a veil and a bulbous volva, I approached with caution, knowing it could be one of those deadly Amanita species. The species featured in today’s edition of Fungi Friday is more cryptic than those deadly looking Amanitas. Galerina marginata not only varies in its appearance, but it looks like a few other edible species that also grow from woody debris. 

Ever since mycologists first started describing this species, it has been largely misidentified. Up until 2001, Galerina marginata was actually split up into five distinct species. Gulden et al. 2001 used a genomic approach to study these so called “separate species.” Their results showed synonymy between these Galerina individuals carrying slightly different traits. In other words, once the genomes of these once separated species was analyzed, it was realized that G. autumnalis, G. marginata, G. oregonensis, G. unicolor, and G. venenata are actually just one species. And this spells trouble for mushroom hunters like you and I. 

I have found Galerina marginata several times throughout my mycological career and I can attest to the diversity of forms these mushrooms can embody. I’ve found Galerina marginata with viscous shiny caps, and I’ve found them with more tacky feeling matte caps. These characteristics used to help identify different species of Galerina, but in the end, the species is just plastic, and depending on environmental conditions, may vary in its appearance. 

In the same 2001 study, G. pseudomycenopsis was also analyzed and also couldn’t be distinguished as a separate species genomically. However, unlike the other varieties of G. marginata, G. pseudomycenopsis differs in its ecology, fruiting body color and spore size. Instead of feeding from dead hardwood logs, G. pseudomycenopsis is a moss saprophyte, growing in dense patches of moss. In 2005 the taxonomic uncertainty of G. pseudomycenopsis was revisited by Gulden again with a different team. Again, they had issues sequencing its genome, but carried out mating trials which revealed that G. pseudomycenopsis spores were incompatible with Galerina marginata spores. Because they can’t mate, they have been since been more concretely distinguished as separate species.

Besides this species having a wide variety of appearances, it also looks similar to several other edible species.  Mushrooms from the genera Pholiota and Armillaria, as well as the edible species Kuehneromyces mutabilis and Flammulina velutipes not only look similar to the deadly Galerina but fruit from the same woody substrate. Like the drastically different looking deadly Amanita mushrooms, G. marginata contains amatoxins too. Amatoxins are responsible for nearly 90% of all mushroom related deaths! After reading some amatoxin encounters from survivors, this is not the way you want to go. 

Consuming amatoxins results in 12-24 of moderate sickness (coughing, dizziness, stomach pain, diarrhea, followed by a 12-24 hour period of general well-being. That’s the scary part; you think you’re in the clear. Two days after consuming amatoxins, the compounds effects are vividly apparent. This compound inhibits the synthesis of messenger RNA so basic protein synthesis is stopped in its tracts. It also causes perforations in cells the compound comes into contact with. Eventually the liver literally disintegrates as the liver cells cannot repair themselves. Unless a liver transplant is performed pretty immediately, a painful, drawn out death is nearly inevitable.

The forest floor is an incredible place, but it must be respected.  Approach with caution when foraging for edible fungi. The goal here wasn’t to try and scare you into staying inside for the remainder of fall, but to just warn you of the dangers of misidentification. For more than a hundred years, Galerina marginata was known as several different species. It truly does vary greatly in its appearance, so make sure when your removing small to medium brown mushrooms from fallen hardwoods, to be 100% before consumption. Death by mushroom is not the way you want to go.   

[Link 1] [Link 2]