Bigfoot's Friend

A family in southeastern Pennsylvania had the scare of their lives after consuming wild mushrooms that they had unfortunately improperly identified.

The Facts:

In early October 2024, an Amish family in York County, PA had eaten some wild mushrooms with dinner that one of the family members had found earlier that day.

After everyone who ate the mushrooms began feeling ill, they knew that they needed to call for help.

One of the family members had to walk nearly a 1/2 mile to find a public phone to dial 911 since the Amish do not usually keep modern devices like telephones in their homes.

They reported that 11 of the family members – a man, a woman, and 9 children had eaten wild mushrooms that day and were all experiencing negative symptoms.

The situation was treated as a “mass casualty incident” because of the number of people who were potentially deathly ill.

It took 6 ambulances to transport them to a nearby hospital where they were all admitted for treatment.

Thankfully, there were no fatalities and they were all later released from the hospital and expected to make a full recovery.

The Speculations:

Reddit user barantula posted this photo with the following caption:

“My husband’s in a bunch of the Facebook PA mushroom groups… Members were thinking jack-o’-lanterns were consumed cause of other groups they were in with posts from the same town… something something…this was the picture that’s since been removed”

According to Reddit users local to where the incident happened, the family believed they had found Chicken of the Woods mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus).

However, the photos in this image are of the toxic look a like – Jack-o’ lanterns (Omphalotus illudens) which are likely what they had consumed.

Jack-o’ lantern mushrooms are commonly misidentified as Chicken of the Woods, or as Chantrelles, both of which are edible and frequently foraged.

Fortunately, most novice foragers have the world wide web and an army of mycology experts online to help guide them before mistakenly consuming these.

This Amish family likely did not have easy access to many identification resources which may have led to this nearly fatal incident.

The Lesson:

Stories like this are a great reminder to be careful when foraging for wild edibles, especially mushrooms.

As most mycologists often say: Any mushroom is edible, at least once.

While foraging is an exciting adventure, it is crucial to prioritize safety. This is why I always preach to cross reference everything that you find and to never consume anything you have not thoroughly studied.

Seek guidance from experienced foragers and cross reference reliable field guides to ensure proper identification. If you are ever unsure of any plant identification, throw it away.

It’s never worth the risk of harming yourself or others if you are not positive that what you have found is safe for consumption.

More on foraging safety tips:

Top 3 Mushroom Foraging Guides (North America)

Foragers Beware! Don’t Trust AI Written Field Guides In 2024

7 Essential Items for Successful Foraging In 2024

References:

NBC 10 Philadelphia: 11 people hospitalized after eating toxic mushrooms in Pennsylvania

Reddit: Mass casualty Incident after children and adults eat toxic mushrooms in Pennsylvania

Today: Entire family, including 9 children, hospitalized after eating toxic mushrooms

Thanks for reading, and stay safe out there!

-Jessica C.