An expert has warned against eating poisonous fungi after a hiker spotted what he thought was the world’s deadliest fungi, called poison fire coral, but which turned out to be a less harmful species, Clavulinopsis miyabeana.
A hiker surnamed Lee (李) on Saturday said that he took a photograph of a cluster of red fungi he saw on his way to Gaoyaoshan (高腰山) in New Taipei City’s Wulai District (烏來) last month.
After discussing the picture with a retired science teacher, they concluded that it looked like poison fire coral, also known as Podostroma cornu-damae, which is native to Japan, but has been found as far away as Australia.
Photo courtesy of hiker surnamed Lee
Lee became concerned that people might pick the bright red fungus for consumption.
Fungus expert Lin Tzu-chao (林子超), who published a paper on poison fire coral as a new species in Taiwan, said that the fungus in the picture Lee took is likely Clavulinopsis miyabeana, based on its appearance.
Poison fire coral has rodlike, solid, fleshy and reddish orange stromata that point upward and are white inside, Lin said, adding that they are 6cm to 10cm in height and 0.7cm to 1cm in diameter.
Clavulinopsis miyabeana is different in that it is hollow and rodlike, and 3cm to 4cm tall, he said.
Poison fire coral, a type of saprophytic fungus, grows in scattered patterns on the ground beneath broad-leaved trees, and its spores are dispersed by wind, Lin said.
It has been found in China, South Korea, and on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), but not on Taiwan proper, he said.
While touching poison fire coral is not harmful, it must not be eaten, he said.
There was a case in South Korea of two people drinking water cooked with wild lingzhi mushroom they gathered without knowing that it contained a piece of poison fire coral, Lin said.
One died and the other suffered from desquamation of skin on the palms and soles, severe septicemia and organ failure, he said.
Consuming any type of poisonous fungus can cause vomiting, diarrhea and hallucinations, while poison fire coral additionally causes severe liver damage, he said.
There is no antidote for the poison, so those who have consumed it can only be treated with supportive therapy, he added.
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