Edible backyard mushrooms?

Question

I am currently caring for a sick relative in Indiana, and among other things, I noticed different mushrooms growing in the backyard.

I know a lot of wild mushrooms are poisonous, but is there a way to identify the poisonous ones from the safe ones?

Answer 1

Never eat mushrooms in the backyard.  It is not worth taking the risk.

Sorry about your sick relative.

Answer 2

There are no simple rules to separate the edible ones from the poisonous ones.  The only way to do it is to identify what kind of mushroom you have, and then check and see if it is edible.  The problem with that is that they can sometimes be extremely difficult to identify.  Sometimes they just all look the same (a common type of mushroom is the infamous LBM, or little brown mushroom.  Do not eat these.  There are many thousands of kinds of LBM, and you have to have a phd in mycology and infinite free time to conclusively identify them).

There are a few mushrooms that are nearly foolproof and excellent edibles, and once you get to know them you can confidently pick and eat them.   Unfortunately the consequences of failure are very large.  A single bite of an Amanita phalloides can, and frequently will kill you.  You will feel fine for 8 hours, then start to feel awful, get a fever, and throw up.  A few hours later, you will recover, probably leading you to think you are fine.  Then, 24 to 36 hours later, the symptoms will return with reinforcements.  By this time, it is too late, and the only thing that can save you is an immediate liver transplant.  If you want to pick wild mushrooms, you should make sure to familiarize yourself with the most common deadly one first.

I have nothing against picking and eating mushrooms, I do it myself (I've eaten oyster mushrooms (yum), chanterelles (very yummy), a suillus (bleargh) and a number of chroogomphus (alright, and excitingly bright purple, and also my username), but you should A. Study long and hard, and be confident on your identification before you try it and B. Stick to the relatively easy ones with no poisonous lookalikes.

If you're still interested, I have some links.  It's a great hobby, but if you value your life, be careful.