- Maybe just stop picking mushrooms for a while if you live in California.
Harvesting wild mushrooms for food is a risky game if you don’t know what you’re doing. Many fatally dangerous fungi look virtually identical to perfectly harmless ones.
Confusing them may have irreversible consequences. Californian authorities would really, really like it if Golden State residents learned this lesson.
Unusually wet weather has caused mushrooms to… Well, mushroom all over the place in California. The easy availability of mushrooms has encouraged a lot of people to give harvesting them a try.
Sadly, some of the deadliest mushrooms in the country are also currently extremely common. This year, poisoning cases have increased tenfold from the average, and more are piling up.
As such, California health officials are now begging people to stop picking mushrooms. Considering even mushroom experts have landed themselves in hospitals, that might be a good idea.
How Many Poisonings Have There Been?
To be sure, mushroom poisoning cases are absolutely off the charts in California right now. According to the California Department of Public Health, 50 cases have been reported since last November.
During an average year, California racks up around 5 mushroom poisoning incidents. In other words, in just half a year, we’ve had 10 times as many mushroom incidents as during an entire year.
What’s more, this might be the worst spate of mushroom-linked poisonings in the state’s history. Upticks have happened before, but they pale in comparison to what’s going on right now.
For instance, 2016 was the most recent particularly bad mushroom year in California. That year, the state health authority logged a total of 14 poisonings.
The severity of the cases is almost unprecedented as well. Out of all the incidents, four have resulted in deaths. In another four, the victim has required a liver transplant.
It’s pretty dire.
Who Have Been Poisoned?
You might be tempted to think that the people accidentally consuming poisonous mushrooms are mostly amateur collectors. However, the victims span all walks of life – including those who really should know better.
Now, many of the cases do involve people who simply didn’t really know what mushroom they were picking. All types of fungi (edible and dangerous) have been abundant this year, so there has been something of a mushroom harvesting boom in California.
Some of the victims have come from elsewhere, be that from another state or country. They’ve mistaken the deadly mushrooms for edible ones they’re familiar with from back home, with horrible results.
Two of the poisoning cases have involved homeless people. They most likely were picking wild mushrooms just to have something to eat at all, without necessarily knowing what they were grabbing.
Yet, the mushrooms have also claimed more seasoned victims.
“Even experienced mushroom hunters have been affected by this outbreak,” Dr. Christine Wu, Napa County’s public health officer, told the Los Angeles Times.
Why Are There So Many Poison Mushrooms?
As I mentioned, mushrooms in general are currently popping up in central and northern California. The recent months have been very favorable to fungi of all sorts, thanks to heavy rainfall.
“Recent rains have contributed to the resurgence of poisonous wild mushrooms in California, including in Napa,” Dr. Wu said.
The past winter was indeed uncharacteristically wet in the Golden State. According to the Los Angeles Almanac, the 2025–26 winter and spring were the wettest seasons in California in 15 years.
In November 2025, for instance, the Los Angeles area (which is notoriously dry, by the way) saw 5.53 inches of rain. The historical average for the month stands at 0.78 inches.
We can then combine the plentiful mushrooms with the current sky-high grocery prices. With these two factors coinciding, it’s no wonder people might want to try to save some money by picking their own mushrooms.
Which Mushrooms Are Killing People?
The most nefarious mushrooms that have blossomed in California are also the deadliest. Primarily, the cases have involved the death cap and the western destroying angel mushrooms.
With names like that, it probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that these fungi hold the #1 and #2 spots on the list of the most dangerous mushrooms in the U.S.
The death cap (Amanita phalloides) is the more fatal of the two, not that the destroying angel (Amanita ocreata) is far behind. Both mushrooms resemble several edible species and reportedly taste good, but they are packed to the gills (they’re gilled ‘shrooms) with amatoxin.
This poison primarily attacks the liver, causing severe liver damage and a variety of other horrible gastrointestinal symptoms within hours. Both are so toxic that eating just half a mushroom is enough to kill a healthy adult.
As such, the health officials are now pleading with people to stop picking mushrooms this year. If you live in California, you should probably steer clear of this outdoor activity for now.