A considerable portion of this site is devoted to foraging for edible stuff - but let's take a look at a few things you might encounter that should not be eaten....

Cherry Laurel

Cherry Laurel - Prunus laurocerasus - is a large shrub or tree with oval, glossy leaves about 10 to 15 cm long. It is widely planted in gardens and landscaping as hedging.

It bears spikes of pungent whitish green flowers in spring, followed in late summer by ovoid, dark red or black cherry-like fruits.

All parts of this plant are poisonous - containing prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide)

Of particular concern are the fruits, because they very closely resemble black cherries (this resemblance is no coincidence - the plants are closely related)

Cherry Laurel

Fortunately, they are reportedly very bitter to taste (I feel disinclined to verify this myself), so the risk of ingesting a fatal dose is somewhat diminished, however, it's worth making sure that children are aware of the poisonous nature of this plant

Common Ink Cap

This one probably won't kill you (there are no recorded cases of fatality)- in fact, with some care, it's quite edible.

The Common Inkcap - Coprinopsis atramentaria is a common fungus of grassy places and road edges - it has a bell-shaped cap which is greyish at first, quickly turning to dark brown or black as the fungus ages and eventually dissolving into inky liquid (hence the common name)

This mushroom is edible - indeed, tasty - but there's a catch. If it is eaten while alcohol is in the body, it causes violent sickness and other quite alarming and unpleasant symptoms such as palpitations and tingling sensations in the limbs

The effect can persist so that sickness accompanies even moderate alcohol consumption up to several days after eating the mushrooms

So... not worth the risk, in my opinion

Yellow Stainer

This mushroom is related to, and looks quite similar to, field mushrooms and horse mushrooms - but it's poisonous.

It's fairly easy to identify, on account of the yellow staining that appears when it is bruised or cut, but because it's such a close lookalike for edible fungi, and because it grew in my garden, I've given it its own page: The Yellow Stainer.

Death Cap

Amanita phalloides - the Death Cap. The common name is a bit of a giveaway - this fungus is horribly deadly.

If you're interested in foraging for wild mushrooms, get some good reference materials and acquaint yourself with this fungus - it's a good way to get a feel for the importance of 100% positive ID when gathering wild fungi.

For the Northern European fungus forager, it's not a huge risk, because there's not much you'd want to eat that looks like it.

Cases of accidental poisoning from A.phalloides sometimes happen when people familiar with the fungi of Asia visit Europe - because the Death Cap is quite easily mistaken for the edible and popular Asian Paddy Straw Mushroom.

However, the resemblance is superifical - that is - it's still quite possible to completely and positively identify fungi - mistakes happen not because the fungi are inscrutable, but because people lack the knowledge, patience or inclination to perform the identification.

More Things Not To Eat

This page will be updated to add more descriptions of some other common poisonous, dangerous or unpleasant plants you might encounter while foraging...