Study
Mushroom poisoning: a proposed new clinical classification
White, Julian; Weinstein, Scott A.; De Haro, Luc; Bédry, Régis; Schaper, Andreas; Rumack, Barry H.; Zilker, Thomas
Toxicon, 2019
A clinical review proposing a classification of mushroom poisoning by syndrome and time to onset rather than by species, drawing on the toxicology literature and poison-centre experience.
- Studied in
- Fungi
- Sample size
- clinical classification review of mushroom poisoning syndromes
The most lethal poisonings — amatoxin syndromes — characteristically present with delayed symptoms, often six hours or more after ingestion, by which time absorption is complete. Early apparent recovery is a recognised feature and precedes liver failure. Identification errors involving species that closely resemble edible ones are a recurring cause.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Classification by syndrome and onset timing is more clinically useful than classification by species, because the species is frequently unknown when a patient presents.
How NatureHQ reads it
Cited to explain a method problem, not to identify anything. Two facts do the work: the deadliest species look like ordinary edible mushrooms and are separated by microscopic and chemical features rather than by appearance, and the poisoning that kills you does not make you ill for the first several hours. Together they mean a photograph cannot establish that a mushroom is safe, and feeling fine afterwards cannot establish it either. That is why NatureHQ answers this question by declining it.
- A clinical classification, not a field guide, and deliberately contains no identification guidance.
- Regional species and poisoning patterns vary widely.
- NatureHQ cites it for why identification is hard and what delayed onset means, and for nothing else.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Elsevier journalsPublished in an Elsevier journal.
Search for this paper by title and author
Reference details for this record were entered editorially and have not been confirmed against a bibliographic register. The title, authors, journal and year are enough to locate the paper; we would rather say this than publish an identifier we have not verified.
A note on this reference: Unresolved: title 100%, author matched, year exact; single register (crossref); a register was unreachable on this run — witnessed today by crossref
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-10.