• Posted February 9, 2026

California Warns Against Foraging as Toxic Mushrooms Kill Four

California health officials are urging people to stay away from wild mushrooms entirely after a sharp rise in poisonings tied to the deadly death cap mushroom.

Since Nov. 18, more than three dozen people have been poisoned after eating death caps, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Four people have died, and three others needed liver transplants. Patients ranged in age from 19 months to 67 years old, and several were admitted to intensive care units.

In a typical year, California sees two to five death cap poisonings, according to Dr. Craig Smollin, medical director of the San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System.

“The main thing this year is just the magnitude, the number of people ingesting this mushroom,” Smollin told the Associated Press. “Having almost 40 is very unusual.”

Death cap mushrooms are among the world’s most poisonous. They contain amatoxins, powerful toxins responsible for about 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide, according to health officials.

Even a small bite can be deadly. Cooking, drying or boiling the mushrooms does not make them safe, either.

Death caps are common in parks, forests and neighborhoods, often seen near oak trees.

Their appearance can also change as they grow, shifting from a brownish-white cap to green, making them easy to mistake for mushrooms that are safe to eat.

“Unless you’re an expert who studies mushrooms it can be very difficult to know,” Smollin said.

People who eat toxic mushrooms may develop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or stomach pain within 24 hours. Symptoms can briefly improve, but severe liver damage can appear two to four days later, doctors warn.

Experts say early rains and warm fall weather helped create a “super bloom” of death cap mushrooms across Northern California and the Central Coast. 

Clusters have been found in the San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey region.

Health officials say many people poisoned this season speak Spanish, Mixteco or Mandarin Chinese, prompting expanded warnings in multiple languages. Spanish was the primary language for more than 60% of patients, officials said.

Children have been among the poisoning victims. Officials urge parents to watch kids and pets in areas where mushrooms grow and to buy mushrooms only from trusted grocery stores.

U.S. Poison Control Centers also report a 40% increase in mushroom exposures overall from September through January compared with last year.

For help, Poison Control can be reached at 800-222-1222 or PoisonHelp.org.

More information

The BC Center for Disease Control has more on death cap mushrooms.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, Feb. 6, 2026