Taylor Lockwood is one of the rock stars of the mushroom world who tours the country with his  message. I hope he turns up at the forays I attend, so I can talk to him again. His presentation at COMA’s education program was charming, clever and filled with the beauty of all things fungi. His photography and videos are extraordinary.

His latest video, The Good, The Bad and the Deadly, is designed to inform parents, pet owners and health providers with basic knowledge to help minimize the risk associated with ingesting mushrooms.

I had no idea that a dog might eat mushrooms. I’ve seen my cats and dogs chew green leafy plants and grasses – usually to clean out their stomachs – but never mushrooms. As a former toddler who put everything in my mouth, it’s no surprise that children might nibble something fungal.

Having guidelines on what to do to help identify what has been consumed and how to communicate that information to medical professionals makes sense.

What really surprised me was that ALL mushrooms should be cooked – even the products sold to the public in stores and restaurants. If I understood correctly, hydrazines (including gyromitrin and agaritine) found in mushrooms are known to be strong carcinogens. Cooking destroys some or all of the hydrazines.

Fungi are not studied nearly as much as flora and fauna. I’m grateful for the insights and discoveries of the mycologists I am meeting.