Wild Mushrooms Sicken Fairfax County Family

ANNANDALE, VA—The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has a warning for residents after a family fell ill from eating wild mushrooms.

Units from Station 8, Annandale responded to the family's apartment for a report of abdominal pains and vomiting hours after the residents ate the mushrooms. The family had made a meal with mushrooms found in a courtyard at their apartment building. The fire department has not released the location of the residence.

Immediately identifying the mushroom was critical to understanding the residents' conditions. A number of wild mushrooms can be toxic to the liver. There were no remaining mushrooms in their home, so crews scoured the courtyard to look for other mushrooms as Emergency Department and Poison Control staff assisted.

Toxicology specialists identified the mushroom as Chlorophyllum molybdites, or Green Spored Lepiota. This type can cause gastrointestinal irritation but not liver failure or death.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Green-Spored Lepiota is described as large, white with cream-colored scales on the gap, white gills that turn gray-green and a ring on the stalk. The cap is about two to 12 inches wide and the stalk is three to 10 inches long.

Image via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue