Forager Hospitalized After Eating Mushroom That 'Looked Fine in the Photo'

A 28-year-old amateur forager was hospitalized in stable condition Saturday after consuming a wild mushroom that he identified using what emergency room physicians described as 'the worst possible method.' The patient, Tyler Greenleaf of Eugene, Oregon, told doctors he had compared the mushroom to 'a photo on Reddit' and determined it was an edible porcini based on the fact that 'the color was kind of the same.' The mushroom was later identified by a consulting mycologist as Amanita pantherinoides, commonly known as the panther cap, which bears only a superficial resemblance to a porcini in the sense that both are mushrooms. 'They are not even in the same family,' said Dr. Lydia Volvata, the mycologist on call. 'Saying they look alike is like saying a wolf looks like a golden retriever because they both have four legs. Which, now that I think about it, is exactly the level of identification rigor we're dealing with here.' Greenleaf's phone, recovered by paramedics, was open to a Reddit thread titled 'Is this a porcini?' The photo showed a specimen that commenters had variously identified as a porcini, a panther cap, a king bolete, 'some kind of mushroom,' and, inexplicably, 'a turnip.' The comment Greenleaf reportedly relied upon read: 'Pretty sure that's edible. I ate one once and I'm still here.' The account that posted this comment was created the same day and has no other activity. Greenleaf is expected to make a full recovery. Hospital staff report he has already asked for his phone back to 'post an update for the thread.' He has been denied. The North American Mycological Association has issued its quarterly reminder that 'the internet is not a field guide and Reddit is especially not a field guide.'