Poisonous Species

The funeral bell contains the same toxins as the death cap, and will kill you with similar sadistic efficiency if you give it the chance…

This beautiful iconic mushroom is very common, easy to identify, potentially harmful, harmlessly tasty if properly prepared, hallucinogenic, and has medicinal uses. Learn all about it here…

The death cap is the most deadly of all fungi, a lethal dose being as little as 20g. What makes it most dangerous is that symptoms do not usually show until 6 – 24 hours after ingestion, and by this time it is often too late for effective treatment. Anyone considering eating wild mushrooms should be able to identify it.

Hemlock is not the common species it once was, especially in farming areas like Galloway. It is as toxic to livestock as it is to humans, so farmers have all but eliminated it from inland areas. It is most commonly found coastally, having a preference for sandy soils, but that’s not to say it doesn’t lurk inland too.

Anyone picking spring leaves, especially comfrey or wild garlic, should be able to recognise this plant by its basal leaves alone. 2 leaves can contain sufficient cardiac and steroidal glycocides to cause severe hallucination, nausea, headache and raise or lower your heart rate rate to fatal levels