[Update: Poisonous Mushroom Identified] Humboldt County Resident Hospitalized After Eating Foraged Mushrooms; Health Officials Warn Others May Be at Risk

Death Cap Mushroom (Amanita Phalloides)

A Humboldt County resident is currently hospitalized with amatoxin poisoning after eating foraged mushrooms, and public health officials are warning that others who consumed the same mushrooms may also be at risk.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the affected person is believed to have received the mushrooms on March 13, 2026, from a friend who foraged them locally. Health officials say the mushrooms may have been shared with others, and anyone who consumed foraged mushrooms around that date is urged to seek medical attention immediately — even if they feel well.

“Do not wait for symptoms to appear,” Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Candy Stockton cautioned. “Treatment is more difficult once symptoms start.”

Amatoxin poisoning can be deceptive. According to public health officials, symptoms may not appear until 6 to 24 hours after eating a poisonous mushroom, and even mild early symptoms, including nausea, stomach pain, cramping, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, or confusion, can be the beginning of a severe reaction. Early symptoms sometimes subside within a day, but serious to fatal liver damage can still develop within two to three days.

Complications from mushroom poisoning can include liver damage potentially requiring a transplant, kidney damage, seizures, and death.

Anyone who believes they may have eaten a poisonous mushroom is urged to call the California Poison Control Hotline immediately at 1-800-222-1222. The hotline is free, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and operates in more than 200 languages. People seeking medical care are asked to bring any remaining mushrooms or photographs of the mushrooms with them.

Medical providers are also being asked to question any patient presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms about recent consumption of foraged mushrooms, and to contact Poison Control and Humboldt County Public Health at (707) 268-2182 if amatoxin poisoning is suspected.

Additional information on mushroom poisoning is available through the North American Mycological Association.

Update from DHHS on 3/19:

The “destroying angel” mushroom species Amanita ocreata Peck, in its fully emerged adult form. Specimens photographed in Capitola, Santa Cruz Co., California, USA. [This image by Ryane Snow was sourced from Wikimedia Commons] 

The Western Destroying Angel is responsible for some tragic foraging accidents precisely because its egg stage, when the deadly mushroom is still fully encased in a white, round membrane, is virtually indistinguishable from an edible puffball, a look-alike that has cost lives when amateur foragers skip the one definitive test: slicing the specimen vertically to reveal whether a developing mushroom lurks inside.