Poisonous death cap mushrooms have began sprouting in Victoria following heavy rain, sparking a health warning.
The health department warned on Friday against people gathering wild mushrooms in Melbourne and rural Victoria.
"Autumn conditions create ideal growing conditions for poisonous mushrooms, and recent rains have seen them start to sprout in Victoria," chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton said.
"While commercially-sold mushrooms are safe, poisonings can occur when people gathering wild mushrooms inadvertently include toxic species. Poisonous mushrooms may appear very similar to edible varieties."
The mushroom season is spawned when rain encourages growth of the fungi in the still-warm earth.
Toxic varieties include the Death Cap fungus, Amanita phalloides and the Yellow Staining mushroom, Agaricus xanthodermus.
The Death Cap, usually found near deciduous trees, especially oaks, in some Melbourne suburbs and rural areas, is the most dangerous.
Dr Sutton said anyone who becomes ill after eating mushrooms should urgently seek medical advice and, if possible, take samples of the whole mushroom for identification.
"Symptoms of poisoning can include violent stomach pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, Symptoms may subside after a day or two - but this doesn't mean recovery," he said.
"Death can follow within 48 hours from serious liver damage. The Death Cap is extremely toxic and responsible for 90 per cent of all mushroom poisoning deaths.
"If you have any doubts about a species of fungus or mushroom, don't eat it. Cooking, peeling or drying these mushrooms does not remove or inactivate the poison."
The Death Cap is a large mushroom, with a cap ranging from light olive green to greenish yellow in colour. The gills are white, and the base of the stem is surrounded by a cup-shaped sac.
The commonly found Yellow Staining mushroom turns yellow when the cap or stem is bruised by a thumbnail.
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