Chlorophyllum molybdites 綠褶菇

POISONOUS PARTS

Whole mushroom.¹

TOXICITY

• Toxic Constituents

  Unknown gastrointestinal toxin.^3,4

• Toxic Dose

  A portion of a mushroom can be toxic with significant individual variability.^3,5

• Poisoning Features

  Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea (often bloody) and abdominal pain typically occur within 30 minutes to 3 hours of ingestion. Hypovolaemic shock and death in severe cases.^3,5–7

• Poisoning Events

  Cases of C. molybdites intoxication due to misidentification of the wild mushroom as edible species have been frequently reported worldwide. Gastrointestinal irritant-containing species such as C. molybdites are also the most common cause of mushroom poisoning in Hong Kong.^5,8–10

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Supportive treatment. Correction of fluid and electrolyte disturbances.^3,7

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

Caps 10–30 cm broad, white, tan or yellowish white, hemispherical when young, becoming broadly cone-shaped or even flat when mature, often with scattered brown scales concentrated at the center. Gills free from the stem, white when young, becoming grey to dark greenish when mature. Flesh white. Stems whitish, often tinged with brown, smooth, enlarged at the base, with a large movable double-edged ring. Spores 8–13 × 6.5–9 µm, green.¹⁰

CASES IN TRL

In 2006, an elderly man presented with repeated vomiting, diarrhoea and oral numbness around 1 hour after taking some wild mushrooms. The mushrooms (photo A) were identified to be C. molybdites. His symptoms subsided on the next day with supportive treatment.

REMARK

Taxonomically, C. molybdites is classified as a fungus.