Published January 29, 2026
BY DANIELA FOLEY
Because of environmental circumstances this past year, the central coast of California has seen a surge in poisonous mushroom growth, spiking the rate of accidental poisonings by death cap mushrooms, leaving local restaurants to navigate a grey market.
According to California’s Department of Public Health, 21 cases of amanita phalloides, or death cap, poisonings had been reported as of Dec. 5, with clusters reported around the Monterey Bay and San Francisco.
“The basic reason for the mushroom poisonings that we’re seeing is the substantial early rains, warmer weather and moisture that we have had this year,” says Phillip Carpenter, science officer for the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz. “These conditions are a fungi’s ideal habitat to reproduce, whether it be inside wood or in the dirt. Mushrooms spread by spores, each spore can reproduce the mycelium, which is the actual vegetative part of the organism.”
Consumption of Death Cap mushrooms is often lethal, with symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea arising 12-24 hours afterwards. Courtesy of THE FUNGUS FEDERATION OF SANTA CRUZ
Death cap mushrooms are a mycorrhizal fungi, forming symbiotic relationships with oak trees. As oak trees are native to California, mycologists have spotted death caps along Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Pebble Beach and Del Monte areas.
“I have encountered death caps all over the place,” says local forager and Carmel Middle School science teacher Darrell Steely. “Once you become familiar with foraging and know which mushrooms to stay away from, it becomes a magical thing, finding mushrooms in nature. It’s also very rewarding to find mushrooms like a porcini or chantrell.”
Death caps are not native to the local area, unlike forager favorites like candy caps or oyster mushrooms, but instead originate from Europe.
“Because of the wine industry, trees were imported into California from Europe to make corks, predominantly from the Mediterranean region where that oak is native,” explains Carpenter, former University of California, Santa Cruz lecturer. “Since death caps are mycorrhizal [have a symbiotic relationship with trees], they came into Monterey Peninsula and have spread all the way up and down the coast, going as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia.”
The Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz is dedicated to educating locals on mycology, hosting a yearly fungus fair. Courtesy of THE FUNGUS FEDERATION OF SANTA CRUZ
This winter, in response to the surge of death cap mushrooms, foragers have been told to stop altogether. With strict restrictions on foraging locations, mushroom enthusiasts in Monterey have been banned from foraging at state parks. Restaurants have been told to not serve foraged mushrooms, but whether the implementation of these regulations has been effective remains foggy, as locals can find foraged mushrooms in restaurants along the peninsula.
“It’s a total grey market,” says Martin Gundersen, manager of Julia’s Vegetarian Restaurant, which hosts weekly foraging expeditions alongside experts from the Fungi Federation of Santa Cruz during mushroom season. “In Santa Cruz, nobody cares, here in Monterey, they don’t want any foraged food served, but you can find places in Monterey, Carmel and Carmel Valley that will serve wild foraged mushrooms, which isn’t allowed by the health department.”
iNaturalist, an app in which foragers can upload photos of mushrooms to ascertain what species they are, is one tool commonly used to determine whether or not a mushroom is lethal. According to foragers, that alone is not enough, as most poisonous mushrooms have mistakable edible lookalikes. Death caps, in particular, look dangerously similar to paddy straw mushrooms, or volvariella volvacea.
Winter chanterelles are native to California and can be found locally under oak trees
“Most poisonings are attributable to mistaken identification, most of the poisonings I have seen are with tourists, so the death cap obviously resembles something from another part of the world,” says Carpenter. “People come here and pick mushrooms that look like safe ones they picked at home, but because they’re all over the place this year, you need at least five characteristics of your mushroom that match the real description before picking a mushroom. I have seen death cap growth in places they have never been before.”
With each mushroom looking distinct due to different ages, locations and growth patterns, death caps are often not recognized.
“Just yesterday, I picked the death cap, but it looked different than how they normally do,” says forager Gundersen. “It was older, taller and the color had changed to some extent, so I did not immediately recognize it. Don’t take anything that you don’t know 100%. Each mushroom has kind of a different identifier. It’s a labor of love that’s a little tedious, but it’s worth it to me.”
To maintain safety while handling mushrooms, foragers suggest confirming safety with experts and educating oneself before consumption.
