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To: plinyelder
plinyelder: if the mushroom was poisonous, it'll probably take awhile (18 hrs to a couple days) to kill the squirrel. But some edible mushrooms grow from dead wood too. However, I'm inclined to think that if the squirrel was eating it, odds are it was edible.

I've seen squirrels eat mushrooms in my own yard and be none the worse for wear. However, once, while I was collecting for a mycology class, I came across a patch of Amanita pantherina and observed a squirrel eating one. I was unable to collect any (bags were all full), so I came back the next day. Lo and behold, there was a dead squirrel, probably the same one I'd seen the day before.

Got any pictures of the mushrooms in question? I could take a stab at identifying them- the odor, a good pic of the gills/pores, a cross section, and one just of the whole thing and its surroundings would give me a fighting chance. A spore print would be invaluable too- take the shroom, remove the stipe (if it has one), and lay it on a piece of paper for maybe a couple hours and let the spores collect on the paper. The paper should be part white, part black.
19 posted on 06/15/2010 9:39:38 PM PDT by verum ago (The US Armed Forces: if you mess with the best, you die like the rest!)
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To: verum ago

There isn’t a mushroom .. anywhere!

I think the little bugger ran around stuffing himself and maybe buried the rest?


22 posted on 06/15/2010 9:52:29 PM PDT by plinyelder ("I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born." -- Ronald Reagan)
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