Question

Which of the following is not an edible variety of mushroom?
A. Maitake
B. Oyster mushroom
C. Morel mushroom
D. Amanita phalloides

Answer 1

Hint: All mushrooms aren’t edible. Some contain toxins, harmful proteins, or other indigestible materials. So, the consumption of such types of mushrooms like agaricus sp. is harmful for health. These may lead to illness, gastrointestinal problems, and even death.

Complete answer:
Now we would consider and discuss each of the options in brief.
Maitake: These are edible mushrooms that have been consumed in China and Japan for centuries. They are probably known to have certain chemicals that make the immune system strong and help to fight cancer.
Oyster mushroom: These are edible mushrooms that are eaten all over the world. They get their name from their oyster-shaped cap and short or completely absent stems.
Morel mushroom: These are edible sac fungi that fall under the genera of Morchella and Verpa. It grows in the woods during the early summer season and has a convoluted or pitted head and varies in shape.
Amanita phalloides: This is a highly poisonous non-edible mushroom. It is believed that some of these mushrooms were used for murdering people in the early middle-eastern countries. This mushroom is also known as ‘death cap mushroom’.

So the correct answer to our question is option D

Note:
Amanita phalloides is sometimes confused with its member Amanita caesarea, which is an edible mushroom, but both appear to look the same. Thus, appropriate knowledge about the mushrooms is necessary to identify between the edible and the non-edible species.