Recent Rains Bring Mushroom Boom To Bay Area Markets, Menus
SONOMA (CBS/AP) – Mushroom lovers are in for a treat. Recent heavy rains have brought a mushroom boom to the Northern California, and a wide variety of 'shrooms' to Bay Area restaurant menus and plates.
Lands parched by a three-year drought just a few months ago are now seeing an explosion of both poisonous and edible mushrooms after about 2 feet of rain saturated grassy hillsides and swelled streams in Sonoma County.
It has been especially fruitful that the rains have been mixed with mushroom-friendly warm weather.
Darvin DeShazer of the Sonoma County Mycological Association says the fungi are "popping out of the ground everywhere right now."
The bloom has brought a mushroom boom to restaurant menus, farmers markets and foraging classes around the region.
Poisonous mushrooms can cause severe liver damage, and are even deadly. Hikers and amateurs should be warned about the dangers of foraging for wild mushrooms. If you suspect you or your pet has consumed a poisonous mushrooms, seek medical help immediately, or contact your nearest poison control center. In the U.S. the number is 1-800-222-1222.