I'm on a WhatsApp group with my neighbors in Pennsylvania, one of them sent this back in September:
I would advise getting some live instruction and experience rather than relying only on guidebooks and online sources, since many poisonous mushrooms look very similar to edible ones. That’s just my opinion. My dad grew up on a farm and thought he knew this mushroom to be edible. Mushrooming is a beautiful thing but I personally wouldn’t risk it without gaining a level of expertise. I’ve been going back and forth all night between the children’s wing and the ER observation room to see my 2 year old and 80 year old father, with both of them projectile vomiting and diarrhea and heart rates twice their normal level.
Most importantly - live instruction for the region you are in. Many asian foragers get into distress in the UK due to similar looking but different funghi.
This is one of the most important things for people to remember, to not be confident that their knowledge from one place transfers.
I grew up in Norway and now live in the UK. I haven't been foraging since I moved to the UK and despite the similar climate I wouldn't even do that here without first getting either instruction or at least reading a good field guide over what is actually safe to pick here... I'm guessing it's probably mostly the same ones to look out for, but no way I'd take that risk without triple-checking.
I would advise getting some live instruction and experience rather than relying only on guidebooks and online sources, since many poisonous mushrooms look very similar to edible ones. That’s just my opinion. My dad grew up on a farm and thought he knew this mushroom to be edible. Mushrooming is a beautiful thing but I personally wouldn’t risk it without gaining a level of expertise. I’ve been going back and forth all night between the children’s wing and the ER observation room to see my 2 year old and 80 year old father, with both of them projectile vomiting and diarrhea and heart rates twice their normal level.