Toxic mushrooms thrive on Oak Bay boulevards.

Parks removed about 1,000 of the potentially deadly B次元官网网址渄eath capB次元官网网址� mushrooms since they first popped up in this year. TheyB次元官网网址檝e grown in Oak Bay since 1998.

B次元官网网址淭his is the first year weB次元官网网址檝e really found them in numbers, like we have this year,B次元官网网址� said Chris Hyde-Lay, Manager of Parks Services for Oak Bay. B次元官网网址淭he numbers are up considerably from what we remember, but that could partly be because we started to go and look for them.B次元官网网址�

The mushrooms, first documented in Oak Bay in 1998, which usually grow in urban areas in Victoria and were first introduced on the root systems of non-native trees, tend to spring up around fall following the first set of rains. The fungus this summer, attributed to regular irrigation.

B次元官网网址淚f you just leave them alone theyB次元官网网址檙e harmless, but some people may mistake them (for other mushrooms),B次元官网网址� Hyde-Lay said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a cardinal rule with most mushroom pickers that you know what youB次元官网网址檙e picking.B次元官网网址�

The death cap mushroom B次元官网网址� or Amanita phalloide B次元官网网址� and causes nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, dizziness, and liver and kidney failure. In October last year, a died after eating the same kind of mushroom. It was the first recorded death from a death cap mushroom in the province.

Experts say residents should avoid the fungus, which looks similar to a puffball mushroom when first pushing through the ground.

B次元官网网址淯se caution, know what youB次元官网网址檙e doing, the municipality knows where they are in the neighbourhood and weB次元官网网址檙e trying to keep populations down,B次元官网网址� Hyde-Lay said.

cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com
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