mushrooms

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'Mushroom Murderer' Tried to Off Me a Few Times: Ex

Pretrial testimony emerges detailing his previous illnesses after eating Erin Patterson's meals

(Newser) - Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of killing her in-laws with a poisonous mushroom meal, but details on her case continue to trickle out post-trial. This time, the news revolves around the fact that three counts of attempted murder against Patterson involving her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, were unexpectedly...

Invasive Mushrooms Are Threatening Midwest Forests
Invasive Mushrooms Are
Threatening Midwest Forests
NEW STUDY
Jul 21, 2025 10:09 AM CDT

Invasive Mushrooms Are Threatening Midwest Forests

Study finds golden oyster mushrooms crowd out native species, cutting fungal diversity in half

(Newser) - Golden oyster mushrooms, a visually striking and culinarily-favored species native to Asia, are now rapidly taking over North American forests and threatening native fungi, according to new research. A study published Wednesday in Current Biology finds these mushrooms are crowding out local fungi, especially around the Great Lakes, and...

2 Mushroom Pioneers Now Arguing Over What a Mushroom Is

Debate in mushroom supplement world has even drawn in the FDA

(Newser) - Two pioneers of the mushroom supplement world, Paul Stamets and Jeff Chilton, are embroiled in a dispute over a basic but critical question in their field: What counts as a "mushroom"? The two, who co-authored the 1983 guide The Mushroom Cultivator and helped popularize mushroom growing, are...

Accused Mushroom Murderer Explains Cancer Lie

Erin Patterson says she told in-laws she had cancer but was actually planning gastric bypass

(Newser) - The Australian woman accused of fatally poisoning three of her in-laws, and harming a fourth, by feeding them poisonous mushrooms took the stand Wednesday for her third day of testimony in her triple murder trial. Among the revelations from Erin Patterson was her reason for lying to her in-laws about...

Accused Killer Blasted In-Laws Ahead of Poisoned Lunch

Erin Patterson says she's now 'very ashamed' of what she wrote in Facebook group chat

(Newser) - An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms resumed the stand in her murder trial on Tuesday, detailing her habit of foraging for fungi, per the AP . Erin Patterson, 50, told the court she began foraging for fungi during the COVID-19 lockdown,...

Accused Mushroom Murderer Takes the Stand
Accused Mushroom
Murderer Testifies
Jun 2, 2025 11:20 AM CDT

Accused Mushroom Murderer Testifies

Erin Patterson testifies estranged husband didn't want her involved 'too much' with his family

(Newser) - The woman accused of killing her in-laws with a lunch featuring death cap mushrooms became the first witness for the defense during her ongoing murder trial on Monday. Erin Patterson was on the stand at Australia's Supreme Court of Victoria for less than an hour before court adjourned but...

Before Poisoned Lunch, She Urged Hubby to Attend 'Special Meal'

Erin Patterson's estranged husband testifies about their relationship and the lunch invite

(Newser) - The invite came at church. During his estranged wife's murder trial on Thursday, Simon Patterson recalled that on July 16, 2023, Erin Patterson invited himself, his parents, and his aunt and uncle, the latter of whom served as pastor of the church, to a lunch at her home in...

Victim of Deadly Mushroom Lunch Noted the Plates Differed

Prosecutor says Heather Wilkinson remarked about it from hospital before her death

(Newser) - The trial of the Australian woman accused of feeding family members a deadly lunch in 2023 opened Wednesday in the Victoria state Supreme Court. As the BBC reports, that Erin Patterson, 50, served her guests individual beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms is not in question. "The overarching...

Trial Begins for Woman in Poisonous Mushroom Lunch

Erin Patterson is accused of serving deadly Beef Wellington

(Newser) - An Australian woman will go on trial for murder Wednesday over a family lunch that turned deadly, but not all the original charges remain on the table. With jury selection now wrapped up, attention shifts to the quiet courthouse where Erin Patterson will face allegations that have gripped Victoria...

Family of 11 Hospitalized After Eating Wild Mushrooms

Mushrooms were toxic, but it's not clear what type they were

(Newser) - An Amish family of 11 was hospitalized Friday night after ingesting toxic mushrooms, officials say. The victims—all of whom were treated and released overnight—included a man, woman, and nine of their children, and ranged in age from just one year old to 39, CNN reports. One victim walked...

Woman Denies Killing In-Laws With Poisonous Lunch

Erin Patterson of Australia allegedly served deadly mushrooms

(Newser) - A woman accused of serving her ex-husband's family poisonous mushrooms pleaded not guilty in an Australian court on Tuesday to three charges of murder and five charges of attempted murder, per the AP . Erin Patterson, 49, appeared briefly in Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court by video link from a Melbourne...

Culinary Diplomacy: What's Janet Yellen Eating in China?

She ate potentially psychedelic mushrooms on her last visit, and all eyes are on this trip

(Newser) - Ever since she ate mushrooms that can have psychedelic effects in Beijing last July, Janet Yellen has united Americans and Chinese in wanting to know what she'll eat next. As the AP reports, now that the US Treasury secretary is back in China this week, having stopped in Guangzhou...

Extremely Rare 'Devil's Cigar' Mushroom Spotted in Texas

It makes a hissing noise before releasing cloud of spores

(Newser) - An extremely rare hissing mushroom known as the Texas star or the "devil's cigar" has been spotted in a Texas state park. Inks Lake State Park, around 60 miles west of Austin, said in a Facebook post that visitors hoping to see the fungus should ask at headquarters....

Cops: Woman Behind Fatal Meal Also Tried to Kill Husband

Australian police say Erin Patterson attempted to do so 4 times, including with lethal mushrooms

(Newser) - When police in Australia charged a woman this week with three counts of murder over poisonous mushrooms she served to guests, they added unspecified attempted murder charges as well. Now the details are out: Police say Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband, Simon, four different times, reports the...

After Fatal Mushroom Meal, Cook Calls It an Accident

Australia's Erin Patterson gives her account to police after 3 deaths

(Newser) - The woman who cooked a meal with mushrooms that killed three people and nearly a fourth has given her first account to police, and she insists it was all a terrible accident. "I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people, whom I...

Australian Cops Investigate Deadly Mushroom Lunch

Three people are dead, one more is hospitalized, and a daughter-in-law is a suspect

(Newser) - Police in rural Australia are trying to figure out whether a deadly mushroom meal was accidental or sinister. Three people are dead and a fourth remains hospitalized after they ate lunch at the home of Erin Patterson in Leongatha, reports the Guardian . Patterson herself is fine, as are her two...

Killer Poisonous Mushrooms May Have New Antidote

The death cap may have met its match

(Newser) - Eating even a tiny slice of the death cap mushroom—AKA Amanita phalloides —can be fatal. It contains a group of toxins called amatoxins, which are extremely poisonous to humans. Amatoxins damage the liver and kidneys, and can lead to death even if treated, but that may soon...

Mushroom Picked in Yard Poisons Woman and Son

Kam Look, 63, requires liver transplant after tainted meal

(Newser) - "For me, it looked like any other normal capped mushrooms, which I thought it was very safe to eat," Kam Look said. To be sure they were as safe as the ones she grew up eating in Malaysia, Look cooked the mushroom, which she had picked in a...

Lawyer: Drugs Tell Different Story in Peter Spencer's Death

Paul Jubas: Shooter said they took mushrooms, but psilocin wasn't detected in shooter's blood

(Newser) - Peter Spencer was shot dead by a co-worker during a a Pennsylvania camping trip last December; two weeks ago, Venango County District Attorney Shawn White announced no charges would be brought, saying that based on the evidence and Pennsylvania's "stand your ground" laws, prosecutors would be unable to...

Afghan Family Mistakenly Eats Toxic Mushrooms After Escape

2 boys near death in Poland, and other family members are hospitalized

(Newser) - Doctors at Poland’s main children’s hospital said Tuesday they will carry out a liver transplant on a 6-year-old Afghan boy who ate highly poisonous mushrooms with his family, per the AP . His 5-year-old brother is in a coma, however, and they are carrying out tests to establish if...

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