GCn15

Too old of a specimen.

Had she picked up the wrong kind of amanita, another white good looking mushroom, and ate it she would likely be going for a liver transplant right now. Mushrooms can be very dangerous in the wild. Please let your gf know to never, ever consume anything in the wild that she can't identify to species with 100% certainty. This goes for mushrooms, plants, nuts, berries....they can all end up with a trip to the emergency room as a best case scenario. However, that does not mean if she is interested she should be scared to eat the bounties of the wild. With thorough research and proper identification practices the wild can provide a bounty of incredibly delicious treats. Just gotta learn the craft first though.

Sure looks like a pleurotis but need a picture of one of the whole mushrooms underside to be sure.

They sent you the wrong spawn imo. I would tell them to refund/replace the kit. You don't get a heavy crop like that from contamination.

My top 3 reasons are: Exercise Foraging for the table Curiousity I started as a child along side my parents. I don't recall not picking mushrooms. I've expanded my season and species variety a lot over the years but mainly I love revisiting my familiar haunts year after year and while I'm there I might as well fill a basket. I don't really eat a ton of mushrooms anymore, my 50 year old digestive system has dictated that I slow down my consumption but I still log in the hours because it's as good a reason as any to spend the day in nature.

Those mushrooms are far too old to spore print. Watch for them next year.

It is a type of Suillus imo. Not sure what associates with oak trees as I have no oak trees in my area.

A. Tabescens does occur in BC. However, the stems look awfully dark. Perhaps damaged by frost?

I have harvested F. Velutipes for many, many years and I have never once seen them growing solitary or with similar coloration on cap and that light of a stalk. The white mycelium is the biggest giveaway though. F. Velutipes does not have white mycelium.

Definitely not Flammalina Velutipes.

I have tried several apps online for identifying mushrooms. Rarely have they gotten them right. Some were at least in the right genus and the mushrooms I used were mushrooms that were considered very easy to identify. Long story short, don't trust the apps. However, when really stuck they may provide a starting point. Sorry, there just are no shortcuts to demystifying mushrooms.

Those look like honey mushrooms to me. Check spore print. I would be pretty surprised if they weren't honeys.

You may be one of the unfortunate people that just have problems digesting them. Try a young sample (in a small amount) before giving up though.

I agree. I have been out on numerous forays and have seen people put past prime mushrooms in their baskets that I would never consider consuming. Even some of the harvest pictures I see online make me cringe. I understand people want their pay off after a day of foraging but some mushrooms are best left in the bush. Also, I have real life experience picking in areas of contamination and that can make you sick quick as well. (I learned the hard way) Near mines, large factories, roadways, paper mills etc. should be avoided.

People can have allergic like reactions to a certain type of mushroom while others cause no problems. If I were to guess, I would say your mushroom coffee was fortified with real coffee, chicory, or tea or you had a mild allergic reaction that caused your symptoms.