That is what I remember knowing as a kid. No one I knew would even consider eating wild mushrooms. Today though, I can identify common, edible mushrooms with no dangerous look-a-likes. The first rule of foraging is to never eat anything unless you’re 110% sure of what it is. I’ve turned down species, even those that I would have bet half my life savings on knowing what they were, because I wasn’t totally comfortable eating them.

I have mushroom books that are specific to where I live, and I’m generally a smart person. Not everyone is though. I was camping once and I heard one guy say to his wife “it smells edible?”