Steve Rock sent me an e-mail recently to let me know about a man in his fifties from western NY state who died a couple of weeks ago after eating an Amanita bisporigera or virosa. This person had apparently eaten wild mushrooms before, but he didn't know enough to protect himself. The lesson is, be very certain of what you are eating before you consume it. Have another person confirm the identity of any mushroom you are contemplating consuming unless you are absolutely positive of the edibility and identity of the species.

There is no way of knowing whether an 'Angel of Death' is Amanita bisporigera or Amanita virosa without examining the spores under a microscope to see if your find is the four-spored variety most common in Europe or the two-spored variety most common here in the eastern U.S. Both are equally deadly.