If you’re going to take your family for a hike in the East Bay heads up the parks district wants you to look out for the dangerous Death Cap mushrooms that can be lethal to you and your pets. Let's stay safe out there!
According to the East Bay Parks website,
The Bay Area is home to two of the world’s most toxic mushrooms – Amanita phalloides (the Death Cap) and Amanita ocreata (the Western Destroying Angel). Both are robust, handsome mushrooms that grow near oak trees, and both contain lethal toxins. Amanita phalloides (the Death Cap) is a medium to large mushroom that typically has a greenish-gray cap, white gills, a white ring around the stem, and a large white sac at the base of the stem. It fruits early in the fall, usually right after the first rains. Though the Death Cap is mainly associated with oak trees, it has been found growing with other hardwoods. It was accidentally introduced to North America on the roots of European cork oaks, and is now slowly colonizing the West Coast.
Amanita ocreata (the Western Destroying Angel) is a medium to large mushroom that usually has a creamy white cap, white gills, a white ring around the stem that disappears with age, and a thin white sac at the base. It fruits from late winter into spring, and is associated exclusively with oaks. Unlike the Death Cap, it is a native California mushroom.