Mushroom foragers warned against using AI apps for identification

Wild mushroom pickers are being warned off artificial intelligence apps after research found the worst of them get it wrong more than nine times out of 10.

A study in the journal npj Science of Food put 12 identification tools through more than 100 photographs of close to 60 species and found none could be trusted, with even the best failing almost one time in seven and one result identifying a mushroom as an apple.

The apps take a submitted photo and break it into pixel data, then run it through a neural network that reads edges, textures and shapes before scoring the result against a trained library of species.

What comes back is a ranked list of probabilities presented as a single name on the screen, with none of the doubt behind it shown to the user.

Accuracy collapses when a mushroom is partly obscured by undergrowth, shot in poor light, cleaned for the kitchen or still at its immature button stage.

An experienced picker works from smell, texture, what the mushroom is growing on and the time of year, none of which reaches the app.

Wattle Bank Farm co-owner Beatrice Imbert, a mushroom producer near Inverloch, said the findings matched her own experience of identification software.

Ms Imbert grows commercially and obtains her mushroom spores from a trusted supplier - she does not forage at all.

She was firm that the two should not be confused.

"I'm an expert in mushroom farming, but we're not expert foragers. What we do is very different," Ms Imbert said.

"Our spores come from a trusted source and growing indoors means we're not picking the wrong thing from outside, we're doing it in a temperature controlled, indoor environment."

Ms Imbert said her own doubts about identification apps came from using PictureThis on subjects far simpler than fungi.

"I use apps myself and so many things come back incorrect, and that's just for general flowers and natives," she said.

"I don't think the technology is right up there yet, and I think a lot of the knowledge people did have has been lost because of it. I know many people who grew up picking and they are probably more knowledgeable than the app."

The farm supplies mushrooms to popular Melbourne restaurants and runs regular workshops on mushroom farming, and Ms Imbert said anyone with a doubt should buy from a source they could see for themselves.

"I wouldn't trust an app just yet. I'd trust a farmer who does it commercially and follow that advice," she said.

The Department of Health has warned against picking wild mushrooms anywhere in Victoria, with Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Evelyn Wong saying death cap and yellow-staining mushrooms became more common through autumn and winter.

"Adults and children are advised not to handle wild mushrooms with bare hands or eat them, and pets should be kept away from areas where mushrooms are growing," Dr Wong said.

Dr Wong said eating some wild mushrooms could kill and that death cap poisoning could cause irreversible organ failure.

The department says there is no home test that separates edible mushrooms from poisonous ones and that people should buy only from supermarkets or greengrocers.

The Victorian Poisons Centre took more than 400 calls about mushroom exposures in 2025 and nearly half of those involved children under five.

Anyone who thinks they or someone in their care has eaten a wild mushroom should call the Victorian Poisons Centre on 13 11 26 without waiting for symptoms, and anyone who becomes unwell should call 000.

The Department of Health has been contacted for comment on the use of AI apps to identify wild mushrooms.