Besides being a new chemistry and biology teacher, Adam Scimone is a hunter.

Before PETA starts to freak out though, he does not hunt animals. In fact, the hunting he partakes in poses no threat to any living thing… except himself. Scimone is a mushroom hunter.

According to the Missouri Mycological Society (MOMS), there are nearly 5,000 different species of mushrooms in North America, and 250 of them are highly poisonous. Scimone, who loves environmental education, could not be happier with his involvement in this risky hobby where one bad bite could lead to a trip to the hospital.

“I started hunting mushrooms because I was teaching classes about finding food in the wild,” Scimone said. “We would find mushrooms a lot. The more I researched mushrooms the more fascinating facts I found. Then I started cooking them, and I love food, so it just went together.”

Scimone usually prefers to cook and eat the mushrooms he gathers himself, but there are instances when a mushroom is too valuable or too big to be eaten alone. When these instances come along, Scimone can make a pretty penny off of his findings.

“One time I found a rare mushroom called a Hen of the Woods,” Scimone said. “It’s my favorite mushroom, but the one I found weighed 25 pounds. So I sold it to a restaurant because it was more than I could eat, and they gave me $300 for it.”

Two pairs of eyes are better than one, so when he goes mushroom hunting, Scimone likes to bring his friend from high school Nick Demutrilius, who he describes as his “partner in crime.” Almost any time they hang out, the two like to go on a hike and a look for mushrooms and other wild edibles.

“Adam is one of the most careful people I know when it comes to mushrooms,” Demutrilius said. “He’s very cautious. He has to be 100 percent sure that he has identified the mushroom before he even thinks about trying it.”

Positively identifying a mushroom is the most vital part of the hobby. Error in this department could lead to catastrophe for the hunter’s health. For Scimone and Demutrilius, this error became a way too close encounter.

“A friend of mine sold a mushroom to a restaurant,” Scimone said. “Later, I told him it was probably poisonous. We both freaked out completely. We called the restaurant and found that they had already served it. Afterwards we figured out that luckily, we sold the restaurant a mushroom that wasn’t poisonous.”

Mushrooms can grow almost anywhere  if there is plentiful moisture and a surface to grow on. Most of the time they grow on decaying wood, but there are no limits to size or location in the groggy world of mushrooms.

“They can be as small as a baseball or as big as a beach ball,” Demutrilius said.

Always keeping a careful eye, Scimone scouts out different locations for edible mushrooms.

“I’ve seen really cool mushrooms on the KHS campus,” Scimone said. “One time I found a mushroom in my brother’s bedroom. There was a leak in the shower we didn’t know about, and it was making the wood under the carpet wet.”

Scimone and Demutrilius both stress the importance of staying safe while searching for mushrooms.

“Certain mushrooms can really affect you badly,” Demutrilius said.

Scimone agrees.

“Be careful, and always go with someone who knows what they are doing,” Scimone said.

A fascinating yet unusual hobby, mushroom hunting will always remain a huge part of Scimone’s life. Whether cooking mushrooms into delicious meals or selling them to gourmet restaurants, Scimone has no plans to bring his hobby to an end. Thankfully, he has avoided that dreaded hospital visit as well.

“There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters,” Scimone said, “but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.”