Gyromitra esculenta is another distinctive and locally abundant spring ascomycete. It is consumed by the ton in Europe and widely consumed in North America. But eating Gyromitra esculenta is rather like playing Russian roulette, and losing can cost you your life, though you may only suffer abdominal pain, severe headache, vomiting and diarrhea. The toxin, gyromitrin, is water-soluble compound that decomposes to a volatile hydrazine. At low doses there is no apparent effect thus some people have eaten the mushroom for years before once eating too much or getting a more potent batch than normal.
Cooks are more likely to die because they breathe the vapors as the mushroom is being cooked.
While it has long been known that Gyromitra species in the East and Mid-west can cause poisoning, a significant number of poisonings in the West are now known to have occurred.