Dr Anna Whitehead discovered the hard way it’s always best to do your research before eating wild mushrooms — at least if you want to avoid green vomit, diarrhoea and liver failure.

The New Zealand public health doctor came close to death after frying two mushrooms caps and stems to eat with her fish lunch.

Dr Whitehead found the death cap mushrooms growing near an oak tree and initially planned to do further checks online before eating them.

But, she admitted to Stuff.co.nz, due to her busy, coronavirus-related work schedule, she forgot.