I just read about a harpsichordist who died eating mushrooms he thought were edible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Schobert
Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
31–40 of 112 posts
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very cool! Is it true that they are this rare in North America? Only a small part of the Pacific Northwest and the east coast of Canada?
For liberty caps, yeah. There are some rare reports from other states in the US (mostly east coast) but I don't want to give people false hope by including those states in the map. However, there are many other species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in North America. You can check out the Shroomery for more info on species in your area [1] [1] https://shroomery.org/12257/Mushroom-Locations
Wow, it's been ages since I've seen the shroomery.org domain. What a throwback.
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#33Isn't mushroom picking something that requires rather more than a modicum of research upfront before any layman should attempt to do so because of the existence of poisonous mushrooms? I mean, this feels eerily reminiscent of Google sending people up to the summit of Ben Nevis across dangerous terrain via a naive line connecting it to the geographically nearest car park. This website does not seem to give any warning…
Yes, there are poisonous mushrooms that are eerily similar to mushrooms that contain psilocybin. [1] Depending on its stage of growth, they can be easily confused, especially by a newcomer. There is one main rule to foraging. "Never eat a mushroom you can't positively identify." If any trait of it's appearance is questionable, don't eat it. 1: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-confuse-psilocybin-m...
> eerily similar to mushrooms that contain psilocybin. [1]
The link says "Psilocybin mushrooms don’t look a lot like poisonous mushrooms. [...] So while it is possible, even a small amount of research will help you not to confuse them. :)".
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#34Isn't mushroom picking something that requires rather more than a modicum of research upfront before any layman should attempt to do so because of the existence of poisonous mushrooms? I mean, this feels eerily reminiscent of Google sending people up to the summit of Ben Nevis across dangerous terrain via a naive line connecting it to the geographically nearest car park. This website does not seem to give any warning…
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Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#35As someone who forages mushrooms pretty extensively my advice is not to forage psychedelic mushrooms as a beginner. Most psilocybin mushrooms fall into the colloquial category of "LBMs" (little brown mushrooms) and the advice is almost always not to forage LBMs because there a million of them, they all look alike, and you might not know from region to region what the risk of look a likes are. '
So unless you have a region specific guidebook, and can make an absolutely positive identification (which probably involves identifying spores from a print under a microscope for LBMs), you really should not forage LBMs or any mushrooms for that fact. In some cases you might also need to know how to safely taste or smell the mushrooms and then know what you are tasting or smelling for. No beginner is going to be able to do any of that.
Let someone else grow them from a verified strain from a syringe. It's much safer.
As an aside, mushroom foraging is very beginner friendly as long as you stick to the right categories. Things like Chicken of The Woods, oysters, and maitakke are very easy to positively identify and don't have many look alikes in most parts of the US. The often propogated idea that mushroom foraging is only for safe for trained experts is totally untrue. The average person can safely forage for mushrooms. Just buy a region specific guidebook, and stick to the categories that your book tells you are safe for your region.
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#36Isn't mushroom picking something that requires rather more than a modicum of research upfront before any layman should attempt to do so because of the existence of poisonous mushrooms? I mean, this feels eerily reminiscent of Google sending people up to the summit of Ben Nevis across dangerous terrain via a naive line connecting it to the geographically nearest car park. This website does not seem to give any warning…
I would compare this website more to a very rough, speculative weather forecast. It might increase your chances to find psilocybe slightly, but not really. My understanding is that fatalities from psilocybe (at least in Europe) happen, but are a small percentage of total fatalities, with other species such as amanita being several times more dangerous.
The risk would be consuming something that is not Psilocybe semilanceata, but poisonous enough to be lethal. Statistically, that wouldn't count as a fatality from it, but from whatever mushroom was consumed instead.
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#37As someone who forages mushrooms pretty extensively my advice is not to forage psychedelic mushrooms as a beginner. Most psilocybin mushrooms fall into the colloquial category of "LBMs" (little brown mushrooms) and the advice is almost always not to forage LBMs because there a million of them, they all look alike, and you might not know from region to region what the risk of look a likes are. ' So unless you have a r…
Sounds like sensible advice.
I've been led to believe the psilocybin ones have blue stalks which can distinguish them from others, but wouldn't pass that on as advice, myself.
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#38Isn't mushroom picking something that requires rather more than a modicum of research upfront before any layman should attempt to do so because of the existence of poisonous mushrooms? I mean, this feels eerily reminiscent of Google sending people up to the summit of Ben Nevis across dangerous terrain via a naive line connecting it to the geographically nearest car park. This website does not seem to give any warning…
Yes, all made worse by these apps that are available in the play or Apple App store that supposedly identify mushrooms for you. Do not go picking mushrooms without an expert or if you live in a country that offers mushroom inspection [2] use those and stay safe.
[1] https://www.srf.ch/news/panorama/vorsicht-lebensgefahr-pilz-...
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#39As someone who forages mushrooms pretty extensively my advice is not to forage psychedelic mushrooms as a beginner. Most psilocybin mushrooms fall into the colloquial category of "LBMs" (little brown mushrooms) and the advice is almost always not to forage LBMs because there a million of them, they all look alike, and you might not know from region to region what the risk of look a likes are. ' So unless you have a r…
There's a crazy amount of inertia around the 'mushroom foraging is only for experts' idea. I was just telling my mother in law this weekend that in our area there are no killer mushrooms. There are mushrooms that taste very bad, and (in the worst case) will cause stomach upset (vomiting) but nothing that will kill you outright. I was trying to encourage her to try some of the more well known edible wild varieties (which as the parent comment pointed out are often very easily identified) but she wouldn't budge from the belief that if you're not an expert you'll pick a mushroom and die. People are missing out on a very enjoyable past time because of fear mongering.
Re: Show HN: Magic Mushroom Map
#40As someone who forages mushrooms pretty extensively my advice is not to forage psychedelic mushrooms as a beginner. Most psilocybin mushrooms fall into the colloquial category of "LBMs" (little brown mushrooms) and the advice is almost always not to forage LBMs because there a million of them, they all look alike, and you might not know from region to region what the risk of look a likes are. ' So unless you have a r…
Sounds like sensible advice. I've been led to believe the psilocybin ones have blue stalks which can distinguish them from others, but wouldn't pass that on as advice, myself.
Thats one of the helpful identifiers but not the end of the story. Its a useful puzzle piece