71–80 of 112 posts
I just read about a harpsichordist who died eating mushrooms he thought were edible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Schobert
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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.
It is true that afaik, every pislocybe species bruises blue, the problem is, could it bruise blue, contain psilocybin, but also be poisonous. I think the truth is that it is pretty rare for that to be the case or may even be non existent but I'd definitely want to get verification on that for my specific region before harvesting anything. Also, as a general point, it is a myth that bruising blue always indicates the…
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I was wondering, if there is a reason, that britain has lots of areas with high propability and the mainland has not, but then I saw that the growth records [7] indeed only cover the british islands. So I suppose the data on the map is not really accurate as of now? Otherwise what I would have expect from such a site, would be of course also detailed informations on how the mushrooms look exactly and where to look fo…
The differences in the amount of areas across countries is mainly to do with differences in the amount of suitable grassland. For instance, in countries where lots of grassland has been turned into cropland there are fewer areas. In countries where grassland is dominated by, for instance, pastures there will be more areas. Thanks for your feedback; i've been thinking of adding a field guide on identification. Also go…
Pholiotina rugosa has been spotted growing amoungst liberty caps, which contains some of the same deadly toxins in amanita species, as well as maybe others out there I'm not remembering offhand which could be mistaken (It's quite cosmopolitan in distribution in the northern hemisphere).
Isn'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.
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Here's an example of someone (who ought to have known better) ending up near-death with kidney failure after a misidentification. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/13/filmadaptation...
> Nicholas - We had this family doctor came around and we knew pretty well actually what they were. I mean, we looked in the book the very next morning when Alastair started feeling ill and Charlotte was already ill. It was so clear from the photograph that what we had eaten, it wasn't a cep. It was themushroom called cortinarius speciosissimus which some people call the deadly webcap apparently. It had a rather comf…
Would this be feasible for normal (edible) mushroom species as well? Some expensive (and delicious) varieties are quite rare, and a map using data like this could help perhaps.
It's possible, and would be useful, but generally not to the same extent. Many species of magic mushrooms have extremely precise weather triggers, whereas for most other species it's more like "go outside the 3rd week of July and look next to beech trees."
* The 2005 Drugs Act amended the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to clarify that both fresh and prepared (e.g. dried or stewed) magic mushrooms that contain psilocin or psilocybin (such as the ‘liberty cap’) are Class A drugs. This means it’s illegal to have this type of ‘magic mushrooms’ for yourself, to give away or to sell
* Possession is illegal and can get you up to seven years in jail and/or an unlimited fine.
* Supplying someone else, even your friends, can get you up to life imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
[1] https://thebasementproject.org.uk/guidance-addiction/guidanc...
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It is true that afaik, every pislocybe species bruises blue, the problem is, could it bruise blue, contain psilocybin, but also be poisonous. I think the truth is that it is pretty rare for that to be the case or may even be non existent but I'd definitely want to get verification on that for my specific region before harvesting anything. Also, as a general point, it is a myth that bruising blue always indicates the…
I have to say, those are incredibly beautiful specimens. Do you know what species that is off hand?
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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 (wh…
People are missing out on a very enjoyable past time because of fear mongering. It's subjective that people would find it enjoyable. Even of all the past times one can do, there are similar ones, like birding, hiking, gardening, etc. We're not short on past times that, even in the worst case, won't even leave you vomiting.
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Here's an example of someone (who ought to have known better) ending up near-death with kidney failure after a misidentification. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/13/filmadaptation...
From the story it doesn't even appear that they attempted an ID until after they were very ill. Back to the car analogy, if someone kills themself driving down the wrong side of the highway we don't all give up on driving because it is unsafe. Yes you can definitely kill yourself foraging mushrooms. It's exceptionally unlikely with even a small bit of precaution and common sense but of course if you disregard all of…
In my experience and in a network of many other people, there are precisely ZERO little brown mushrooms having BOTH a passing resemblance to p. sem. in any conditions (dry/wet or young/old) AND are noxious let alone dangerous.
If its your first time, be cautious, take a good book. On a dry day P. Sem. is easier to distinguish from other species that are safe but wrong. One day of successful foraging and you will know P. Sem. well enough in the wet too.
If it has the characteristic nipple, it is certainly what you are looking for. If not,well it may be, but you can just leave it until your skill improves.
Finally, needless to say, the moment the first mushroom enters your mouth, foraging is over for the day.