Years first Amanita Muscaria

[null24]

I find these growing mostly around deciduous trees. I know supposedly they only grow in close proximity to evergreens but I find them near deciduous. Almost always close to trees of some sort though.

Yeah it seems to be a myth that they have the symbiotic relationship with evergreens. I've found them in the open not near anything or around landscaping bushes, hardwoods and evergreens. Not lately tho. Been striking out on everything except those babies I ate. Hasn't really rained at yet. I did find a big mass of what I'm almost certain is cyan myc in a couple spots that had patches last year. It's the waiting game.

 

[roninsina]

My old Audubon Field Guide reports them growing under pine, spruce, birch, live oak, and mandrone. I’m not finding them to really match all of that in my area and was just looking for some clues as to what the myc might be feeding on. It doesn’t, in my limited experience, appear that those trees by themselves are what’s feeding them, especially if you’re finding them out in the open where, at best there’s some buried rotten wood.

Happy hunting, guys.

 

[infinitynlove]

Hey there

I thought id add a few pics I taken of some lovely fly agaric I seen in Scotland. interesting I noticed some deer eat a huge cluster of them!

Do deer trip on fly agaric mushrooms? They love to eat them thats for sure!

Peace

 

[roninsina]

Nice photos InfinityLove.

So more evidence they may not be dependent on live trees and there is some other soil relationship feeding them. Are there any trees nearby whose roots could reach the soil near those fruits?


I’ve noticed the squirrels around here seem to really love them too, and are not daunted by or enjoy the possible effects they may be getting.

 

[infinitynlove]

Nice photos InfinityLove.

So more evidence they may not be dependent on live trees and there is some other soil relationship feeding them. Are there any trees nearby whose roots could reach the soil near those fruits?


I’ve noticed the squirrels around here seem to really love them too, and are not daunted by or enjoy the possible effects they may be getting.

Hi there
they where found in a an area surrounded by forest that has been cut back to build a house, also close to several silver birch, so it makes sense that the soil sill had the right conditions for their growth, they also could be growing on some elongated roots under the ground.

The deer loved them!

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Do deer trip on fly agaric mushrooms? They love to eat them thats for sure!

Reindeer love fly agarics so much that reindeer herders have been known to round the creatures up by scattering dried caps on the ground, or so I've read at least.

We can conclude that most animals enjoy getting into altered states now and again.

 

[infinitynlove]

Do deer trip on fly agaric mushrooms? They love to eat them thats for sure!

Reindeer love fly agarics so much that reindeer herders have been known to round the creatures up by scattering dried caps on the ground, or so I've read at least.

We can conclude that most animals enjoy getting into altered states now and again.

I have heard similar

I also have heard of shamans drinking the urine from deer and humans that have consumed Amanita Muscaria to get refined effect, apparently passing through the body improves it and reduces side effects...

I heard that some big cats also chew on active roots before hunting.

Cows always eat liberty caps, where sheep avoid them.

Sheep eat phlaris grass! It was known as sleepy grass as they would often fall over after eating it

I love nature

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Sheep eat phlaris grass! It was known as sleepy grass as they would often fall over after eating it Smile

Phalaris grass sometimes causes a condition known as staggers (amongst other things) and its cause is still contested. One particular symptom of phalaris staggers is paralysis of the hind legs and can progress to fatal convulsions. Research into staggers led to the discovery of tryptamines in these grasses (thanks, sheep!) Interestingly, histological analysis of deceased sheep's brains following cases of phalaris staggers showed bluish striations... This perhaps ties in with what Chimp Z writes here:

Science has also shown us that many causes of livestock death or "staggers" are from high amounts of cobalt build up in soil or other issues like mixing toxic legumes into their diet.

so, in the fatal, convulsive cases at least, tryptamines may have little to do with phalaris staggers at all. (Perhaps it should be mentioned, cobalt compounds often have a blue colour.)

However, Sleepy grass - Stipa robusta - is in an entirely different genus and contains LSA and related prenyltryptophan-derived alkaloids as its major active components, which are produced by an endophytic fungus (IIRC off the top of my head, Epichloë sp. - I could well be wrong here). Jim de Korne mentioned this grass in the lysergamide chapter of his book, Psychedelic Shamanism, whereas Phalaris had its own chapter.

Then there is Lolium staggers (or something like that) which is caused by an entirely different group of (non-indolic) alkaloids sometimes found in Lolium species.

Just to set things straight


There is still enormous scope for expanding our understanding of alkaloid occurrence in the Poaceae family. I do wonder whether anyone has examined the tryptamine content of the substrate species favoured by Psilocybe semilanceata (attempting to veer back on topic - oh, hang on we're in the fly agaric thread. Whatever :roll: ).

We can conclude that most animals enjoy getting into altered states now and again.

Cows always eat liberty caps, where sheep avoid them

Most animals, except sheep :lol:

 

[Tony6Strings]

The caps from post #30, dried.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

why, they look good enough to eat!
:want:

 

[null24]

Whatcha planning to do with those?

 

[Exitwound]

Why not microdose? These have cognitive and mood enhancing properties at low dose, the best usage for them imo.
Btw mixing amanitas with edible cannabis is recommended by me :thumb_up:
Dosage wise: we make it so that each person gets equivalent of 3-4gr of dried amanitas with drinkable canna dose, they synergize very nicely, just don't overindulge

 

[Tony6Strings]

Soon I will make tea from one of the small caps. I still have yet to try.

Null you are welcome to some of these if you are ever in the area. Also I have a whole other box of things besides which we can get into...

Exit thanks for the advice I will give this a try soon.

 

[roninsina]

Soon I will make tea from one of the small caps. I still have yet to try.

Hey Tony, I don’t have extensive experience with amanitas, but I did want to mention that a smallish cap of maybe a couple or three inches minced and brewed for a half hour or so, is a very nice dose for me. It is very comforting at that dose and doesn’t really give me any of the challenging mental space. I can still be quite social and generally have total control of all faculties and my sensory awareness is uncompromised/slightly enhanced. Nice gentle euphoria. A very primal body high.

A little higher dose, with a big cap or a couple of small ones may need a slightly safer place to move around or maybe better to sit still - there may be some noticeable ataxia and you may want to make some noise.

I haven’t considered a large dose yet, as I enjoy the smaller ones so much. I would like to find a dose that feels safe for work as I’m very sensitive to the cold and amanitas give me significant immunity to this.

Anyway, good luck! A campfire in the woods with some friends is the perfect setting for that dose!

Edit: I usually chew and swallow the little minced bits from the tea, and it’s quite tasty without adding anything for flavor.

 

[Tony6Strings]

Roninsina thank you for the advice. I would like to photograph the area where I pick these, there are everywhere and many very large. Maybe later today. I've been picking this size I like how they look and easier to dry.

 

[null24]

Damn Tony. I'm hitting the jackpot with cyans down here but have not seen a single red amanita. Found a couple slug eaten Panthers, but that isn't what I am after....

 

[Tony6Strings]

Null24, this spot contains amanitas every fall, although this last week's fruiting is prolific. I'm sure there are similar spots somewhere in pdx. Note the ground is covered in deciduous leaves. Not an evergreen anywhere on the block.

 

[null24]

Null24, this spot contains amanitas every fall, although this last week's fruiting is prolific. I'm sure there are similar spots somewhere in pdx. Note the ground is covered in deciduous leaves. Not an evergreen anywhere on the block.

Those are absolutely gorgeous. I am hopefully heading to the coast soon to a known spot for them...

Oh yeah, they are here, I know that. They don't seem to be as prolific the last couple years though. All my usual spots for them have not produced.

This is illustrative of what I was finding a few years ago:

 

[Tony6Strings]

Yeah, I saw that thread recently, found it doing a search. Those were some huge mushrooms!!

In other news, this casserole dish turned to soup in the oven. I've always had a harder time drying out the large caps which is why I pick bigger buttons now. These ones specifically were very wet from being rained on which never helps.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

In other news, this casserole dish turned to soup in the oven. I've always had a harder time drying out the large caps which is why I pick bigger buttons now. These ones specifically were very wet from being rained on which never helps.

It's the airflow that was lacking. You literally just made a fly agaric gratin - all you forgot was the cheese! I would suggest to string up the mushroom pieces on a length of stout thread and let them air-dry for a while before transferring to a cool oven. Cooking mushrooms always generates a lot of juice as you will have noticed in your casserole dish. A pre-dry helps to minimise this.

Stainless steel mesh comes in very useful when drying mushrooms in general.

Air flow, air flow, air flow!