The Mushroom Thread

[Radwin Bodnic]

Hi everyone !

I'm new to FC and I appreciate this place a lot. I have been lurking a lot these pasts months prior creating an account and I definitely feel being a part of this community.
Reading across a few different threads I have found that a lot of people here are mushrooms enthusiasts. Being myself a mycophile, and I dare to say a mushroom connoisseur, I would be really pleased if we can share about it on this thread.

Welcome to the mushroom thread ​

The fungus kingdom is quite luxuriant, so let's center a bit our exchanges.

What I'd love to see in this thread​

• Gourmet mushrooms talks, recipes
• Pictures in situ, pictures of pickings
• Rare and uncommon mushrooms pictures
• Medicinal mushrooms talks and uses
• Talks about biotope and biological interactions

I am OK with posts about magic mushrooms but please do not let them overwhelm this thread. (Magic mushrooms can be overwhelming.)

Even though it belongs to the fungi kingdom, please do not post about mold on your flowers.
Please do not post about growing auxiliary mushrooms, it might exist a more suited thread on FC.

About pictures​

Please only post your very own pictures.
Mushrooms spots are, by definition, secret spots. Therefore it is recommended to remove the EXIF data from your pictures.

Please put the names of the mushrooms you share here. Vernacular/local name is ok but standard/Latin name is better since we're an international community.
Hunting season and pasts weeks weather prior picking can be good informations to add to your pictures.

You can post pictures of mushrooms you don't know if you want the help of the community to identify them.
For an easy identification, do not cut the root of the mushroom : we need to see the full stem, root, hat (top and under), ring if there's one. A longitudinal cut can be helpful. Biotope and season are important informations for a better identification.

Disclaimer​

Mushroom hunting can be hazardous.​

Golden rule : do not eat a mushroom you haven't identified with absolute certainty.

While some mushrooms can be good raw edibles it is not recommended to eat raw mushrooms.
Some mushrooms spores can germinate into your respiratory system. Don't touch or smell mushrooms you don't know.

Some species can concentrate radioactive elements and heavy metals, avoid these species or only hunt them in virgin places.

We are an international community : be careful when identifying others pickings. Some European edibles might look nearly the same as North American poison mushrooms, or vice versa. There are identifications keys for each continent that can help you a little. Sometimes you only can differentiate a mushroom form an other under a microscope.

Always remember that we only see the tip of the iceberg : 99.99 % of the mushroom lives in the soil. Fungi might been driving the world after all…

​

Please have fun on this thread !​

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I'll start with pictures.

1. Macrolepiota Procera, immature specimen, ★★★ edible (October 2020, French Alps)
2. Morchella Esculenta, ★★★ edible (March 2021, French Alps)
3. Gomphus Clavatus, ★ edible, endangered specie : do not pick (August 2021, French Alps)

https://imgur.com/a/0PC3BdL

 

[beluga808]

Great thread @Radwin. What do the stars indicate?

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

What do the stars indicate?

It is a convention that usually refers to the gustative quality of the mushroom.
★★★ : finest edibles
★★ : good edibles
★ : average edibles

It is also possible to use the skull scale for toxic mushrooms.
: intoxicating but non fatal
: can be fatal or seriously harmful
: fatal mushroom, absolute emergency if eaten

 

[RustyOldNail]

I am OK with posts about magic mushrooms but please do not let them overwhelm this thread.

Can you briefly explain the differences?
Thanks!

 

[Cheebsy]

Unfortunately I can't eat mushrooms any more, only in the tiniest quantity due to a really annoying diet, however I would also like information on therapeutic mushrooms if anyone can share. I've been contemplating microdosing them for a while now but haven't jumped in yet.

 

[Haze Mister]

Do others have vivid dreams about picking mushrooms? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? - please leave Freud's BS out of this

Growing cubensis is a fantastic hobby if you can make the time and space for it. Oyster mushroom spores can be bad for the grower so it should not be done indoors (unless really small scale) without good air filters.

I am a mycophile but don't actually like eating them that often. All mushrooms are a bit heavy on the liver and should never be eaten raw.

Gourmet stuff should be sauteed with real butter and garlic.
That's some of what I know!

I am pretty sure the ancient Daoists in China were using a local psilocybin species among the other medicinal shrooms they were using.

I have tried some of the macrobiotic mushrooms but it seems you have to take them regularly for a while to get any benefit and they are expensive. My friend swears by Cordyceps.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

Can you briefly explain the differences?
Thanks!

Hey,

Magic mushrooms are mushrooms that contains psychotropic alkaloids. There are more than 200 species. Most of them are from the genus Psylocibe and Amanita.

These mushrooms, with really few exceptions, are considered to be toxic (and tastes terrible). In fact they can lead to sever gastric disorder, neurological and psychological troubles that can be persistent. There are ways to use them properly but it isn't easy.

The most famous might be Claviceps Purpurea, from which derives LSD. Nowadays mostly used for recreational purposes, hundreds of these mushrooms species were widely used by chamans all over the world. They induce a psychological state that helps getting in trance. (Not all chamans uses psychotropic to get in trance but these substances helps to make conscious some parts of our psyche that are usually unconscious by allowing tons of neurological connexions that are normally inhibited.)

They have an immense potential to cure mental disorders, to help overcome traumas and some neurological syndromes. They can be considered medicinal mushrooms but I seriously discourage to use them this way.

This leads us to the next point :

I would also like information on therapeutic mushrooms if anyone can share.

The most competent person I know about it is Paul Stamets. He grows and sells medicinal mushrooms and has a lot of experience with magic ones. I strongly suggest to reach out to its content, or maybe to him directly but I warn you : he can get seriously technical.

Some medicinal mushrooms have proven to fantastically help curing some cancers. Coriolus Versicolor, sometimes referred as Trametes Versicolor, is one of them. See here, here, here and here. Those ones are actually fairly commons and as relates @Haze Mister , sold at gold price as food supplement. Forests around me are literally full of them all year long and I sometimes eat them preventively. (With a lot less fun that I vape weed preventively TBH. )

All mushrooms are a bit heavy on the liver and should never be eaten raw.

That's mostly true… All the Cantharellaceae family is really the easiest to digest, even for sensitive persons. By chance they also are some of the finest mushrooms I know and they don't concentrate heavy metals nor radioactive elements, as well as being fairly common.
Some other mushrooms are divine when eaten raw. And when I say divine I mean food for angels, really.
Here are some :

1. Amanita Caesarea, ★★★ edible (July 2022, French Alps)
2. Amanita Caesarea, prepared as a carpaccio (angel's food)
3. Craterellus Lutescens, ★★★ edible (October 2022, French Alps)

https://imgur.com/a/SbFmj5a

My friend swears by Cordyceps.

I have yet to met a Cordyceps in person but these parasitics mushrooms only grows on some insects and arachnids and are really crazy organisms ! I know they are used to kill some bugs in the French vineyards but are super selective about which bug they can parasitize.


I am sorry for the book but I am a bit nut about mushrooms… I'll try to make shorter the next time !

 

[Haze Mister]

You would have to be pretty damn good with your mushroom Identification to eat an Amanita species, and raw, ha ha..

Anyone had anything interesting from Fly Agaric? (amanita muscaria)? I made a water extract of 3.5g (dry) once, following advice I found in a book published online, and it felt good but also felt like a bigger dose was needed.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

You would have to be pretty damn good with your mushroom Identification to eat an Amanita species, and raw, ha ha..

Anyone had anything interesting from Fly Agaric? (amanita muscaria)? I made a water extract of 3.5g (dry) once, following advice I found in a book published online, and it felt good but also felt like a bigger dose was needed.

I am quite confident with my mushroom identification and my ability to let in the woods the mushrooms on which I have the tiniest doubt. Most of the time, identifying the genus is sufficient and you don't need to determine the exact specie. (Either all the genus is uninteresting or all the genus is edible.) Some distinctive features allow to definitely determine a specie, without any doubt. I've eaten a bunch of Amanita Caesarea with nothing more than pure joy.

Amanita Muscaria contains Mucimol and Ibotenic acid. Proportions of these compounds might be related to the environment, the season and the age of the mushroom.
Ibotenic acid needs to be decarboxylated into Mucimol to be effective (remind me of something else… ). Did you applied enough heat during your extraction ?
If the low potency isn't due to a bad decarboxylation, you have either to use more material or use a more concentrated material. Amanita Pantherina has Mucimol and Ibotenic acid in larger proportions than Amanita Muscaria. Please watch the video below before picking that one in the woods.

Paul Stamets (him again…) have tried it for you…

PS. Please, do not put any Amanita into your vaporizer to decarb its compounds.

 

[darkstar72]

Paul Stamets is interesting. @Radwin Bodnic - it is cool you know your mushrooms. I found chicken of the woods last fall but also got a tick-born illness (which antibiotics cured).
I also bought a little Reishi. Grounded it into powder and filled two mason jars. A few times a month I’ll have a tsp or two in water before bed . The effects are subtle. They make me sleepy and possibly cause a deeper sleep? A slight shift the next day with a little more energy? Like one time last fall, I could tell while road biking uphill that the Reishi, eaten the prior evening, was giving me a boost of energy. Maybe my perceptions are off but I ate a little Reishi tonight.

 

[Babylon Drifter]

You would have to be pretty damn good with your mushroom Identification to eat an Amanita species, and raw, ha ha..

Anyone had anything interesting from Fly Agaric? (amanita muscaria)? I made a water extract of 3.5g (dry) once, following advice I found in a book published online, and it felt good but also felt like a bigger dose was needed.

My advice after dying the little death on Amanita Muscaria is skip it. I did a heroic dose of 7G alone in a dark room with no outside stimulus and it was BRUTAL. Nothing redeeming or worthwhile about the experience at all. I've done countless trips on the other species and never had a bad experience using them following Terrance McKenna's guidelines of dosage and usage. Unless being immobilized and essentially finding out the thing you cheerfully assumed you couldn't as you watch the world fade to black is your idea of a good way to spend about 6 hours... I'd say fuggit.

 

[Haze Mister]

Nothing redeeming or worthwhile about the experience at all.

There must be something there as it is used traditionally in Siberia by the OG shamans (where the word comes from) but there is a theory that the SIberian strains are different. When I had the water extract (UK strain) it really did feel very wholesome and beneficial.

I am quite confident with my mushroom identification and my ability to let in the woods the mushrooms on which I have the tiniest doubt. Most of the time, identifying the genus is sufficient and you don't need to determine the exact specie. (Either all the genus is uninteresting or all the genus is edible.) Some distinctive features allow to definitely determine a specie, without any doubt. I've eaten a bunch of Amanita Caesarea with nothing more than pure joy.

Well it should be mentioned that Amanita contains at least two seriously lethal species!!

Paul Stamets is the dude. He is an excellent example of an OG hippy who succesfully made it into the mainstream and am quite sure he started up by selling cubes, lol.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I did a heroic dose of 7G alone in a dark room with no outside stimulus and it was BRUTAL. Nothing redeeming or worthwhile about the experience at all.

Perhaps a better trip setting and a lower dose would have been more enjoyable … These mushrooms definitely can open doors in our minds, this is why Shamans used it and this is why it would probably be better to use it with, at least, a good trip-sitter.

Well it should be mentioned that Amanita contains at least two seriously lethal species!!

True. But they also are easily identifiable. In Europe, Amanita Caesarea is the only amanita specie to have yellow lamella and yellow nuances just under the skin of the cap.

A nice specimen picked today :
Disciotis Venosa, ★★ edible

https://imgur.com/a/swLhtY4

This is a very close parent to the morels : both are from the Pezizomycetes class. It is a really nice edible when cooked well. Toxic if eaten raw.

On the picture : my two comrades of the day, both made in the Alps.

 

[Babylon Drifter]

Perhaps a better trip setting and a lower dose would have been more enjoyable … These mushrooms definitely can open doors in our minds, this is why Shamans used it and this is why it would probably be better to use it with, at least, a good trip-sitter.

True. But they also are easily identifiable. In Europe, Amanita Caesarea is the only amanita specie to have yellow lamella and yellow nuances just under the skin of the cap.

A nice specimen picked today :
Disciotis Venosa, ★★ edible

https://imgur.com/a/swLhtY4

This is a very close parent to the morels : both are from the Pezizomycetes class. It is a really nice edible when cooked well. Toxic if eaten raw.

On the picture : my two comrades of the day, both made in the Alps.

I didn't start with a heroic dosage, I tried various smaller quantities ( from the same batch) over a 2 week period and got no result until I had the unpleasant result. Like I said, I used the McKenna protocal which is in fact alone with no lights, music or distraction. He considered anything else abuse as it isnt about self exploration, it's about fun. I actually used to be a trip guide, I didn't take on that species unprepared. A little clown it is not.

 

[Arawfish]

Now this is a great idea for a thread! I love Mushrooms deeply!

Speaking of Vapman and Mushrooms…

https://imgur.com/a/FzZSC17

Now I’m not 100% If these are Amanita Muscaria var. guessowii Or just regular Amanita Muscaria with an orangish hue. Pictures were taken September of 2021 in the interior of BC, which was a great year for mushrooms. I found enough of the red ones to get quite an effect after the red skin was dried and smoked in a pipe

Mushroom season is just starting up now that the snow is almost thawed so I hope to frequent this thread with many new mushrooms soon enough! Mainly Morels. I know some of my friends over in Europe are enjoying some right now!

Edit: I’ve got a bunch of pics on this phone but I really need to take some more! 1. Fomitopsis betulina (December 2022) 2. Gyomitra infula, 3. Hypomyces lactiflourum (edible if found early enough ️ ️ ️)4. Artomyces pyxidatus (I think) and I need help with identifying number 5 if possible?

​

https://imgur.com/a/Jaak0Pg

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

@Arawfish Those Amanitas are beautiful ! I love the yellowish nuances of the cap, they quite match this (boxwood ?) Vapman.

Hypomyces Lactiforum is a North America specific mushroom. I've never heard of it before so I looked at it on Wikipedia. It says that this fungus is only the thin orange / red layer that parasitize some Russula and Lactarius mushrooms. It seems that it can turns mediocre edibles into delectable ones.

I need help with identifying number 5 if possible

I'm not really aware of North American species, but I can try to help with what I see on this picture.
- Pores under the cap, with a gap between the pores and the stem.
- Top of the cap seem dry and a bit felt-like
- Stem without ring but seem to be covered with dark hairy strands (darker than the stem itself).

These criteria indicates the Leccinum genus. Overall shape of the stem and color of the cap reminds me of Leccinum Melaneum but I am not sure it grows in North America. They only grow under birch trees.

If the shapes on the stem looks more like a grid or like veins than hairy strands it might be something else...

For a better identification a longitudinal cut that show the flesh of stem and cap could help. If the flesh change color when cut, and what color it changes to could be important details. But I assume this picture has been took at fall...

 

[Arawfish]

@Arawfish Those Amanitas are beautiful ! I love the yellowish nuances of the cap, they quite match this (boxwood ?) Vapman.

Hypomyces Lactiforum is a North America specific mushroom. I've never heard of it before so I looked at it on Wikipedia. It says that this fungus is only the thin orange / red layer that parasitize some Russula and Lactarius mushrooms. It seems that it can turns mediocre edibles into delectable ones.



I'm not really aware of North American species, but I can try to help with what I see on this picture.
- Pores under the cap, with a gap between the pores and the stem.
- Top of the cap seem dry and a bit felt-like
- Stem without ring but seem to be covered with dark hairy strands (darker than the stem itself).

These criteria indicates the Leccinum genus. Overall shape of the stem and color of the cap reminds me of Leccinum Melaneum but I am not sure it grows in North America. They only grow under birch trees.

If the shapes on the stem looks more like a grid or like veins than hairy strands it might be something else...

For a better identification a longitudinal cut that show the flesh of stem and cap could help. If the flesh change color when cut, and what color it changes to could be important details. But I assume this picture has been took at fall...

I happen to have just such a picture!

https://imgur.com/a/49YYy6z

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I happen to have just such a picture!

https://imgur.com/a/49YYy6z

OK, this is a totally different story and a good example of how hard it is to identify a mushroom with just one picture.
This mushroom look to be old. Older mushrooms are harder to identify because some of their characteristics can change a lot with the time and weather changes.

It looks like a pine forest so the Leccinum I was talking about is out of the question.

Color and shape of the tubes and pores and the way they attach to the stem makes me thinking of the Xerocomus genus. The margin of the cuticle also seem to be a Xerocomus characteristic.

I'm afraid I can't help you more than that because I don't know this genus well.

 

[Arawfish]

OK, this is a totally different story and a good example of how hard it is to identify a mushroom with just one picture.
This mushroom look to be old. Older mushrooms are harder to identify because some of their characteristics can change a lot with the time and weather changes.

It looks like a pine forest so the Leccinum I was talking about is out of the question.

Color and shape of the tubes and pores and the way they attach to the stem makes me thinking of the Xerocomus genus. The margin of the cuticle also seem to be a Xerocomus characteristic.

I'm afraid I can't help you more than that because I don't know this genus well.

It’s a mixed forest with lots of birch, pine, cottonwood, oak, and a few others.

Thanks for the help though! All the research I did to try and identify that one came up fruitless too. Cool looking mushroom anyways! (Even the myco subs on Reddit couldn’t accurately describe this one)

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

They have been a bit late this year, but here they are ! Just picked a few morels yesterday...

1. & 2. Morchella Esculenta, ★★★ edible

https://imgur.com/a/3KTp2jT

 

[Ramahs]

I really only like the magic ones.
Never been a fan of the taste of mushrooms, so I'm only in it for the emergent effects.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Мy favorite mushroom is the Macrolepiota procera ,second best is Lactarius deliciosus. Very tasty but they do not store well should be eaten right away. Out of the magic ones ,i prefer the Cyanesens , if you have trouble digesting,make yourself a lemontek,tea or tincture.

Another good one is Pleurotus ostreatus
.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I really only like the magic ones.
Never been a fan of the taste of mushrooms, so I'm only in it for the emergent effects.

I know taste is something personal, but honestly there is no "taste of mushroom"… I think most people here have a sharp sense of taste, and seeing what vapes you use, you might be a connoisseur as well.
I've eaten a lot of different mushrooms. Laetiporus Sulphureus taste like slightly overcooked chicken breast ; most Cantharellales smell and taste like plum or apricot ; Boletus Edulis does tastes like almond ; Amanita Caesarea does have a subtle airy hazelnut taste ; Morels can taste like a blend of nuts and meat juice ; Truffle can remind of hazelnut mixed with corn and a nice peaty surrounding aroma ; Russula Xerampelina absolutely taste like crustaceans... There's no rule with mushroom's taste !

But not liking them could be because of where you come from… (Please consider the following considerations as suppositions.)
Claude Lévi-Strauss used to divide the world into mycophilic and mycophobic countries, or cultures. And we all know that we hardly escape from our cultural preconceptions.
He even goes to that point : countries that have revolutionary history and traditions mostly are mycophilic and countries that have liberal culture and traditions mostly are mycophobic.

FWIW I think that being interested only into magic mushrooms looks like a slightly mycophobic approach. Like being interested only in a specific molecule / effect. Mycophiles are often globally interested in the fungus kingdom and its interactions with life.
Being here only for magic mushrooms is totally your right, this thread is about all mushrooms, including magic ones. I just wanted to put some perspective into this…
And I would be glad to know more about your experiences with shrooms. Do you pick them by yourself ?

@Abysmal Vapor I like a lot Macrolepiota Procera, but not Lactarius Deliciosus. In fact, there are a lot in the forests around me and I just let them where they are ! In these same forests there often are a lot of Craterellus Lutescens that I much much prefer over Lactarius. But I know that in Catalogna people only swear by the Lactarius Deliciosus... Taste is a very personal thing after all !

 

[Ramahs]

I know taste is something personal, but honestly there is no "taste of mushroom"… I think most people here have a sharp sense of taste, and seeing what vapes you use, you might be a connoisseur as well.
I've eaten a lot of different mushrooms. Laetiporus Sulphureus taste like slightly overcooked chicken breast ; most Cantharellales smell and taste like plum or apricot ; Boletus Edulis does tastes like almond ; Amanita Caesarea does have a subtle airy hazelnut taste ; Morels can taste like a blend of nuts and meat juice ; Truffle can remind of hazelnut mixed with corn and a nice peaty surrounding aroma ; Russula Xerampelina absolutely taste like crustaceans... There's no rule with mushroom's taste !

Maybe I should rephrase that as I have never encountered a mushroom that I enjoyed the taste of.

But not liking them could be because of where you come from… (Please consider the following considerations as suppositions.)
Claude Lévi-Strauss used to divide the world into mycophilic and mycophobic countries, or cultures. And we all know that we hardly escape from our cultural preconceptions.

Definitely. I was raised by a mother that hated the taste of mushrooms, so I wasn't raised eating them. I just never developed the taste for them.

FWIW I think that being interested only into magic mushrooms looks like a slightly mycophobic approach. Like being interested only in a specific molecule / effect. Mycophiles are often globally interested in the fungus genus and its interactions with life.

I love mushrooms and other fungus from a biological perspective. They are fantastically interesting and amazing in how they function, all that their colonies play in their ecosystems, and how fantastically different they are than most other life on this planet. I just never enjoyed eating them, so the only reason I've been interested in eating them is if I enjoy some other benefit gained from ingesting them.

Being here only for magic mushrooms is totally your right, this thread is about all mushrooms, including magic ones. I just wanted to put some perspective into this…
And I would be glad to know more about your experiences with shrooms. Do you pick them by yourself ?

Nope. I don't have enough knowledge to confidently pick and eat any mushroom I've identified myself, lest I accidentally die.

Though, I moved to Oregon recently, which I know is a good place for mushroom hunting at the right time of year. So , maybe one day. But I need to meet the right people to learn from, and haven't come across that.

Also, don't get me wrong, I'd like to find mushrooms that I enjoy eating, because I know that there is a world of them out there that people love.