6 ms·

As someone who forages mushrooms pretty extensively my advice is not to forage psychedelic mushrooms as a beginner. Most psilocybin mushrooms fall into the coll

by anm89 5y ago

As 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.

ricardo81 5y ago
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.
- a2tech 5y ago
  Thats one of the helpful identifiers but not the end of the story. Its a useful puzzle piece
- anm89 5y ago
  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 presence of psilocybin. For instance, many boletes bruise blue and don't contain any psilocybin. Here's a picture of an intensely blue staining bolete that does not have psilocybin: https://i.redd.it/waumic0mjh921.jpg https://i.redd.it/waumic0mjh921.jpg
  - jamal-kumar 5y ago
    I have to say, those are incredibly beautiful specimens. Do you know what species that is off hand?
    - froj 5y ago
      Could be a neoboletus luridiformis with an unusually slim stem. In any case, I would say the color saturation in this picture is cranked up quite a bit.
      - anm89 5y ago
        You are probably right that they played with saturation here but I don't think by that much. I've seen boletes that look pretty close to that in person in the 5-10 seconds after you tear them.
a2tech 5y ago
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.
- JoeAltmaier 5y ago
  Well, vomiting isn't very nice either. And some (many?) folks aren't crazy about mushrooms to start with. They may make apologies of the "I wouldn't know how to pick them safely" sort to avoid having to go mushrooming...
  - a2tech 5y ago
    Thats undeniably true, vomiting isn't something anyone wants to do. However you're VERY unlikely to pick anything except what you're looking for if you stick to the 'biggies' of the found mushroom world as the grandparent comment covers--chicken of the wood, hen of the wood, morels, etc. They're quite distinctive and not easily confused with other things. The LBMs are a whole different kettle of fish--you're definitely into 'hard mode' when you try to differentiate those. But until you're an expert there's really no reason you'd even be looking for mushrooms in that category.
    - JoeAltmaier 5y ago
      Hm. Morels around here come in 4 colors, and some of those can resemble other toxic mushrooms that also grow around here. It can seem 'easy' to distinguish when familiar. But if you're coming at it fresh it's quite daunting. And to make your friends sick is a significant faux pas. Anyway that leaves the "I don't want to do this, and I want a 'good reason' and the death card is a good reason" cause of reluctance. It may be more common that we think.
foxhop 5y ago
Always cook mushrooms, you can taste a little when out foraging to help identify but all mushrooms should be cooked (even lightly) before being consumed as food. Magic mushrooms are consumed raw.
- cwkoss 5y ago
  Even store-bought mushrooms should be cooked. There is some evidence that the common white button mushroom contains some carcinogens when raw. https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-CA031611-05 https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-CA031611-05 (Note: other studies have concluded the dosage is too low for concern, the jury is still out) But also, many kinds of bacteria can thrive in mushroom growing conditions - good idea to sterilize before you eat.
A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
This is of interest to me. Could you recommend IL state booklet?
- anm89 5y ago
  I'd recommend to go on facebook or just on the web and look for a local group related to foraging. Everyone there will know what the best books are for your region because 10 people probably join that group everyday and ask the same question and they will probably have a stock answer.
- heavyset_go 5y ago
  Check out Mushroom Observer[1], and use the map or search feature to find observations in your state. You can also search by genus or species. [1] https://mushroomobserver.org/ https://mushroomobserver.org/
alecst 5y ago
I have to wonder if this is true. Suppose you find a mushroom that obviously bruises blue and generally matches the phenotype of whatever local psilocybe grows in your area. What's your risk? I looked into galerina poisonings, being the most similar mushroom I can think of off the top of my head that might poison you, but there are so, so few cases. Maybe 1 every two years? Given how many people forage for magic mushrooms, I have to wonder if the risk is really there. Open to having my mind changed. I've been foraging for about 10 years, but this is not something I know a whole lot about, except for that I never hear about it.
- Alex3917 5y ago
  > Suppose you find a mushroom that obviously bruises blue and generally matches the phenotype of whatever local psilocybe grows in your area. What's your risk? If it has chocolate brown spores and bruises blue then the risk is zero in every area that I know of. The only issue people are going to have is not knowing what bluing actually is, and thinking "well maybe this is navy blue" or whatever. Or only looking for bluing on some, but not all of the mushrooms in a collection.
- anm89 5y ago
  I mean, Im really not advising against foraging psilocybes across the board but I feel like it's the kind of thing where if you have to ask, the answer is no. For what it's worth, in my region(western PA) gallerinas are anecdotally an order of magnitude more common than any psilocybes. Actually the only psilocybin mushroom I've heard of anyone harvesting around here is gymnopilus sp. This one is also notoriously hard to identify.
pmoriarty 5y ago
I'd encourage anyone interested in this to watch Alan Rockefeller's fantastic talks on psilocybin mushroom identification: [1] [2] If you do decide to pick your own mushrooms, definitely look for the signs he mentions in the videos, make spore prints, and post pictures of the mushrooms to the sites he recommends, where experts can identify them for you. And remember: There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL-7u80kjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL-7u80kjs [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pInqVRRva7M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pInqVRRva7M
heavyset_go 5y ago
Specifically, some species of Psilocybe look almost identical to some Galerina species, and sometimes they grow right next to each other. You don't want to eat Galerina[1]. In my opinion, hunting shelf fungi is pretty beginner friendly. As far as I'm aware, many species are edible, and those that aren't will just give you a stomach ache instead of giving you liver failure. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina_marginata#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina_marginata#Toxicity
Relys 5y ago
You can observe for the presence of psilocybin by blue bruising of the mushroom flesh. If you make a tea, the water will turn blue as psilocybin converts into psilocin through hydrolysis. You can squeeze some lemon juice in to stop the reaction before it turns from blue to dark (i.e. adjust the pH to stop the reaction before the psilocin breaks down into non-active compounds). Or you can just get some 4-Aco-DMT to convert to psilocin which is way easier to microdose.

by anm89 5y ago

ricardo81 5y ago

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.

a2tech 5y ago
Thats one of the helpful identifiers but not the end of the story. Its a useful puzzle piece
anm89 5y ago
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 presence of psilocybin. For instance, many boletes bruise blue and don't contain any psilocybin. Here's a picture of an intensely blue staining bolete that does not have psilocybin: https://i.redd.it/waumic0mjh921.jpg https://i.redd.it/waumic0mjh921.jpg
- jamal-kumar 5y ago
  I have to say, those are incredibly beautiful specimens. Do you know what species that is off hand?
  - froj 5y ago
    Could be a neoboletus luridiformis with an unusually slim stem. In any case, I would say the color saturation in this picture is cranked up quite a bit.
    - anm89 5y ago
      You are probably right that they played with saturation here but I don't think by that much. I've seen boletes that look pretty close to that in person in the 5-10 seconds after you tear them.

a2tech 5y ago

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.

JoeAltmaier 5y ago
Well, vomiting isn't very nice either. And some (many?) folks aren't crazy about mushrooms to start with. They may make apologies of the "I wouldn't know how to pick them safely" sort to avoid having to go mushrooming...
- a2tech 5y ago
  Thats undeniably true, vomiting isn't something anyone wants to do. However you're VERY unlikely to pick anything except what you're looking for if you stick to the 'biggies' of the found mushroom world as the grandparent comment covers--chicken of the wood, hen of the wood, morels, etc. They're quite distinctive and not easily confused with other things. The LBMs are a whole different kettle of fish--you're definitely into 'hard mode' when you try to differentiate those. But until you're an expert there's really no reason you'd even be looking for mushrooms in that category.
  - JoeAltmaier 5y ago
    Hm. Morels around here come in 4 colors, and some of those can resemble other toxic mushrooms that also grow around here. It can seem 'easy' to distinguish when familiar. But if you're coming at it fresh it's quite daunting. And to make your friends sick is a significant faux pas. Anyway that leaves the "I don't want to do this, and I want a 'good reason' and the death card is a good reason" cause of reluctance. It may be more common that we think.

foxhop 5y ago

Always cook mushrooms, you can taste a little when out foraging to help identify but all mushrooms should be cooked (even lightly) before being consumed as food. Magic mushrooms are consumed raw.

cwkoss 5y ago
Even store-bought mushrooms should be cooked. There is some evidence that the common white button mushroom contains some carcinogens when raw. https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-CA031611-05 https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-CA031611-05 (Note: other studies have concluded the dosage is too low for concern, the jury is still out) But also, many kinds of bacteria can thrive in mushroom growing conditions - good idea to sterilize before you eat.

A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago

This is of interest to me. Could you recommend IL state booklet?

anm89 5y ago
I'd recommend to go on facebook or just on the web and look for a local group related to foraging. Everyone there will know what the best books are for your region because 10 people probably join that group everyday and ask the same question and they will probably have a stock answer.
heavyset_go 5y ago
Check out Mushroom Observer[1], and use the map or search feature to find observations in your state. You can also search by genus or species. [1] https://mushroomobserver.org/ https://mushroomobserver.org/

alecst 5y ago

I have to wonder if this is true. Suppose you find a mushroom that obviously bruises blue and generally matches the phenotype of whatever local psilocybe grows in your area. What's your risk? I looked into galerina poisonings, being the most similar mushroom I can think of off the top of my head that might poison you, but there are so, so few cases. Maybe 1 every two years? Given how many people forage for magic mushrooms, I have to wonder if the risk is really there. Open to having my mind changed. I've been foraging for about 10 years, but this is not something I know a whole lot about, except for that I never hear about it.

Alex3917 5y ago
> Suppose you find a mushroom that obviously bruises blue and generally matches the phenotype of whatever local psilocybe grows in your area. What's your risk? If it has chocolate brown spores and bruises blue then the risk is zero in every area that I know of. The only issue people are going to have is not knowing what bluing actually is, and thinking "well maybe this is navy blue" or whatever. Or only looking for bluing on some, but not all of the mushrooms in a collection.
anm89 5y ago
I mean, Im really not advising against foraging psilocybes across the board but I feel like it's the kind of thing where if you have to ask, the answer is no. For what it's worth, in my region(western PA) gallerinas are anecdotally an order of magnitude more common than any psilocybes. Actually the only psilocybin mushroom I've heard of anyone harvesting around here is gymnopilus sp. This one is also notoriously hard to identify.

pmoriarty 5y ago

I'd encourage anyone interested in this to watch Alan Rockefeller's fantastic talks on psilocybin mushroom identification: [1] [2] If you do decide to pick your own mushrooms, definitely look for the signs he mentions in the videos, make spore prints, and post pictures of the mushrooms to the sites he recommends, where experts can identify them for you. And remember: There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL-7u80kjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL-7u80kjs [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pInqVRRva7M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pInqVRRva7M

heavyset_go 5y ago

Specifically, some species of Psilocybe look almost identical to some Galerina species, and sometimes they grow right next to each other. You don't want to eat Galerina[1]. In my opinion, hunting shelf fungi is pretty beginner friendly. As far as I'm aware, many species are edible, and those that aren't will just give you a stomach ache instead of giving you liver failure. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina_marginata#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina_marginata#Toxicity

Relys 5y ago

You can observe for the presence of psilocybin by blue bruising of the mushroom flesh. If you make a tea, the water will turn blue as psilocybin converts into psilocin through hydrolysis. You can squeeze some lemon juice in to stop the reaction before it turns from blue to dark (i.e. adjust the pH to stop the reaction before the psilocin breaks down into non-active compounds). Or you can just get some 4-Aco-DMT to convert to psilocin which is way easier to microdose.