Psilocybin Mushroom Picking

8/8/2019 Psilocybin Mushroom Picking

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le:///C|/My%20Shared%20Folder/Books%20&%20Essays/Drugs%20and%20Counter%20Culture/Mushrooms/Mushroom%20Picking.txt

om: [email protected] (Rik Marshall)

ate: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 07:56:27 +0000

ewsgroups: alt.drugs

ubject: Mushroom Identification

ve decided to go shroom picking this year and recently posted a request

r information to a.d, this has met with a lot of response (from the UK),seems people are a bit vague on what it looks like, and where to find

em.

ve been looking through books and condensed all the relevant info

to this file (also a couple of gifs).

he two species I have concentrated on are Psilocybe Semilanceata (Liberty

aps) and Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric). I have been looking for the first

m not too bothered about the second, after reading a few posts about it

a.d, it sounds a little too heavy, pos. dangerous), the literature seems

have the concensus that it is harmless (except for the hallucinogenic

operties :) ).

hope this helps ....

Sorry for any typo's >

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__The mushroom identifier - David Pegler & Brian Spooner___

oisonous Fungi

ome species affect the central nervous system causing hallucinations and

metimes leading to coma. In the case of muscimol poisoning, also caused

y the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) and by others such as The Panther

A. pantherina), the symptoms consist mainly of drowsiness but can be morerious. Some of the Psiocybe species, on the other hand, cause visual

llucinations within 20 minutes of ingestion. Such mushrooms are sometimes

liberately ingested for recreational purposesalthough the legality of such

tions varies between countries.

ilocybe Semilanceata (Stropharia (Strophariaceae)) - Liberty Cap.

well-known species, owing to its reputation as a "magic mushroom"

ap: 3/8-5/8 in(1-1.5cm) in diameter, narrowly conical with a central,

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pointed projection, not expandinhg, pale yellowish brown, drying

to almost white, smooth, sticky, with a darker striated margin.

ills: adnate, grey-brown to blackish brown, broad and crowded.

em: 2-3 X 1/8 in (5-8X0.2-03 cm), slender, cylindrical, paler than the

cap and often bruising bluish green towards the base.

esh: thin, firm.

pore deposit: purplish black.

abitat: very common, solitary or in very large numbers, in open grassland.dibility: toxic, causing psychotropic poisoning, and consequently has been

used as a hallucinogen.

eason: Autumn

milar species: There are numerous species of Psilocybe, and many are small

and similar in appearance. The Bluing Psilocybe (P. cyanescens)

lacks a point on the cap, while P. fimetaria grows on dung; both

poisonous.

manita Muscaria (Amanita (Amanitaceae)) - Fly Agaric.erhaps the best-known wild mushroom, having a large, scarlet cap with small

white scales, and a membranous ring on the stem.

ap: 2-9 in (5-25 cm) in diameter, strongly rounded the expanding to flat

and platelike, moist and shiny, with concentric rings of small white

scales which may become washed away by the rain.

ills: free, white to pale yellow, broad and rounded.

em: 4-9 X 3/8-1 in (10-25 X 1-2.5 cm), tall, cylindrical with as swollen

base.

esh: thick, white, yellowish under cap cuticle.pore deposit: white.

abitat: in small groups, under pine or birch.

dibility: poisonous, containing both sweat-inducing and mild hallucinogenic

poisons, which can cause delerium and coma.

eason: Autumn

milar species: The variety regalis is yellowish brown with yellow scales,

and in North America, the variety formosa is orange-yellow; both

poisonous.

_The Encyclopedia of Mushrooms - Colin Dickinson & John Lucas__

ushroom Poisoning - The nerve poisons.

part from the cell poisons, the most dangerous species are those which

ntain substances that affect the nervous system. Strictly speaking the

llucinogenic species also affect the nervous system, but the disturbances



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this case are usually restricted to sensory distortion. Mushrooms

ntaining nerve poisons can cause more serious symptoms such as convulsions,

regular breathing and, in severe cases, death through heart failure. Two

pes of toxin have been implicated in this type of poisoning - muscarine

d ibotenic acid.

allucinogenic mushrooms.

he principal toxins in Amanita muscaria have now been identified as ibotenicid, and the closely related compound, muscimol. The Panther Cap (A.

ntherina) causes similar symptoms, also attributed to these poisons but

hile this latter species is rightly regarded as dangerous, the status of

y Agaric as a deadly mushroom has been questioned. It has traditionally

en used as a ritual halluginogen in certain cultures and attitudes to this

ushroom would appear to be more to do with cultural background than with any

ientific assessment of it's toxicity.

ilocybe semilanceata - Liberty Caps.

his small fungus was given the name Liberty Caps because the shape of its

p is like that adopted as the symbol of the first French Republic. It

ntains the hallucinatory drug psilocybin, and may have been tried by those

eking new drug experiences. In a recent English court case it was judged

ot to be an offence to possess the fruiting bodies of this species.

ap: pale clay colour, becoming yellowish-olive or dingy brown. 0.5-1cm in

ameter, up to 2cm high. Acutely conical, often with a sharp point, never

apnding. Margin inrolled at first, slightly striate. Cutcle slimy,eling in wet weather. Flesh membranous, white.

ills: finally purplish brown with white edges, adnate, narrow, crowded.

ipe: slender, usually wavy, up to 7.5 cm long. Whitish at the top, pale

ay lower down. Smooth with remnants of viel in young specimins.

esh: pliant, tough.

pores: purple-brown in mass, ellipsoid, smooth, with a germ pore, average

ze 13.0 X 7.8 microns.

abitat and distribution.

rows gregariously, often in troops, among grass, in fields, pastures, heathsd along roadsides where animals have grazed. Frequent to common in Europe

d North America, it also grows in Australia.

ccurrence: August to November.

ulinary properties: It is said to be poisonous when raw, even fatal is eaten

y children. Harmless when cooked.

_The Illustrated Book of Mushrooms and Fungi - Dr Mirko Svrcek__



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oisonous fungi and the symptoms of poisoning.

ychotropic poisoning involves serious cases characterized by the irritation

brain tissue. For a long time the intoxication caused by the Fly Agaric

as the only form of mushroom poisoning accompanied by psychic disturbances.

was not before the 1950s that other so-called cult fungi, formally used in

ligious ceremonies and rites, were identified; their ingestion leads tofferent manifestations of psychic disturbance. Two types of psychotropic

oisoning are distinguished: psychotonic poisoning caused by the so-called

ycoatropine, and psychodysleptic poisoning caused by psilocybine.

Europe, poisoning by mycoatropine is caused by three Amanita species.

ost common are cases of poisoning after eating the Panther Cap, less

equent are those caused by the Fly Agaric, and practically unknown is

oisoning by A. regalis. The poisonous content principles of these amanitas

ve not yet been exactly identified, and this is why the designationmycoatrophine poisoning', though inadequate, is still used nowadays.

he course of poisoning caused by all the three species is substantially the

me: nausea is experienced between half an hour and three hours after

nsumption, accompanied by vomiting, headache, quickened heartbeat, and a

rsistent dilation of pupils occasionally leading to vision disturbances.

ften the condition of the affected person resembles alchoholic intoxication:

e patient becomes talkative, shouts obscenities, sometimes laughs or weeps,

rikes himself and keeps on running to and fro. The states of excitementay be dangerous for the sick person and must therefore be mitigated.

ubsequently the patient faints, recovers from time to time, hallucinates,

reams, defends himself against invisable danger, etc, but finally falls

to a profound sleep from which he usually awakens into a normal state,

ithout remembering his previous behaviour. This poisoning comes to it's

rtunate end on the second or third day. First aid consists in the

mulation of vomiting and in taking the patient to hospital; he must be

ven neither milk nor alchohol. The treatment starts with a stomach rinse,

e excitement is controlled by remidies of the cholpromazine type,hysostigmne (never atropine!) is administered as an antidote against

ycoatropine.

ilocybine poisoning occurs after consuming some species of the genus

ilocybe, or fungi belonging to related genera about which, nowadays,

undant literature is available. These fungi are distributed mostly in

exico and in some Central American countries. They contain so-called

llucinogenic substances thanks to which they had long been used in



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ligious rituals and were kept secret until the twentieth century. Their

search is due to the efforts of the American ethnographers Mr and Mrs

asson who succeeded in aquiring hallucunogenous fungi, which they studied

d identified with the help of mycologists. Chemical analysis of these

ngi were carried out, and it was even possible to cultivate some of them.

he effecttive substance was finally produced artificially, whereby its

perimental testing on volunteers and its application for therapeutic

urposes was made possible.

ungi containing hallucinogenic substances generally produce small,

conspicuous fruit bodies growing on dung or excrements. They belong to the

nera Psilocybe, Panaeolus, Panaelina and Stropharia. The amount of

fective substances in the fruit bodies is variable, particularly in the

uropean representatives of the mentioned genera whose effect is

bstantially smaller in comparison with the Mexican species.

he psychic symptoms following the ingestion of halluginogenic fungi aretremely varied. In some individuals they manifest themselves as euphoria,

others as sight disorders and hallucinations; saometimes they assume the

rm of the kaleidoscopic effect involving the duplication of objects in

appropriate colours; still other persons, on the contrary, feel anxiety

d fear, suffer from terrifying delusions, and these states may lead to

lirium and suicide attempts. Thanks to the lower content of effective

bstances, the European fungi evoke much milder symptoms.

allucinogenic fungi contain four active substances; psilocybine, psilocine,eocystine, and norbaeocystine. Psilocine is considered the main bearer of

lluginogenic proprties. However, poisoning by these fungi is exceptional,

d there is no danger of misusing European hallucinogenic fungi for

tentional intoxication.

ilocybe semilanceata (Liberty Cap)

he genus Psilocybe, as well as the related genera Panaeolus and Stropharia,ve become better known - and especially more popular - following the

scovery of hallucinogenic substances obtained from numerous Mexican species

Psilocybe. Further analyses have also shown that some European species of

e genus Psilocybe also contain substances with hallucinogenic effects,

en though in substantially smaller quantities so that the symptoms

llowing their ingestion are much milder.

ilocybe semilanceata is a very small fungus which easily escapes attention.



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s cap is 1-2 cm high, always higher than it is wide, markedly and

rsistently lanceolate-pointed or narrowly conical, often with an abruptly

ojecting point, thin-fleshed, hygrophanous, shiny or sticky, dark olive

ey-brown or yellow-brown when moist, in dry conditions leathery yellow,

mooth, glabrous, with greenish spots. The stipe is very long, only 2-3mm

ick, firm and tough, tortuous, pallid or brownish, with a silky sheen,

ten blue-green at the base, attached to the substrate by a bluish green

ycelium. The gills are broadly adnate, olive grey or brownish with a lilacnge, then red-brown to black-brown, with white ciliate edges. The gill

ges harbour numerous cheilocystidia. The flesh has no specifiec odour nor

ste. The spore print is dark brown.

semilanceata grows in grass tufts on pasturelands and forest tracks from

ugust to October. It is not particularly abundant and appears more commonly

upland regions. It is inedible because of the halluginogenic substances

contains.

Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric)he Fly Agaric has been known as a poisonous species since ancient times.

s toxicity is mainly due to the presence of mycoatropine which causes

sorders of mental activity. The content of another poisonous principle,

uscarine, is relatively small. Recently the identity of the Fly Agaric with

e drug called 'soma', venerated by the most ancient Aryan tribes in the

me of migrating to and settling in the mountains of Afghanistan, has been

tablished. The migration of peoples contributed to the further spreading

the Fly Agaric cult. Particularly remarkable is the Siberian cult of the

y Agaric: people were drinking fruit-body decoctions, chewing dryadstools and washing them down with cold water; or they would prepare a

verage from a micture of the toadstool and leaves of the Bog Whortleberry

d Salix angustifolia. Since the effective substance is secreted with

ine, they even drank the urine of intoxicated persons.

he symptoms of swallowing include vomiting, headache, accelerated heartbeat,

lation of pupils; often a state similar to alcoholic intoxication and

llucinations set in, and finally the poisoned person awakes in the morning

a normal condition, without remembering his or her previous behaviour.

Amanita regalis, growing in upland spruce stands, is distinguished by a

llowish-brown cap, a yellowish stipe and similarly coloured remnants of the

uter veil on the cap, and by a ring. It seems to be as poisonous as the

y agaric.

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Psilocybin Mushroom Picking