regnum-plantae:Amanita muscariaThe other day I was out for a walk in a wooded area not far from home
regnum-plantae:Amanita muscariaThe other day I was out for a walk in a wooded area not far from home and ended up taking loads of photos of mushrooms: it’s gotten a lot wetter in the last few weeks, but it’s not that cold yet, so they are popping up everywhere like crazy and I was literally stopping every ten steps to put my nose at ground level.Right as I was getting back to the car, already satisfied with the amount of cool stuff I had found, I spotted something red in the grass. I no joke jumped, screamed and darted towards it leaving my boyfriend wondering what the hell was happening, and there it was, a beautiful group of four fly agaric fruiting bodies, the first I had ever seen in person. It’s arguably the most featured mushroom in pop culture and the arts, yet still quite elusive, at least in my experience, so being able to finally observe it up close in all its gorgeous details was particularly exciting. Although it has often been considered deadly poisonous, it’s more psychoactive than toxic, which is attested by its long history of traditional uses recorded among numerous ethnic groups inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere. I would definitely recommend reading about it especially if you enjoy anthropology (oh, how I miss studying it!) because its association with shamanic practices in Siberia is particularly interesting. -- source link
#mushroom#amanita muscaria#regnumplantae