The Mycelium Revolution Blog

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The first documented case in a science journal of a trip on mushrooms was from England in 1799. We recount it here in more colorful language than the medical journal from back then (and a little bit of historical fiction). The original journal article was written by Dr. Brande, who witnessed the family accidentally tripping balls in London, and is attached at the end for those that can read the old English. Enjoy!

The Mushroom Trip of J.S. and Family According to Dr. Everard Brande

There once was a man named J.S., we’ll call him Jay. Jay went out to the park in his knickers or whatever they wore back then and started to gather mushrooms, as he often did, for a stew for the family. He chopped that shit up and put it in the stew and the family enjoyed a delicious morning breakfast with their tea.

Green Park in London, where J.S. picked the magic mushrooms (img: Dreamstime)

This time, though, the deliciousness of the stew turned out to be more than they bargained for. You see, Jay’s son Edward, who they called “fat Edward” because he was on the heftier side, took six cupfuls of stew, instead of the allotted four for all the children to have enough to get them through the day.

About 20 minutes after meal, Fat Edward’s mum scolded him passively, “uhh Edward, I thought you were on a diet.”

To which Edward, who was known to sulk and be self-conscious about weighty matters, did something unexpected: he laughed in his mother’s face, a frightful, salivating laugh that shook his whole fat body.

“Do not laugh at thy mum,” said 18-year-old Martha and punched Ed in the arm, to which he directed his spit laughter towards poor Martha.

“Father Jay, do something!” said mum, as Edward convulsed with laughter.

“Eddy,” Jay said, “Hey! Fatty!” Jay grabbed Edward’s arms and shook him, slapping him as only a father could when trying to regain control.

Jay stopped shaking and looked into Eddy’s eyes: his pupils almost covered the entire cornea which made him look like a boy possessed.

“Fuck. I think the boy is possessed, Mother,” Jay shouted, which caused a case of the dizzies.

Jay sat down in his tea chair to recover. He looked around as the world shook, turning this way and that, glancing at his family, who, little did he know, were in the same boat.

In that moment, he remembered: the mushrooms.

“Shit. I poisoned my family,” thought Jay.

“SHIT! I POISONED MY FAM!” Jay thought harder and got up in a thunderous motion, walking towards the door which kept moving further back as he walked towards it.

Finally, Jay reached the door and ran outside to call for help, only when he got to the garden gate, he looked at the tree that stretched all the way up to the sun across the street.

“Where. am. I?”

At that very moment, Dr. Everard Brande happened to walk by the odd scene of a man with mouth gaping pointing pointedly to the tree.

“Excuse me, sir. Might I be of assistance?” said Dr. Brande. The doctor looked at the strange man, whose pupils at this point were in the same condition as Edward’s.

Suddenly, a crash and a scream was heard from the house. Dr. Brande drew a frightful glance to Jay, who didn’t register anything other than the tree.

Dr. Brande left Jay where he was and walked towards the house. Once stepping in, he scanned the room. Edward was on the floor, laughing and doing something that looked like the dance of a seal, mum in a chair, pale and stoned. He came to the source of noise. Harriet, the 12-year-old, was speaking in tongues, or so it seemed, and screaming violently at everyone and everything.

Dr. Brande quickly got a glass of water and brought it to her.

“I will eat you alive,” she snarled at him, grabbing the water glass and throwing it as hard as she could at his face (which he dodged).

“Most interesting,” mumbled Dr. Brande.

The next few hours were filled with further scenes from the exorcist, fevers, screams and laughter from the great beyond, as well as moments of heavenly bliss for Jay’s family.

Dr. Brande feverishly took notes, ultimately deciding that the family was poisoned by a species of Agaric mushrooms.

He wrote an article, submitted it to the editors of the Medical and Physical Journal, and thought about where he could get himself some shrooms for his own breakfast stew.

The article is below and here

We all know that mushrooms are awesome.  Check out these amazing facts to impress your roomies, or should I say “shoomies” lol. ha. yep, I said it.

10 Amazing Facts About Mushrooms

1. Do you think mushrooms are like plants? Wrong! Mushrooms are more closely related to HUMANS than plants!

2. The largest organism in the world is in Oregon and it is…. a mushroom. A specimen of Armillaria mushrooms, or honey fungus, exists in Malheur National Forest in Oregon that occupies a total area of 2,385 acres. That’s equivalent to over 1700 football fields!

3. Fungi help trees talk to each other. Tiny threads called mycelium create a network under the earth which allows trees to talk. Trees can warn each other about environmental danger and share nutrients through this network.

4. There are over 70 difference species of mushrooms that glow in the dark. Sounds like an impressive number, but it isn’t really – that’s 70 out of 100,000 known species of fungi. Still neat though – check out this time lapse.

5. According to a paper published in Science Advances, the first mushrooms evolved on Earth between 715 and 810 million years ago. For reference, that is within the time period known as the precambrian time, which starts with the Earth’s creation 4.5 billion years ago and ends about 500 million years ago when complex, multi-celled life-forms became prevalent.

Don’t eat it.  Just don’t

6. The Death Cap Mushroom is known as the deadliest mushroom in the world, particularly because it looks like edible mushrooms like Caesar’s Mushroom. As little as half a mushroom contains enough toxin to kill an adult human. It’s been said to kill a Pope (Pope Clement VII), along with a few Roman Emperors

7. Sporopollenin, the hard outer shell of spores, is one of the toughest materials in the plant kingdom. We have no idea how it decays in nature and researchers were not able to break it down to study it’s components until 2018. Researchers are figuring out how to utilize sporopollen to combat climate change, by using its longevity to suck up planet-warming carbon dioxide, according to an article by MIT (https://wi.mit.edu/news/designing-plants-dont-decay)

8. Some mushrooms create their own wind to wisp spores away to create more mushrooms. Just check the awesome video above!

9. In many countries, magic mushrooms are illegal, but psilocybin spores are NOT. Like here in the USA – check out our store!

10. There is a mushroom that tastes just like fried chicken. It grows on trees in Europe and North America. It’s called Laetiporus sulphureus, or Chicken of the Woods. Look out, KFC!

Thanks for Reading!

Find Mushrooms anywhere and everywhere through the USA

Who doesn't like a good mushroom hunt? Heck, even Mario is always looking for that magic mushroom to make life feel a little bigger;)

For centuries, people have foraged for mushrooms to eat. They have a name for it: Mycophagy. In 13,000-year-old archaeological sites in Chile, there is evidence of edible mushrooms.

In other words, we have done this forever. Joining in the hunt is an enjoyable time to connect with nature, as well as an enjoyable time to connect with our ancestors.

And you can literally do it anywhere-even any time-but especially good in the Spring and late Fall. We find 5 great mushroom areas in the USA according to the expert hunters - one in every region. We also pick a species you may be able to find, along with a list of psilocybin mushrooms known to be found in that area, courtesy of Shroomery.com.

Obligatory note: DON'T EAT WILD MUSHROOMS WITHOUT POSITIVELY IDENTIFYING IT FIRST BECAUSE DEATH!

1. Northeast/New England

Upstate New York, Chanterelle

The northeast is not known for great mushroom hunting, but there are spots that are better than others.. The forests of upstate New York are known to have quite a variety. In the summer, it is possible to find a lot of chanterelle mushrooms. Chanterelle are golden in color and smell of apricot and citrus, which is what makes it such a great and easy mushroom to find.

Shroomery.com gives a list of Psychoactive mushrooms to find in New York, with astericks representing how rare it is to find it (*** extremely rare - * not rare)
Conocybe cyanopus***
Pholiotina smithii***
Gymnopilus junonius**
Gymnopilus luteofolius**
Gymnopilus luteus**
Gymnopilus validipes**
Panaeolus cinctulus*
Panaeolus olivaceus**
Pluteus salicinus***
Psilocybe caerulipes**
Panaeolus fimicola**
Psilocybe liniformans var americana***
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata**
Psilocybe semilanceata **
Psilocybe silvatica**

2. Southeast Region

Western North Carolina Mountains, Variety:

The beautiful wet mountains of western North Carolina gives mushroom hunters a terrific place to try their hand at hunting. According to Beverly-hanks.com, hunters can find Chanterelle, Chicken of the Wods, Lactarius, Lion's Mane, Morel, Reishi, and more.

Shroomery.com tells us these are the psychoactive possibilities in NC:
Gymnopilus aeruginosus**
Gymnopilus junonius**
Gymnopilus luteofolius**
Panaeolus cinctulus*
Psilocybe cubensis (south)*
Psilocybe caerulipes**
Psilocybe plutonia***

3. Midwest:

Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, Morel

The midwest is one of the best regions to be in for mushroom hunting. Every spring, hunters gear up to search burn areas and fallen trees for the most popular of all mushrooms to find: morels. The season of morels is very short, so make sure to check websites like thegreatmorel.com for sightings and maps of areas.

One of the best spots to find morels, and other mushrooms, is Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, "Morels seem to pop up overnight! They usually grow in 24 to 48 hours. Look for morels in moist woods, river bottoms, and on south-facing slopes. They’re often found near dead elm trees, in old orchards or burned areas."

Missouri Psychoactive mushroom list, according to Shroomery:
Gymnopilus braendlei***
Gymnopilus junonius**
Panaeolus cinctulus*

4. Southwest

Mountains of Colorado, Hawk's Wing

Listen: for mushrooms, you need water, and the desert is not known as having anything close to a rainforest. But anyone who has spent extensive time in New Mexico, Utah, Arizona or Colorado knows a little secret: there IS plenty of water, you just have to know where to look. And that's the same thing with mushrooms.. They are everywhere, you just need to know where to look. And when.

In AZ and NM, when the monsoon season comes, mushroom hunters head to the mountains where the trees are. Colorado gets a little bit more moisture, especially in the mountains, so it is there we turn our attention. One great find in Colorado is Hawk's Wing. They are plentiful, but not as popular as Morels or Chanterelle. Plus, they don't have any poisonous lookalikes, so pretty safe on that front. They have a large cap that literally looks like a hawk's wing, hence the name.

Shroomery.com's list for Colorado:
Conocybe cyanopus***
Gymnopilus junonius**
Panaeolus cinctulus*
Panaeolus olivaceus***
Pluteus salicinus***

5. Northwest

Tillamook State Forest in Oregon, Variety

Like the midwest, the northwest is prime foraging real estate. They also have a lot of folks that participate in foraging, which means many spots are secrets and mushrooms are swooped up quickly. It also means there are a lot of resources, like this handy chart below showing us seasons for each edible mushrooms.

Mushroom Grow Chart / oregondiscovery.com

The literal rainforest of Tillamook State Forest makes it a perfect spot to get your feet wet in mushroom hunting. Finding chanterelles is relatively easy, as well as finding the cauliflower-looking mushroom, Cauliflower mushroom, which grows from wood near the base of conifers.

Shroomery.com's list of mushrooms for Oregon:
Conocybe cyanopus***
Pholiotina smithii***
Gymnopilus aeruginosus**
Gymnopilus luteofolius*
Gymnopilus junonius**
Gymnopilus viridans**
Gymnopilus liquiritiae***
Panaeolus cinctulus*
Panaeolus olivaceus**
Psilocybe azurescens*
Psilocybe baeocystis**
Psilocybe cyanofibrillosa***
Psilocybe allenii**
Psilocybe cyanescens*
Psilocybe fimetaria***
Psilocybe liniformans var. americana***
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata**
Psilocybe pelliculosa*
Psilocybe semilanceata*
Psilocybe sierrae***
Psilocybe silvatica**
Psilocybe strictipes**
Psilocybe stuntzii**

Happy hunting, everybody!