Mushroom Spores Research

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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!

Who remembers that commercial about drugs? You know the one – “This is your brain” and “this is your brain on drugs,” illustrated with an egg frying.

Turns out that is completely false, at least in terms of psilocybin mushrooms (read our post on the meaning of psilocybin here).

Let’s imagine we are driving. And not fun driving, but doing the worst kind of driving possible – the commute. When you commute to work, you typically take the shortest possible route with little to no variation. Every day, same thing, same route. Depression sets in. Negative emotions plague the mind. And so on and so on.

But what if you could find different ways to get there. And, best of all, you would have new thoughts that accompany your mind and it would actually be enjoyable. We’ll call this “the magical commute.”

Study on Psilocybin Mushrooms

An April 2020 study showed this is essentially what Magic Mushrooms do to the brain. The goal of the study was to see the effects of psilocybin on a healthy human brain. As the principal author, Morten L. Kringelbach from Oxford University, explains it is as if psilocybin finds different routes in the brain to solve the same problems. The brain generally takes the same path to solve similar issues, resulting on a person’s brain not straying very far from the networks established (i.e. “the commute” above). Magic Mushrooms create new networks, in fact they utilize MORE networks than the brain typically uses (ie: “the magical commute“).

Above: Image of brain taking a placebo (LEFT) and the brain on psilocybin mushrooms (RIGHT) (Credit: Journal of the Royal Society Interface)

Just following the logic of this fact, it is easy to see how psilocybin mushrooms can be very useful in combating trauma and depression. The brain creates an efficient way to solve problems, of course, but when affected by trauma or depression, your brain will create a road and travel on it often as you process the emotions. So it makes sense that you would have similar reactions or triggers to events that happen in your life. Psilocybin mushrooms could help create new paths and, in effect, give you new perspectives on the emotions that are causing pain and negativity.

Awesome things are being discovered, friends!

To read more, with tons of technical jargon – check out the study here:

To get a better idea of the study’s findings, check out this interview with Kringelbach and the study put more in layman’s terms here.

Thanks for reading!

Did you know that mushrooms can do just about anything?  As scientists open up to the world of fungi, they are discovering some amazing implications on how mushrooms can help our world.  Read 5 of them below!

1) Health

Mushrooms are currently being tested in a variety of ways to see if they provide health benefits.  Besides the obvious healthy diet options mushrooms provide, there are also tests to see if mushrooms can help cure or prevent illness.  So far, the results are promising!  Mushrooms have been said to be able to help with cancer – there is anecdotal evidence of the right type of mushroom helping to get rid of cancerous tumors (though it’s not proven in lab tests).  Scientists have shown that shiitake mushroom extracts can slow the growth of some cancer cells – in Japan and China they are used in conjunction with chemotherapy for lung cancer to improve the quality of life in patients.  Other mushrooms are being shown to help with other cancers. 

Mushrooms are being shown to help with mental health, also – particularly psilocybin mushrooms.  Psilocybin mushrooms are being shown to be helpful as an antidepressant and to reduce anxiety and are increasingly becoming decriminalized in US cities and states as a result.  

2) Pollution Cleanup

Mushrooms can be used to clean up hazardous materials, even radiation spills.  And not just “can be,” but HAS BEEN DONE.  People in the field of “mycoremediation” use mushrooms to break down hazardous substances into something more benign.  The best part is it is just what mushrooms do and it helps bring the area of cleanup back to a natural order.

Mushrooms have been used to counter negative effects from wildfires, oil spills and radiation spills all over the world.  

3) Refugee Camps

The world is often plagued with humanitarian crises’ – from war, natural disasters or worse.  Feeding large groups of displaced people is a difficult logistical task and costly.  What if we could utilize mushrooms to help?  

Business Insider wrote about this exact thing happening in Syria.  According to the article, the cost of meat has risen by 650% in Syria since 2011 and 9 million people are on emergency food assistance – basically, meat is unattainable by a lot of folks.  The article goes on to talk about a man who buys 2 pounds of mushroom spores for about $10 and makes 40 pounds of protein and nutrients for his family.  

4) Biofuels  

According to research published in Science Advances, biobutanol can replace gasoline.  What can make biobutanol?  Mushrooms!

Scientists were able to make butanol with two-year-old mushroom substrates from a mushroom farm and find it a promising development as biofuels right now are made from corn and sugar cane, which competes with food farming and uses precious resources such as water and soil.  Using not only mushrooms, but the waste of mushrooms to produce biofuel could result in a complete revolution to our relationship to national resources and the environment.  

5) Space

If all else fails and we mess up the earth beyond repair, mushrooms might be key to our survival for our species as we leave and find other planets to colonize. Sounds science fiction, but it really isn’t.

As mentioned, mushrooms can remove chemicals and hazardous waste in dirt and return it to healthy soil suitable for plant growth.  Along these lines, scientists speculate that mushrooms can be used to terraform soils of other planets and get them suitable for plant growth.  

They can also be used to “grow” a habitat for future residents of Mars or the Moon.  According to a fascinating press release from NASA,  they have a myco-architecture project where they are experimenting with utilizing mycelia, the underground threads of fungi, to grow habitats.  

The press release states: 

“Right now, traditional habitat designs for Mars are like a turtle — carrying our homes with us on our backs – a reliable plan, but with huge energy costs,” said Lynn Rothschild, the principal investigator on the early-stage project. “Instead, we can harness mycelia to grow these habitats ourselves when we get there.” 

These are just a FEW ways Mushrooms are awesome.  Thanks for reading!

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