Hi everyone.  Here is your mushroom news for the week!

Mushrooms save the world!

The Blue Milk Cap Mushroom (img: Dan Molter)

Unless you live in a bubble, you know that one of the primary sources of our climate going to shit is the meat industry. Them cattle drink all the water and fart out all the methane. No bueno.

Enter the mushroom. This article shows how the mushroom can save forests and help keep fresh water fresh by focusing on the blue milk cap mushroom, a protein rich mushroom that even meat eaters will enjoy. Check it out

How Spores Wander

See why it’s called an earthstar? (img: Tatiana Bulyonkova)

Have you ever wondered how mushrooms shroom? Well, this unique mushroom disperses its spores in a unique way. An earthstar puffball mushroom typically relies on external stimuli to cause spores to fall out—like rain, wind, etc— witch leaves a lot of spores unused. But a certain category of earthstars called Astraeus has found a way to make all the spores be dispersed. When the weather is wet, it remains open like other puffballs, but when conditions are dry, it closes up and squeezes out the spores remaining like wringing out a rag.

 

Can Cannabis Equipment Used for Psilocybin?

This article—in terms we-don’t-understand-but-aren’t-too-difficult-if-you’re-invested in it—explores why players in the cannabis industry might want to start thinking about mushrooms and questions if equipment used to extract hemp can be used to extract things from mushrooms.

According to what we can figure out, the answer seems to be maybe. Some ways it will work and others it will not because of how different cannabis and psilocybin is.

Katy Perry Goes Full-On Shroom

Katy Perry on SNL

Everyone and their mother is getting involved in mushrooms including Katy Perry on Saturday Night Live. As a guest on SNL last Saturday, Perry performed “When I’m Gone” in a mushroom hat surrounded by trippy, gyrating dancers in mushroom costumes. Seems like a fun time. For more info and to watch the performance, check it out here or click the video above.

Maine Legalizing Psilocybin to treat depression

Like many states, Maine joins the bandwagon on attempting to legalize magic mushrooms to fight depression. According to this article, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin as a breakthrough treatment for drug-resistant depression in 2018 and for major depressive disorder in 2019” which is what is driving these cities and states to explore psilocybin as an option. The bill was put to a public hearing on Tuesday and this article explores the pros/cons of legalizing it. Interesting read.

I don’t care what the Groundhog says, spring is comin’!  Have a good week, all.