I couldn’t freaking believe my eyes when I stumbled upon this huge patch of amanita muscarias early this month. It was a fantastic way to close 2018. I’m already looking forward to next year’s magical find. Happy holidays everyone and here’s to a nature filled!
The Amanita muscaria is the most known mushroom visually but most know little about it. A little commentary would be helpful for most. It is a hallucinogenic mushroom, well known from Alice In Wonderland and the Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick: a pill to make you tall and another to make you small. The hallucinogenic alkaloids of this mushroom are not dangerous, but are certainly not recommended to take. A sister mushroom is the Amanita phalloides or "Death Angel"- a pure white mushroom also with the distinguishing skirt around the stalk 3/4 of the way up. The phalloides is one of the worst hepato-toxins known to man and causes liver failure quickly if ingested.
(Marin, California - 11/2017)