Shaggy parasol mushroom

A really nice find recently was this shaggy parasol mushroom.

Although classed as edible this mushroom does contain some toxins that can cause some serious stomach upsets in people even after it has been cooked so it maybe best to avoid it just in case.

The gills are white and if bruised they can turn a slight tinge of pinky red, the spore print is pale cream.

As with most mushrooms gathered for food, if in doubt..leave it out !

Amanita muscaria - fly agaric

Of all the mushrooms found on earth this is the most iconic, seen in every fairy tale book and pictured in every outdoor book. The red and white fungi is very striking and not easily confused with anything else

Although classed as poisonous it rarely ever caused death through ingestion needing around 14 caps of concentrated muscimol for a fully grown adult.

It's well documented about shamans using this after being filtered through reindeer urine but an even more interesting lecture was presented by Thomas J Reidlinger in 1999 to the Mycomedia millennium conference where he postulates that it was fly agaric that caused the warp spasms of the Ulster hero CuChulainn.

If you can get a hold of his presentation it makes remarkably interesting reading.