Biiiiig Mushroom!

[Pronkertjie]

Our place is full of mushrooms.... some have really beautiful colours and pretty shapes.

One that really got our attention was a huge white one that kept on growing. One of my friends decided he wants to take it home to eat. I took a picture of him and the mushroom and told him I hope it is not the last picture taken of him,

Here it is....

[Venus]

Wow! That is huge! :yikes: I also hope he knows his mushrooms otherwise he could find himself on a trip. :wehave:

[sooibrand]

That is huge - is he ok?

[Pronkertjie]

That is huge - is he ok?

Who.... the mushroom or my friend. He is only cooking the mushroom tonight. He did say he will make sure he can eat it before trying it. He was pretty confident he can as he often pick mushrooms. Oh well.... rather him than me. I must say, it did smell like a button mushroom.

[jimswin]

As Venus says, if he finds the wrong ( or is that right??) type he could be taking an unplanned trip :rofl:

Seriously though there are several Psylocybin ( Spl?) types that can cause hallucinations when eaten.

[Pronkertjie]

As Venus says, if he finds the wrong ( or is that right??) type he could be taking an unplanned trip :rofl:

Seriously though there are several Psylocybin ( Spl?) types that can cause hallucinations when eaten.

lol... want to be a fly on the wall (with my camera) when that happens!! :haha:

He is a grown man.. and a keen gardener...hopefully he won't be stupid! :dazed:

Thanks about that Jim and Venus.... will consult :mrg: later to learn more about it.

[Pronkertjie]

Something fun from :mrg:

There is a great red mushroom that illustrates children's books and is surrounded by ancient folklore. Oddly enough, it can also be found on 19th-century German Christmas cards.

These are but two of the clues that connect 'fly agaric' mushrooms to our holiday traditions of reindeer, red and even Santa.

'Amanita muscaria' shares a link to Christmases in regions where reindeer actually dwell. In the wild, it seems, reindeer can't resist eating the mushroom's red caps. They were not actually poisoned, but do get intoxicated by the fungi. This relationship was noticed a long time ago by the Sami of Lapland, one of the oldest indigenous cultures in the world. Their shamans and some reindeer shepherds began to consume mushrooms, seeking their hallucinogenic effects as well. But the toxicity of the mushrooms makes them dangerously poisonous to humans.

It is believed that hallucinations of "high"-flying reindeer caused by mushroom ingestion inspired the myth of an airborne reindeer-drawn sled. The shaman himself wore a coat of red and white, representative of the mushroom's red cap with its raised white spots. This ancient mushroom connection showed up--and continues to do so today--by mushroom-shaped glass Christmas tree ornaments from Germany.

Flying reindeer and Siberian shamans dressed in red and white are only a small glimpse at the enormous world of mushrooms. Nowhere else is it more perfectly seen than in a new edition of the decade old venerable title, Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America, by Roger Phillips, (Firefly Books).

[Venus]

Thanks, Pronks, that's very interesting. :thumbs:

[Cheffie]

It looks like a massive button mushroom or even a portobello.. did you take a pic of the underside as well?

I'd be wary of it - without expert advice. I'd refrain from touching/ eating it..

Call me if you need some more advice
G

[Pronkertjie]

It looks like a massive button mushroom or even a portobello.. did you take a pic of the underside as well?

I'd be wary of it - without expert advice. I'd refrain from touching/ eating it..

Call me if you need some more advice
G

Yes, it looked like a button mushroom and smelt like one too. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the underside - it had the shape of a hot air balloon.

Will let you know if he cooked it last night.