Shroom hunting Identifying Mushrooms from Pictures

[bgundy87]

Ok I have the guide for pickin safe shrooms and am aware of some of the dangers, but I still have a few questions before hunting.

once you pick some how long do they last. Any ways of preserving them?

what are the best ways of consuming them?

what are liberty caps, I've heard warnings about them? Like when pickin large groups or something.

for a newb what would be a safe dosage to test them. Just incase they are poisoness.

what are some of the look a likes. How hard are they to tell apart?

Thanks a lot!

[markdahman]

Ummm when picking shrooms bring along some of those brown lunch bags made of paper!! Not plastic or the shrooms will become a big bag a soggy anal! Dont do it! Shrooms picking = real dangerous. If u wanna go still okay. You shouldnt need to take a test dosage!! u sould knwo if its shrooms or not beofre u u end up swallowing a dead cap as a tester! Either its a shroom or not! either u can it it or not no test;s ive seen people in hospitals and half brain dead today! A good way to tellthem apart is see if they bruise blue, have a brown - purple spore print and have a hollow stem! if u can get all 3 of those then its still no forsure its not a dead cap so watch urself!

[OneDiaDem]

Make sure you know what they are before you put them in your body. Not all shrooms have hollow stems. But staining blue, or bruising, with purple spores are a good inclination they are the deal. Especially if you pick them in a pasture that has had cows.

Store thm in the fridge inside a paper bag as Bgundy87 stated. They last a couple weeks that way. If you want to keep them longer, you will have to dry them. For storage more than a couple months, you will need to vaccum seal them with dessicant.

A good first time dose is 1 1/2-2 grams. Its better to build up to bigger doses so you know what it is your about to get into than to do a large dose, freak out, and never have anythig positive come from it.

There are many ways of consuming. I dont eat them fresh, its too much bulk going in. I prefer them dry, ground up into a powder and mixed with a shot of juice.

[bgundy87]

are the look alikes almost identical to real ones? or if your looking for a certain kind are there big distinctions between good and bad ones?

I have a guide with pictures and certain distinctions to tell them apart, and some pictures of the bad mushrooms. They don't seem to look too much like the real deal.

hope that made sense

[OneDiaDem]

If you have a guide, and can tell them apart, go for it.

[psyko_tripper]

wait up!

even if you have pictures, you're not an experienced mycologist!

You just can't tell the good ones out of the bad ones with pictures!

You need an experienced hunter to show you the differences.

liberty caps (psilocybes) have deadly look a likes, even with pictures it is very hard to distinguish them.

Be carefull and take you're shrooms to an expert before trying. Better to be safe than sorry....

[OneDiaDem]

Liberty caps (Psilocybe semilanceata)have many look alikes. Those are hopefully not what you are searching for. You are looking for species that grow on dung, that have a broader, meatier cap, and thick stalky stems. Mushrooms that grow in forests are too hard to identify, and have many look alikes. Stick to pastures where cattle have grazed.

These are poisonous look alikes. I hope you can see why we state that unless you are an experienced hunter, not to do it. It is just too easy to pick and eat a poisonous look alike. However, if you are determined, follow your guide, and make sure to only pick in pastures, they stain or bruise blue when picked, have white stems, are tannish in color, and have purple spores. Its best to just get some spores and grow your own for safety sake.

Pictures pending Mj's approval.

[bgundy87]

yea I don't know about this, sounds hard than it seems. I don't know anyone that sells mushrooms around where I live so it's kinda hard to try them. That's why I was looking into picking them myself . So maybe mushrooms arent' the way to go. Oh well whatever.

Sorry about the edit. We arent talking about drugs and making money here.

[OneDiaDem]

Just a sidenote, for what you would pay for say, a half oz., you could buy all the supplies needed to grow your own, and know that you are getting what your looking for. Not to mention, have control on what they are grown with.

[bgundy87]

I just thought of something. If I found some mushrooms, could I take pictures of them and post them on here? Maybe you guys could help me identify them. I could take a couple angled shots so you could get a good look at them. It's raining tonight so i might go hunting tomorrow.

[markdahman]

Hmm, Pictures arent a good methode at all, i oculd show u 30 different pictures and u could say theyr all the same and others can say theyr all different! Ur best bet is to go hunting but just for fun NO EATING thats how i got picking these things. I went for about 20 practises before i actually decided to eat them, Practise makes perfect. Pick all u can identify them all with spore prints, bruize factor and the different types of gills. After many runs u should be able to get a successful active mushroom picking.

[bgundy87]

So how can you tell them apart? In the guide I have it gives certain characteristics of say a baeocystis type mushroom like:

Psilocybe baeocystis
(Blue Bells, Olive Caps)

CAP : Olive to tan, blue when dry, conic to bell shaped
GILLS : Dark to gray, close with white edges
STEM : White, hollow with vertical grooves staining blue
HABITAT : Pastures, lawns, and bark mulch
SEASON : August through December
DOSAGE : 1 to 3 shrooms, 1/5 oz. wet, 1/4 gram dry

It also gives ways to identify all of the other mushrooms, and a few examples of the ones you don't want to pick.

Would this be enough information to identify the good from the bad?

[bgundy87]

Ok I know that you can't tell from pictures what kind the mushroom is, so if I follow the guide and carefully pick each mushroom and make sure it has the exact same characteristics and pictureas described in the guide I should be fine, right?

Other questions:

1 why do you have to go hunting in the morning?

2 are spores like mushroom seeds?

3 if they are, could I grow my own mushrooms with them?

[OneDiaDem]

You arent bound to hunting in the morning. However, you do want to pick when mushrooms are freshest.


Yes, spores are mushrooms seeds in essence. Yes you could take a print from one, and grow them. However, its a little more involved than planting a seed like a plant.

[bgundy87]

ok.can someone also answer to my first question? the one thats above "other questions".


Sorry for asking so many questions on this topic, I know most of you are probably getting sick of it. I just want to get the most info I can about mushrooms.


Thanks alot for the help

[OneDiaDem]

Chances are if you follow the guide, and recognise all the characteristics of a certain mushroom, you should be ok. But, I posted those pictures to show you how closely mushrooms resemble poisonous ones. I would have to say, ask your self if it is a risk worth taking.