Neros remark is more apt if he was referring to the deadly amanita, and not
merely to a dish of edible mushrooms that had been poisoned and Nero was
in a position to know.
In spite of Locustas artistry, we know that her bold stroke was botched, and
this leads us to the second part of the crime. The time schedule alone tells us
that something went awry.
Entheogens
JOCHEN GARTZ
MAGIC MUSHROOMS
Around the World
A Scientific Journey Across Cultures and
Time
The Case for Challenging Research
and Value Systems
* LIS PUBLICATIONS * LOS ANGELES, CA*
Figure 1 - Water Color Painting of Psilocybe semilanceata
(Germany, 1927)
TABLE OF CONTENT (With Active Links' Just Click On A Subject To Go To The Page)
"Who Was the First Magician?" - Foreword by Christian Ratsch 7
1. Introduction 9
2. Reflections on the History and Scientific Study of Magic Mushrooms 10
3. The Current State of Knowledge About European Species 14
3.1 Psilocybe semilanceata: The Classic Species Among European Psychotropic Mushrooms 16
3.2 Psilocybe cyanescens: Potent Mushrooms Growing on Wood Debris 29
3.3 Panaeolus subbalteatus: Mycology and Myths about the Panaeolus Species 37
3.4 Inocybe aeruginascens: Fast-Spreading New Arrivals 44
3.5 Gymnopilus purpuratus: Magnificent Mushrooms from South America 51
3.6 Conocybe cyanopus: Tiny Mushrooms of Remarkable Potency 55
3.7 Pluteus salicinus: A Little-known Wood-Inhabiting Species 58
4. Mushroom Identification: Taxonomic Confusion and the Potential for Deadly Mistakes 61
5. The Bluing Phenomenon and Metol Testing: Reality vs. Wishful Thinking 63
6. Mushroom Cultivation: Classic Findings and New Techniques 66
7. Psychotropic Mushroom Species Around the World 77
7.1 Spotlight on North America and Hawaii 79
7.2 Mycophilia in Central and South America 82
7.3 Australia's Mycoflora Attracts Attention 84
7.4 European Customs and Conventions 87
7.5 Japanese Experimentation 93
7.6 Intoxications and the Oldest Known Mushroom Cult in Africa 95
7.7 Usage in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific Islands 98
8. Some Comments on Effects of Mushrooms from the Category Phantastika 102
9. Psychotherapy 108
10. Outlook 114
11. Bibliography 120
Index 129
Figure 2 - Psilocybe cubensis from Australia
Figure 3 - Water color painting of Panaeolus subbalteatus (Germany, 1927).
Figure 4 - Fresh Panaeolus subbalteatus mushrooms.
FOREWORD
Nobody knows precisely when the first magic
mushroom emerged from the shadows of
prehistory to enter the light of consciousness.
Nobody knows when the first magic mushroom
was eaten by a human being. Nobody knows
just who the first magic mushroom eater was. In
seeking answers to these questions, we can only
speculate. Mycophobes, however, are quick to
voice their conviction that only a fool would be
reckless enough to want to attain a higher state
of consciousness beyond the boundaries of
everyday reality. And only a fool would attempt
to do this by ingesting those odd little things that
mysteriously thrive on decaying, humid soil,
rotten wood and malodorous mounds of cow
manure.
Historically, magic, mushrooms have
been feared and hated` since antiquity: magic
mushrooms were thought to be made from
poisons that had dripped from serpents' fangs;
they were considered to be unclean emissions of
evil spirits; moreover, mushrooms were a kn Ls Power Seeds 1066 Pm19 the
course of his selfexperiment on June 29,
1955.
Very little is known about the chemical
composition of the collections cited above. I
analysed a few mushrooms from collections
found in the Rheinland area of Germany in
1989. The results were as follows:
Psilocybin: 0.51 % of dried mushrooms
Psilocin: 0.08 % of dried mushrooms
Baeocystin: 0.04% of dried mushrooms
A few other analyses of German
mushrooms SPORES CAERULIPES SPORES PSIOCYBE yielded similar results.
These
values were well within the range of
concentrations of alkaloids found in Mexican
species.The most extensive studies on
distribution, psychoactivity and chemical
compounds of Psilocybe cyanescens complex
were conducted in the former
Czechoslovakia, where the mushrooms are
generally known as Psilocybe bohemica, a
name which is also used in the text below.
well as on decaying pine cones.
Several
specimens up to 15 cm (6 in.) tall with caps up to
5 cm (2 Related Psychedelic in.) broad were found growing on a
rotting log whose underside was exposed to the
running water. A water-loving Psilocybe species,
it primarily fruits in late autumn (see Figure 21,
below), when short night frosts induce maximum
possible fruiting. The brown caps are strongly
hygrophanous and their SPORES CAERULIPES SPORES PSIOCYBE color fades to a whitemilky
brown when dried. Its odor has been
compared to anything from radishes to poppies.
In my experience, the odor is highly variable and
thus difficult to define. Young, dry mushrooms
develop intensely blue stains in response to
handling, while older fruiting bodies tend to be
found at the location with dark blue stains already
in place. It is remarkable that the mushrooms
were fruiting at the same location near Poricko
for so many years in a row, producing a large
number of fruiting bodies each year.
Unfortunately, in recent years the location was
partially destroyed, due to construction of a road.
By late 1982, the mushroom species had
been found at 51 locations in the former
Czechoslovakia, with only seven of them located
in Bohemia, 40 in Moravia, and four in Slovakia.
Elevations vary from 200 m Grow to 700 m (600 ft to
2,100 ft) above sea level, with only two locations
known to exist above 700 m (2,100 ft). By this
time, 112 collections had been reported, 44 of
which came from the classic location near
Sazava.
An Amazing Discovery Near Poricko
Kubicka first discovered the species on
December 6 and 13, 1942 in the Kresicky
Creek Valley village of Poricko v Pozavi near
Sazava (Czech Republic). In 1950,
mycologist Herink described the mushrooms
in detail. He also believes that Fries classified
mushrooms of the Psilocybe cyanescens
complex as Psilocybe callosa during the 19th
century.
On November 11, 1986 I had the
opportunity to work with Herink and other
Czech mycologists on a mycological field
research project at the location, where we
found 440 fruiting bodies (550 g or 19.6 ozs).
Covering a segment almost two miles long,
the species was fruiting among nettles along
both sides of th
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