IT’S DIFFICULT TO TURN A CORNER ANYMORE and not see the white and red image of a Fly Agaric mushroom emblazoned on hats, scarves, shirts, earrings and even on the skin as tattoos. The irony is that the Fly Agaric — the red-capped, white-speckled amanita mushroom (Amanita muscaria) of fairy tales, is poisonous. The iconic …
Essay by Monika Griesenbeck
Mushrooms – August 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
THIS FOURTH OF JULY, while most normal people were enjoying barbecues with family and friends, I went to check one of my favorite mushroom patches, which is above 10,000 feet on a certain mountain. The mushroom I like to hunt is the King Bolete (Boletus edulis) and here in the Colorado Rockies it grows in the high pine forests from late July through September.
Sidebar by Bob Berwyn
Mushrooms – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
INVARIABLY, if you tell someone you’re interested in mushrooms, they’ll raise an eyebrow and ask if you’ve ever found any of the “funny ones.”
Certain species of mushrooms contain psilocybin and psilocin. These little-understood psychoactive compounds cause intense physical sensations, including disorientation and uncontrollable laughter. They can also cause vivid hallucinations when ingested in sufficient quantities.
Sidebar by Bob Berwyn
Mushrooms – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
A Chanterelle Recipe
If you’ve been fortunate enough to find a patch of chanterelles, be sure to return every year, since they often fruit in the same area again and again.
And be sure not to tell anyone — even your best friend — where it is, since then you’ll have to fight off hordes of people to harvest your bounty.
Sidebar by Bob Berwyn
Mushrooms – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
TELLURIDE
Several Colorado towns use mushroom season as an excuse to hold special events with a focus on fungi. This year Telluride will host the 20th edition of its renowned mushroom fest. The lush spruce, fir, and pine forests that surround the town harbor rich growths of fungi, and the festival attracts some of the world’s leading mycologists.
Sidebar by Bob Berwyn
Mushrooms – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Mushroom Resources
If you’re interested in exploring the subject and finding edible species, the best way to learn is in the field with an expert. This is very important because if you eat the wrong ones, you may get very sick. and perhaps even die.
Article by Bob Berwyn
Mushrooms – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
WITH NAMES LIKE red raspberry slime, elegant stinkhorn, and stinky squid, what’s not to love about mushrooms?