Friday Fungus Extra: Mapping Magic Mushrooms

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) in woods above Ogden reservoir near Halifax, September 2011

Nice little piece in today's Sunday Telegraph on the success of common fungi in our changing climate:

Popular edible varieties such as the the chanterelle and porcini mushrooms are among those found to have changed where they grow, meaning they will become easier to find in the countryside.

Other species such as the distinctive jelly ear mushroom, Auricularia auricula-judge used to be found growing on the branches of elder trees, but researchers have now found them on 20 other plants.

Scientists are not certain exactly why the fungi have started to change their hosts but believe changes in the climate may be responsible. 

And the source of the piece is Dr Alan Gange, a mycologist at Royal Holloway, University of London who is asking the public to help map how common fungi are spread. And the good doctor's focus is on Amanita muscaria - the fly agaric (which the article does insist is poisonous presumably to avoid any reference to halucinogenic drugs):

He added: "The season for the Fly Agaric is about to begin – it usually fruits from late September to late October.

"This research is important from the scientific point of view – if fungi are moving around the environment, this has all sorts of implications for forestry practices and ecosystem functioning."

To report your sightings of the Fly Agaric please email Dr Gange on flyagaric@rhul.ac.uk

Off you go then!

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The Friday Fungus: Why reindeer can fly

As the festive season approaches I thought I touch on a topical subject - the uncanny ability of reindeer to fly. Now we all know that they can since Father Christmas delivers us all those lovely prezzies every year - and how would he do that without the sturdy assistance of Prancer, Dancer, Blitzen and all the reindeer crowd. But what you didn't know is that a mushroom - Amanita muscaria - might be the reason for Rudolf's aerobatics.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) - pictured above - is the classic toadstool on which should sit a fairy, gnome or pixie and is common right across the northern part of Eurasia (including Britain). And it is also the "magic mushroom" - sometimes called the sacred mushroom. Most books list it as poisonous - which is shorthand for saying this is the toadstool that contains a hallucinogenic drug. And deep in the bowels of the BBC's web-site is a lovely piece entitled; "The Influence of Fly Agaric on the Iconography of Father Christmas".

The gist of this little piece goes as follow:

"The Sami have a custom of feeding fly agaric to their deer and collecting the urine to drink. The reindeer's digestive system metabolises the more poisonous components of the toadstool, leaving urine with the hallucinogenic and psychotropic elements of the fungus intact. Drinking the urine gives a 'high' similar to taking LSD. Under the hallucinatory effects of the drink, the Sami thought their reindeer were flying through space, looking down on the world. The reindeers' liking for the toadstool hallucinogens are such that they, in turn, have been known to eat the snow on which intoxicated humans have urinated, creating a reciprocating cycle."

A whole new take on the term "pissed"!

Take a little closer look - you may think that American fizzy drink advertising was responsible for Santa's outfit? Look at that toadstool and think again!

"Siberian shamans live in tepee-like structures made of reindeer skin, called yurts, with a roof supported by a birch pole and a smokehole at the top. At the midwinter festivals of Annual Renewal, the shaman gathers the fly agaric from under sacred trees. Interestingly, whilst harvesting the toadstools, the shaman wears special attire, consisting of red and white fur-trimmed coats and long black boots ie, very much like the modern day depiction of Santa Claus. He then enters his yurt through the smokehole, carrying a sack full of dried fly agaric, and descends the birch pole to the floor. Once inside, the shaman performs his ceremonies and shares out the toadstool's gifts with those gathered inside. Following this, he leaves up the pole and back through the smokehole."
A great deal has been said about dear old Santa - but they never told you he was a drug dealer!

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