RE: Humongous Fungus: Wild Utah Fungus Species!
Wow! I gotta check out Florida's mushrooms! Of all the mushrooms I found yesterday the lactarius is the only edible one, but they are pretty peppery. It's hard to tell which mushrooms are edible just going off of worded description. Generally avoid any tall white or cream colored mushroom caps, and anything with a ring around the stem until you get more comfortable identifying the species. Destroying angels and Death Caps are all too common and you don't get to make the mistake of eating one of those twice. There are also many other mushrooms with amatoxins. Little Brown Mushrooms are a class of many varying types, some poisonous, some hallucinogenic, some edible, and they require a higher level of scrutiny and discernment. It's best to research the deadly species of mushroom first until they are unmistakable. I would never give edibility advice on a mushroom that I myself haven't eaten many times. I would love to see some pictures of what you're finding out there!
I'll agree It is safer to stick with the store bought ones. Here are only a few that I have taken pic's of.
That is only a few. There is so many more especialy after the rains. They pop up everywhere. There is some of the hallucinogenic kind(with the ring) down the road in the cow pastures but I stay clear of them. I have ate them and made tea before but that was many many moons ago.
Wow those are beautiful! Florida is on the list! Looks like you've found a destroying angel, a turkey tail, an Amanita Muscaria, and the last ones appear to be old men of the woods but I'd have to check the underside to verify because I've only ever seen them with a dark stem. The Amanita Muscaria can be a potent hallucinogenic when the neuro-toxic ibotecnic acid in the red skin is completely cooked and converted into safe(ish) muscimol, which is what the archaic soma shamans used! I can't in good conscience recommend it, but I've tried them myself and they are pleasant to smoke out of a pipe when dried. What a wonderful place you live in for mushroom hunting! I can't wait to explore the more humid states. I'd like to hear about these experiences you had many moons ago. I believe hallucinogenics are a natural step in growth for human beings and a right of passage we should all take.
Once I brewed some mushroom tea and many people enjoyed the escape so to say. There was many laughs that night that lasted a life time. If you eat them getting past the taste and thought of where they came from. It is a more intense feeling. The native Indians used peyote and I think it may be some what similar. Natures chemicals can be dangerous and even fatal. I do love to hunt for them and share the photo's. I think they are the flowers of the woods.There is a swampy area back of my house and mushrooms are plenty. Maybe later I will go take a search and see what I can find.
Please feel free to message me about mushrooms anytime! I love seeing and classifying all the different species