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The Truth About Toadstools?

stonemunky

stonemunky

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Oct 23, 2002
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As an amateur mycologist I’ve always been struck be the difference in attitudes toward wild fungi between people in the UK and the rest of Europe. In most of Europe it’s common for wild edible fungi to be collected and eaten but in England many people seem to think that all “toadstools” are poisonous.
Years ago, before I was really interested in the subject, I remember reading an article which offered an explanation for this difference in attitude. Basically the article stated that druids were using magic mushrooms, thinking that the hallucinations were giving them some kind of like to the divine. Not wanting this “hot line to god” to fall into the wrong hands they encouraged people the believe that all wild fungi where toxic. Recently I’ve been trying to find any information, which would confirm or refute this theory, but to date have had no luck.
Any information, links, theories, opinions etc. would be much appreciated.
 
unexpected feelings of flyng could be taken as prity toxic!.. maybe its something to do with the industrial revoloution tho. The fracture of the population from the land that formerly the lived on and grew stuff on. Or the Fudal system where everything gathered also belonged to the lord of the manner?
 
All the wild fungi in this country aren't going to waste. There's plenty of Poles and Italians out there every year.
I put it down to the English dislike of anything "weird", and the peculiar puritan attitude to food in this country which is only now disappearing, thanks to foreign holidays and Elizabeth David.
 
But aren't there some fungi that are pretty toxic - like the death cap and the fly agaric? And how would a fungignoraamus like me know the difference?

Carole
 
Takes me back to the days of my youth, when many an hour was
spent scouting the woods in the hope of finding a good big Stinkhorn.
:p
 
I could only find puffballs myself . . .:heh:

Carole
 
Fly agarics are one of the druggy flying toadstools ( rather prized in these parts , I don't think anyone has died yet ) but death caps ( and desroying angels) are white and might be misaken for field mushrooms .
Maybe the prejudice is just born of people being careful , better to eat none of them that risk dying .It is sad when you go walking in woodland and find the people who were there before you have stamped on all the toadstools.
I've actually eaten loads of different types of wild mushroom - my advice , get a good identification book and ignore the little black flies .
 
Who came up with the word "toadstool" anyway? A French girl I used to know found it most amusing, praising us Brits and our imagination.
 
In response to the original post, I don't know of any Roman commentators who remark that the druids used any form of drug, so I would guess such tales about them and mushies are rather tall.
 
Where I come from, mushroom picking is incredibly common.

We will collect jews ear, field Mushrooms and panaeolus spp.
Occasionaly chanterelles will pop up and quite a few ink caps.
Chicken of the woods is a favorite!

We also collect interesting, non-culinary fungi to dry. Fly Agaric is very ornamental as is the underside of a plain birch bracket.

Fly agaric will not kill but its plainer relations will finish the job.

The population that have enough skill to ID and pick and prepare magical mushrooms is very refreshing. They have become another part of the Scots Herbologising world of yore and noo.

The last explaination that I heard in relation to the difference between the Toadstool and Mushroom (they are all mushrooms!)
is that a Mushie has gills on the underside of its cap while a Toadstool has pores. This is the two different spore distribution methods of the mushroom family.

I have a small square slice of Agaric just for novelty.

Quick tip: After a year, preserved mushrooms are useless.

It is a different psychology from the rest of europe but up north it is not a prudish view. It is very much embraced by the cooks and kooks of Scotland.

.....perhaps it is just the Scotland that I see.

Education when it comes to outdoor, wild foods, I say!!
 
Hi

In response to the original question - I've always found this explanation difficult to believe as druidic activity was just as prevalent in France etc if not more so than in the UK.

BTW despite what soemone saying earlier - death caps are not white (the destroying angel, as mentioned, is).

Mushroom vs toadstool - scientifically there is no difference but common useage is basically mushroom = edible, toadstool = poisonous. teh gills vs pores is the difference between an agaric and a bolete. Not all languages have the distinction between mushrooms and toadstools - merely using one word where in English we use two.

Despite what some identification books say I have yet to find a genuine account of a death from consumption of fly agaric in the UK. I have found a record of an attempted suicide where massive quantities where consumed but this merely gave the eater a very bad time.

As to the origin of the word toadstool that seems to be lost in the mists of time. I have seen one suggestion that it comes from the german word for death (tote <spelling may be off there>).

Gordon
Official mycologist to the Fortean Community :)
 
Am I the only Old Fart here who once had a copy of Richard Mabey's Food For Free? It first came out in the early 70s, but it seems there are much newer editions of it out now. The idea of living off the country has never quite died!
 
I am eating pignut and sucking birch sap right now......hmmmmm:)
 
I haven't been out mushrooming since we mistook jack-o'-lanterns for chantrelles (sneaky, SNEAKY jacks!) and spent the night in th' hospital a few years ago...
...don't think I'll go again anytime soon, either!:(

Mothfox (Although--my daughter was in her goth phase at te time,and boy, did she EVER look goth: paper white face and coal- black lips. Plus, she had a story that beat all her buds to smithereens!:blah:
 
For all your fortean mycological needs just pop along to UnCon in 2003 where I'll be giving a talk on fortean fungi!

Gordon
 
gordonrutter said:
Despite what some identification books say I have yet to find a genuine account of a death from consumption of fly agaric in the UK. I have found a record of an attempted suicide where massive quantities where consumed but this merely gave the eater a very bad time.
Click to expand...

In my mispent youth, I decided it might be fun to try fly agaric. I thought it might be a good idea to find out a bit about it first- I found one anecdotal record of a death in America where someone ate twelve for breakfast- that was the only death from fly agaric I've ever heard of.

The most I ever ate was three.
 
Yes, Beanie, tell us more...The mushroom fans here want to know!
(I myself was too chicken to try fly agarics)
Mothfox (lots of psylocybe, tho'...and pannelous)
 
Mothfox said:
Yes, Beanie, tell us more...The mushroom fans here want to know!
Click to expand...

Well, it was a bit like being very drunk, in the way that I felt very wobbly. It wasn't head-spinning like being very drunk, though.

Physically, I did have stomach cramps, but it was unpleasant rather than being painful.

Mentally, I was somewhere between confused and delirious, but I did know that it was because I'd had the fly agaric.

I didn't see any hallucinations or visual effects with my eyes open, apart from a sort of cloudiness or blurriness. It was quite 'dreamy' with my eyes shut, sort of like being awake and asleep at the same time.

I couldn't remember quite a lot of it the next day- people reminded me of doing things I had no memory of.

I did take it a few times- it wasn't that unpleasant, but I don't think I'd do it again. I wouldn't describe it as particularly similar to Psilocybe mushrooms.
 
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