|
Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
|
dash17
Stranger


Registered: 07/14/10
Posts: 94
Loc: Wellingtonium
Last seen: 2 years, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: user1837483975]
#14245626 - 04/06/11 12:28 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|

Found today. Had planned on drying them out and eating them in the future - but if haunted is right, then it would probably be better to eat them in the next day or two?
Anybody have advice on preserving weraroa?
|
haunted


Registered: 03/16/04
Posts: 448
Last seen: 1 year, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: dash17]
#14245638 - 04/06/11 12:32 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
it would probably be better to eat them in the next day or two?
They might last 1-2 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container...
|
inski
Cortinariologist



Registered: 02/28/06
Posts: 5,759
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: haunted]
#14245739 - 04/06/11 01:09 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Hi Haunted,
You say you've stumbled across a patch of Psilocybe weraroa with at least 200 specimens in one square metre, in my experience that species does not grow in gregarious or caespitose clusters nor does it fruit from wood chips in landscaped gardens but rather solitary or in pairs on very rotted wood or tree fern fronds in native bush, was this fruiting from wood chips?
If so then I would say it's probably P. "subsecotioides"
|
Blue_Meanie



Registered: 07/10/10
Posts: 27
Loc: Wellington, New Zealand
Last seen: 12 years, 7 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: haunted]
#14245752 - 04/06/11 01:14 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
 yummy
|
Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,319
Last seen: 8 hours, 56 minutes
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: haunted]
#14245803 - 04/06/11 01:33 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
haunted said: On another note, I have also stumbled across a massive cluster of Weraroas, at least 200 in a metre square. I will get some pics in the weekend but I was wondering if anyone has experience preserving them?
I probably won't pick them ... but if I do I would want to preserve them somehow. In my experience they lose all potency when dried, so that is not an option. (and brings up another interesting question... what is in them?)
I think that the notion that they lose all potency when dried is a myth. No other psilocybin mushrooms do that.
Inski has a good point that they usually grow solitary or scattered.
|
inski
Cortinariologist



Registered: 02/28/06
Posts: 5,759
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#14245823 - 04/06/11 01:44 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Yes, I also think it is a myth although I have found that it doesn't stain quite as much as some of the other hallucinogenic species in the genus, this means very little if we consider the weak staining reaction in P. semilanceata.
It's possible that there may be some undescribed chemical components in P. weraroa that do degrade in potency on drying.
I do think the habit haunted has described fits better with that of P. "subsecotioides" but would like to see the pictures and be proven wrong!
|
inski
Cortinariologist



Registered: 02/28/06
Posts: 5,759
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: inski]
#14245827 - 04/06/11 01:46 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Psilocybe aucklandii

This species belongs in Dr Guzmáns Section Zapotecorum, it is very closely related to P. zapotecorum with only slight differences in microscopic form, P. zapotecorum is known to occur in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru and is commonly found fruiting from vertical faces of clay soil as this collection pictured above was found, P. aucklandii was not described as having a pseudorhiza which is often the case with P. zapotecorum but I have found this macroscopic characteristic to be quite common in the former species. Note the very dark pins near the base of the large specimens, this is very uncommon for this species which is usually found solitarily or in pairs.
|
Stopwhispering
The voodoo peoples




Registered: 05/01/10
Posts: 4,390
Loc: Melbourne
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: inski]
#14245881 - 04/06/11 02:03 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
inski said: Psilocybe aucklandii

This species belongs in Dr Guzmáns Section Zapotecorum, it is very closely related to P. zapotecorum with only slight differences in microscopic form, P. zapotecorum is known to occur in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru and is commonly found fruiting from vertical faces of clay soil as this collection pictured above was found, P. aucklandii was not described as having a pseudorhiza which is often the case with P. zapotecorum but I have found this macroscopic characteristic to be quite common in the former species. Note the very dark pins near the base of the large specimens, this is very uncommon for this species which is usually found solitarily or in pairs.
That photo is awesome. 
And as always awesome info
|
Resolute
drugprofessional


Registered: 03/23/04
Posts: 66
Loc: Auckland, New Zealand
Last seen: 11 years, 8 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: inski]
#14245944 - 04/06/11 02:27 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Ah, it's good to see this lively discussion going on. I don't think the story is finished when it comes to mushrooms in New Zealand, or at least Auckland in my case.
Most people seem to think psilocybe subaeruginosa is the only psychoactive mushroom to be found in Auckland but I have personally found panaeolus cyanescens, Psilocybe aucklandii (within central Auckland, not out west) and the unidentified mushroom which Inski has referred to in the past. I have also found another unidentified psilocybe in the past, which I'm still kicking myself for not getting a picture of, which largely resembled psilocybe subaeruginosa but had a distinctly black/deep gray cap and would have a far thinner, semi opaque cap when mature. I am positive this was not due to micro/macro environmental conditions as the patch where I found these mushrooms (the only patch I might add) consistently produced the same mushrooms which had enough distinctive differences from psilocybe subaeruginosa for at least me to classify them as being different. I'm yet to find weraroa novae-zelandiae in Auckland, though since I found some in Wellington when visiting a friend, I have kept my eye out.
I have some good news for Aucklanders, I found these about an hour ago:

Given the recent rubbish weather, I thought it would be good to check out a reliable spot I have been visiting for the past 9 years. I wasn't expecting to find much more than mycelial growth so I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this haul.
The patch the above mushrooms came from is located in a dark bush which seems to retain the cold and moisture of the night; The patch starts to fruit at least a good week before any of my other patches do. It's probably too early for the mulch variety to be popping up but it's definitely getting close. The weather is ripe at the moment, just a touch more rain and things should start kicking.
Good luck to all!
-------------------- "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones" Albert Einstein
|
haunted


Registered: 03/16/04
Posts: 448
Last seen: 1 year, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: Resolute]
#14246095 - 04/06/11 04:25 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
hello inski!
Quote:
You say you've stumbled across a patch of Psilocybe weraroa with at least 200 specimens in one square metre, in my experience that species does not grow in gregarious or caespitose clusters nor does it fruit from wood chips in landscaped gardens
I was as shocked as you sound. "Photo to come" as they say. they were growing both in chipped pine and very clustered. Don't get me wrong, I would love to find "P. subsecotioides" as I have never found them before, but I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference...
Quote:
I think that the notion that they lose all potency when dried is a myth
If so then its a myth invented by myself... stemming from when my pals ate a bunch of dried weraroas with no result. Sun dried, I might add. But, again, please prove me wrong!
Quote:
I don't think the story is finished when it comes to mushrooms in New Zealand
same here... I'm still sure I found Panaeolus subbalteatus or something similar down south growing from cow manure. But thats hardly I groundshaker I guess..!
Thanks for the feedback.. I will get out on Saturday morning and get a pic of that Weraroa cluster. Perhaps the patch will have grown more by then!
Edited by haunted (04/06/11 04:37 AM)
|
xthrx
Stranger


Registered: 04/29/09
Posts: 1,538
Last seen: 1 day, 1 hour
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: haunted]
#14246117 - 04/06/11 04:49 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
*Eagerly awaits worse *******
mod edit: 5. Do not make threads or posts discussing or reporting the weather. This includes complaining about the weather, asking if the current weather is "good for shrooms", or how long to wait after rain fall to go hunting. As a general rule of thumb, if it has rained within the last 1-10 days, and the temperatures are correct for the type of mushroom you're looking for, and the time of year is correct then it is very likely that the mushroom you are looking for is growing.
Edited by Alan Rockefeller (04/06/11 05:01 AM)
|
M Theory
Registered: 04/04/11
Posts: 16
Loc: Wellington, New Zealand
Last seen: 8 years, 10 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: haunted]
#14248472 - 04/06/11 04:32 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
haunted said:
Quote:
ny other habitat tips for any mushies growing around the Wellington region would be welcomed as well!
for weraroa try more in native bush around the ponga in the leaf litter, where its damp. There are plenty of good spots in the hill suburbs green belt around NW wellington
Thanks for the reply, man. Always good to hear from someone that's experienced with the area (: I'll give some of the parks and native nature reserves around here a look. Hunting in the native bush on NZ is way more fun than trudging around inspecting cow patties back in the US...
|
nickc
Psyche-dult



Registered: 04/10/09
Posts: 559
Loc: Melbourne, VIC
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: M Theory]
#14248581 - 04/06/11 04:50 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
I have found Psilocybe weraroa in wood chip/mulch gardens, I even have one spot in Wellington and one in Palmerston North where both Psilocybe weraroa and Psilocybe subaeruginosa grow together only feet apart! I would be highly highly surprised to find out the P. weraroa I have found in wood chip gardens is anything else, as they are most certainly the same as ones I've found in native bush around fern litter.
The only difference being that in wood chip gardens, they tend to grow and mould around the bark pieces, so you end up with these bizarre looking mushrooms with square edges and some even manage to almost grow completely around small chips of bark so that you have to cut the wood out after picking!
|
woodchip
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/11
Posts: 81
Loc: South Island, NZ
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#14249497 - 04/06/11 07:49 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Quote:
haunted said: haven't posted in quite a while now but thought I'd share these Ps. subaeruginosa, literally stumbled over them after the last rain in central Wellington - wasn't hunting but could hardly just leave them... this is all I could pick in 5 minutes
Nice find, macroscopically those are nearly identical to Psilocybe cyanescens as far as I can see.
Does anyone notice differences in Psilocybe subaeruginosa from NZ and Aus?
These threads indicate that there may be several species with microscopic differences. Most collections match Psilocybe subaeruginosa, but a lot more work needs to be done.
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/8907128/page/1 http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/8891923/page/1
Greetings all,
Interesting stuff, prompted me to register so that I can contribute to this discussion.
To quote Johnston & Buchanan 1995 (The genus Psilocybe (Agaricales) in New Zealand, NZ J. Bot):
"P. subaeruginosa, in the sense that we accept it, is morphologically very similar to P. cyanescens, and may represent the same species. Originally described from England (Dennis & Wakefield 1946), and since reported from other parts of the United Kingdom (Guzman 1983; Watling & Gregory 1987) and North America (Guzman 1983), P. cyanescens is known only from human-modified habitats. Watling & Gregory (1987) considered it to be a recent introduction to the United Kingdom. New Zealand collections of P. subaeruginosa have also been found only in disturbed habitats, and the fungus is almost certainly a recent introduction to this country. In Australia, however, P. subaeruginosa is reportedly associated with indigenous rain forest remnants (Guzman & Watling 1978)."
But "P. subaeruginosa" is collected a lot in pine forests in Australia also.
If subaureginosa is a separate species to cyanescens then it is highly possible that we have both species in NZ (and Australia). Alternatively we could have just one species, either cyanescens or subaureginosa!
Interesting about the clustering/solitary distinction. Perhaps this is just related to the substrate i.e a large piece of wood might allow production of a big cluster?
-------------------- Put it on a plate, son. You'll enjoy it more.
|
captain goodvibes
tubecruiser



Registered: 04/16/10
Posts: 123
Loc: Aotearoa
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: haunted]
#14250944 - 04/07/11 12:35 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
haunted said:
Quote:
macroscopically those are nearly identical to Psilocybe cyanescens as far as I can see.
Hello, Alan rockefeller! Ah yes, you have brought up that ol' chestnut... that is a neverending debate... an interesting point is that here they mostly flourish in plantations of, or gardens mulched with pinus radiata, a tree introduced from north california (where Ps cyanescens is also native...) So its not hard to see a possible connection. And as far as I know they have only been distinguished from one another through their geographic location (but correct me if I'm wrong!)
Those ones I picked above were growing in a cluster, looking exactly like the first image of a Google image search of "cyanescens cluster" the image of a cyanescens cluster - they looked exactly like this, with the same spore stains and everything.
Pins are poppin' up here on the East Coast too...
All the subs I am familiar with look absolutely identical to Cyans, the pics are totally interchangeable. This is an interesting topic.
-------------------- you don't own your stuff, your stuff owns you
Edited by captain goodvibes (04/07/11 12:37 AM)
|
hippie56
Stranger

Registered: 05/03/08
Posts: 80
Last seen: 12 years, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#14251094 - 04/07/11 01:20 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Quote:
haunted said: On another note, I have also stumbled across a massive cluster of Weraroas, at least 200 in a metre square. I will get some pics in the weekend but I was wondering if anyone has experience preserving them?
I probably won't pick them ... but if I do I would want to preserve them somehow. In my experience they lose all potency when dried, so that is not an option. (and brings up another interesting question... what is in them?)
I think that the notion that they lose all potency when dried is a myth. No other psilocybin mushrooms do that.
Inski has a good point that they usually grow solitary or scattered.
Hey guys i have found a few years ago a patch of Weraroas that was at least 200 in like a 5m raduis i think they had just been left year after year with nobody picking them as i have found also over the years with spots i have show people and then they have been raped and pillaged that no more Weraroas grow there. Also in regards to preserving i have found the freezer is the best way of keeping them i know they say not to freeze shrooms as it destroys the cells etc etc but i havent found any loss of potency from doing this also with drying them i found the potency next to nothing for some reason even after eating 20 odd dry ones very very mild buzz compared to fresh or frozen just my 2 cents guys. PEACE
-------------------- In your earth experience you shall live a thousand dreams, Dream a thousand lives and in your dreams or life influence millions.
|
woodchip
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/11
Posts: 81
Loc: South Island, NZ
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: captain goodvibes]
#14251272 - 04/07/11 02:20 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
It has been suggested that P. cyanescens does not have such a prominent cortanariod veil as P. sub. (the covering joining the stem to the underside of the cap)when immature.
From a quick look at Workman's (excellent) species notes P. cyanescens differs in having forked cheilocystidia - but not always... I need to sit down and digest these notes sometime.
From what I understand a lot of the wood mulch around Auckland is mostly pine chips/bark? Pine bark is probably a lot harder for fungi to digest especially when fresh, so the resins etc may limit growth of other wood-loving fungi. So the pine chips may act to select for P. sub and other species which are more tolerant of this kind of wood. Probably similar for other resinous wood like Eucalypts or even Cedars.
I know that in Christchurch a lot of the mulch used by the council is from prunings of introduced trees e.g. oaks, silver birch, etc. I have seen plenty of P. subs growing on mixed mulch like this but also lots of other fungi.
-------------------- Put it on a plate, son. You'll enjoy it more.
|
inski
Cortinariologist



Registered: 02/28/06
Posts: 5,759
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: woodchip]
#14251317 - 04/07/11 02:36 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Psilocybe subaeruginosa and P. cyanescens are not conspecific, the former has spores that are subellipsoid in side and face view and are (10-) 13.2-14.3 (-15.4) (16.5 very rare) x 6.6-7.7 (-9.3 very rare) x 6-7.5µm whereas the latter has spores that are ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid and are (9.8-) 10.0-12.5 (-13.5) x (6.5-) 7.0-7.5 (-8.0)µm. The cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia of these two species are quite different in shape and size also.
Both species are rather similar in macroscopic form and both belong in Dr Guzmáns Section Cyanescens, over the years I have examined many collections and it is very likely that P. cyanescens does occur in New Zealand but they are definitely seperate species with quite different microscopic characteristics, if we compare the DNA sequences of both species I'm sure that they will prove to be extremely closely related.
|
woodchip
Stranger
Registered: 04/06/11
Posts: 81
Loc: South Island, NZ
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: inski]
#14251399 - 04/07/11 03:16 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Thanks Inski, good to know that.
I would imagine that you probably found also that each species varied considerably with different collections. No doubt there were some that were hard to fit into one species or the other with absolute certainty?
I believe that spore (and cystidia) size will vary according to local environmental conditions also.
Molecular work examining DNA sequences from a good number of collections could reveal that both cyanescens and subaeruginosa are "species complexes" consisting of a bunch of separate species. It is likely that these could also correlate with very slight morphological differences also.
It always brings us back to the question: what is a fungal species? Just a name that someone wants to put on something!
-------------------- Put it on a plate, son. You'll enjoy it more.
|
captain goodvibes
tubecruiser



Registered: 04/16/10
Posts: 123
Loc: Aotearoa
|
Re: *THE OFFICIAL New Zealand Mushroom Season THREAD 2011* [Re: woodchip]
#14253011 - 04/07/11 01:00 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
woodchip said: It always brings us back to the question: what is a fungal species? Just a name that someone wants to put on something!
Good point.
This applies to more than just fungi...
-------------------- you don't own your stuff, your stuff owns you
|
|