http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/24023
say's vvv
One of the best things you could do would be to get yourself a book on mushrooms. The recommendations at the Hunting forum tend to be US-centric, so you should check your local bookstores for books on mushrooms of your country. If you can get a couple books, that's often a good idea. A list of recommended books mainly for the US can be found here.
Good mycology books for field mycology have keys. Keys are a list of choices where you choose between alternatives and are directed to different places in the book. For example, a typical early choice in the key will be based on what color the spore print is. Don't waste too much time on the big coffee table books with the pretty photographs, at least not at first. Those can be fun books to thumb through, but they're usually not that helpful for identifying mushrooms you find in the woods.
Then go out and find some mushrooms. At first, don't waste time picking everything in sight. You're not going to be able to identify all you find. Stick to a few fairly distinctive, common species. In other words, what are the mushrooms you see most often when you're out looking for them? Pick several and bring them home to identify.
Expect to take a couple hours trying to identify the first ones you find. And expect to be wrong in the end. That's OK. The time you spent reading and trying to ID them will help you next time. As you do it, you'll get better at knowing what you should be looking for.
If you know somebody locally who hunts mushrooms (not just actives or whatever), ask them for assistance. Mushroom people tend to be helpful.
For the first year or two, try to not spend all your time looking at LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms). They're difficult for everybody, including professionals, to identify. In fact, expect that, no matter how good you get, you will never be able to identify every mushroom you find. I don't know a professional mycologist who can just tell you what every mushroom is.
If there is a mycological society nearby, they often have several experts among their members. Mycological societies tend to be organized mostly by and for people hunting mushrooms to eat, not get high on, so if your interest is in the latter you should be discreet. You especially need discretion if your country has laws prohibiting the possession or use of active species - prisons aren't good places to be anywhere in the world. Even so, you may meet others with your same interests in mushrooms there.
Above all, get out there and find mushrooms, and try to identify them yourself. There are places like this one to help you with the latter task. But help yourself by trying to identify them yourself first, even if only to genus. And let us know what your guess is, so we can confirm it or show you why you're wrong (most of us learn more from our mistakes than our successes).
http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/23483
say'svvvv
Ohio
Psilocybe azurescens . (Introduced).
Psilocybe caerulipes
Panaeolus subbalteatus
Gymnopilus spectabilis = G. junonius
Gymnopilus aeruginosus
http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/23484
say'svvv
Active mushrooms grow on a variety of things (substrate) but primarily they grow on horse or cow manure, dead wood or mulch, and on the ground in the grass. Here is a list of active species matched to the thing or substrate that they grow on.
Horse manure (dung):
Panaeolus subbalteatus
Cow manure (dung):
Copelandia cyanescens
Panaeolus subbalteatus
Psilocybe cubensis
Mulch or dead wood and debris:
Psilocybe azurescens
Psilocybe cyanescens
Grass-covered ground:
Psilocybe semilanceata
Panaeolus subbalteatus
http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/23482
say'svvvv
Which species can be found growing where and when?
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Conocybe cyanopes
Found from May through September usualy in dense shade scattered among mosses, and in wet soil around bogs, swamps, and ditches in the northwestern USA and as far east as Michigan. Carpophores grow well in sphagnum moss having a range of pH 7-8.
Panaeolus(=Copelandia) cyanescens
Found in early summer through late autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered on cow dung, or rich soil in Florida and other southern states. Spores germinate easily easily on all agar media. Optimum growth occurs on MEA at 80 degrees F. Carpophores can be produced on uncased compost or on rye.
Panaeolus foenisecii
(Also known as Paneaolina foenisecii or Psilocybe foenisecii, and commonly known as haymower's mushroom or harvest mushroom)
Found in late spring and early summer, or in July, August, and September during cool, wet seasons scattered or grouped in large numbers on lawns, pastures, and other grassy places throughout the USA and in Quebec. Tests on specimens found in Washington revealed no psilocybin, but eastern specimens were potent.
Panaeolus sphinctrinus
Found in summer and autumn in small groups in forests, pastures, fields, and roadsides almost always on cow dung in many temperate parts of the world.
Panaeolus subalteatus
Found from spring to autumn grouped or clustered often in rings up to two feet in diameter on open ground, freshly manured lawns, straw piles, all types of compost, dung piles, and roadsides in Ontario and throughout the USA (especially in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon). Optimum growth on MEA is at 86 degrees F. It occasionally occurs as a weed mushroom in commercial mushroom houses.
Pholiotina cyanopoda
Found in August through September solitary to clustered on lawns in such diverse parts of the USA as New York, Washington, and Colorado.
Psilocybe baeocystis
Found in autumn and winter, solitary, grouped, or clustered on earth, lawns, mulch, and decomposing forest wood near scattered trees especially conifers -- in western Oregon and Washington. It does well on Agar media at 77 degrees F. This is a potent species containing Psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, and nor-baeocystin. Perhaps it is because of the latter two alkaloids that it is the most visually hallucinogenic of the psilocybin mushrooms. There is a report that in 1960 a six-year old boy died after eating a large number of these mushrooms. There has never been any other indication that these alkaloids are dangerous. Until there is further clarification of this question, we advise that anyone using this species proceed with caution by starting with small doses and progressing gradually to larger ones. This is especially important when using the extracted crude alkaloids which may contain large concentrations of the baeocystin alkaloids.
Psilocybe caerulescens
Found in the summer during rainy season, grouped or clustered but rarely solitary, mostly in shady places on soil, sugar cane mulch, recently turned earth or stream banks -- in Alabama, northern Florida and Mexico. The Mexican variety P. caerulescens var. mazatecorum is known locally as "Durrumbe", which means "landslides." There it is often found among landslides, or near corn or coffee plantations. The mycelium does best on MEA at 81 degrees F. Thermal death occurs at 95 degrees F. It is almost impossible to produce carpophores on sterilized rye medium. They can be grown on vegetable compost in dim light, but the incubation period is long (55-85 days). Although this species is resistant to white mold it's long incubation period leaves it prone to other diseases. It is not one of the more potent species.
Psilocybe caerulipes
Found in summer and occasionally autumn solitary or clustered on decomposing logs and debris of hardwood trees (especially birch and maple) in New York, New England states, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Ontario.
Psilocybe cubensis
Found from February to November in compact groups in clearings outside forest areas, on cow dung, or horse dung, in rich pasture soil, on straw, or on sawdust/dung mixture in Mexico, Cuba, Florida and other southern states. It grows well on MEA at 86 degrees F. Carpophores appear in 4-8 weeks. Thermal death occurs at 104 degrees F. Carpophores larger than wild specimens can be produced by inoculating vegetable compost in clay pots with agar grown mycelium, casing with silica sand/limestone mix, and incubating 4-6 weeks in daylight at 68 degrees F. It does poorly in darkness. It is a potent mushroom and very resistant to contaminants.
Psilocybe azurescens
Found in autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered in woods, on earth, among leaves and twigs, and occasionally on decomposing wood -- in northwestern USA.
Psilocybe cyanescens
Found in autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered in woods, on earth, among leaves and twigs, and occasionally on decomposing wood -- in northwestern USA.
Psilocybe mexicana
Found from May to October isolated or sparsely at altitudes from 4500 to 5500 feet, especially in limestone regions, among mosses and herbs, along roadsides, in humid meadows, in cornfields, and near pine forests in Mexico.
Psilocybe pelliculosa
Found September to December scattered, grouped, or clustered on humus and debris, in or near conifier forests in northwestern USA and as far south as Marin County, California. This is a small but potent species.
Psilocybe quebecencis
Found from summer to late October scattered in shady areas at forest edges, on sandy soil containing vegetable debris regularly inundated by river flooding, and on decomposing wood and debris (especially birch, alder, fir, and spruce) in the Quebec area. It thrives at lower temperatures than other Psilocybe species and produces carpophores at air temperatures of 43 to 59 degrees F.
Psilocybe semilanceata
Found August through December (with the main season being in October and November) often in large groups on soil, among grasses, in clearings, pastures, meadows, forest edges, open conifier woodlands, and on roadsides -- but never on dung -- in New York, northern USA, British Columbia, and Europe. Generally regarded as one of the most potent species.
Psilocybe strictipes
Found in October rather clustered on soil or on decomposing wood and debris, on conifiers and some other trees in northwestern USA (especially in Oregon). It closely resembles P. baeocystis, but has a longer stem. It tends to be as visually hallucinogenic as that species and probably contains the same or similar baeocystin alkaloids.
Psilocybe sylvatica
Found in September and October in small compact but unlustered groups in woods on leaf mold, debris (especially beech wood), around stumps and logs, but not usually on them -- from New York to Michigan and as far north as Quebec and Ontario. This mushroom is small and is often mistaken for P. Pelliculosa.
http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/23485
say'svvv
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Copelandia cyanescens
Found in early summer through late autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered on cow dung, or rich soil in Florida and other southern states.
Psilocybe cubensis
Found from February to November in compact groups in clearings outside forest areas, on cow dung, or horse dung, in rich pasture soil, on straw, or on sawdust/dung mixture in Mexico, Cuba, Florida and other southern states. It grows well on MEA at 86 degrees F. Carpophores appear in 4-8 weeks. Thermal death occurs at 104 degrees F. Carpophores larger than wild specimens can be produced by inoculating vegetable compost in clay pots with agar grown mycelium, casing with silica sand/limestone mix, and incubating 4-6 weeks in daylight at 68 degrees F. It does poorly in darkness. It is a potent mushroom and very resistant to contaminants.
Panaeolus subbalteatus
Found from spring to autumn grouped or clustered often in rings up to two feet in diameter on open ground, freshly manured lawns, straw piles, all types of compost, dung piles, and roadsides in Ontario and throughout the USA (especially in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon). Optimum growth on MEA is at 86 degrees F. It occasionally occurs as a weed mushroom in commercial mushroom houses.
Psilocybe semilanceata
Found August through September often in large groups on soil, among grasses, in clearings, pastures, meadows, forest edges, open conifer woodlands, and on roadsides -- but never on dung -- in New York, northern USA, British Columbia, and Europe. Generally regarded as one of the less potent species, but is sometimes quite potent.
Psilocybe azurescens
Found in autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered in woods, on earth, among leaves and twigs, and occasionally on decomposing wood -- in
northwestern USA.
Psilocybe cyanescens
Found in autumn scattered, grouped, or clustered in woods, on earth, among leaves and twigs, and occasionally on decomposing wood -- in
northwestern USA.
http://www.shroomery.org/index/par/25048
say'svvv
How long do I have to wait after it rains to find mushrooms?
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This is based on my P. cubensis hunting experience; hunting cow fields in Louisiana.
Best rule of thumb is that you need to wait till after the next hot day. There will be a few during the rains or even before, but not enough to spend your time for. Basically, what you are looking for is the first hot sunny day after a rain. that night will be the best pickings. In some cases, the fields will be too soggy. These scenarios require patience. Assuming you get multiple sunny days after the rain, go every night to check if the field is dry enough to fruit some mushrooms. During these trips to the field, you may find a few here and there. Remember where these singles are as theres a good chance the area will fruit abundantly after the field dries a little.
The list goes on,and on.
I tried to help,but I'm not doing so good,so I will let you be!
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