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Myths and pagan stories.....
It is common to find references to different fungus species in stories from many cultures. For the ancient Greek, mushrooms were not only edible and medicinal, but were also motive of feasts like the "sun-shadow feast" where important characters such as Persephone participated. In the Hindu religion, the God Soma is represented by, or represents, the "fly agaric", Amanita muscaria. The ancient Egypcians prepared a narcotic drink from wheat infected by a fungus similar to Ergot, which is also responsable for huge mass hallucinations in Medevil Europe caused by eating bread made with contaminated wheat flour. It is the same species lysergic acid, LSD, is synthesized from.
Luminescent fungi:
Some species have fruitbodies that are
fosforescent in the dark, like
Mycena lux-coeli .Fairy rings or witch circles :
The mycorrhiza of some species fruit on the tips of the trees' roots, all at the same time forming "fairy rings" or "witch circles". It is said that witches would carry out ceremonies inside these circles!!
"Cats pee " mushrooms :
It is a popular belief that mushrooms appear in places where cats and dogs have urinated......it is probably due to the humidity the pee produces!
Devil's ashtray :
In Patagonia, the fruitbodies of the species Calvatia utriformis are edible when young and have medicinal spores when mature. They were and are commonly used to scar animal and human wounds and have nothing devilish to them!
"All white mushrooms are edible ":
¡False! There are some species whose fruitbodies are coloured and turn white after rainfall........there are also poisonous white mushrooms.................careful..............
Fungi in Chile (only in Spanish)
Myths and pagan stories
Interesting recipes