Written in Partnership with Amir Bakian
The mushroom buzz is well and truly upon us. Everybody from Leafly, the globe’s most-trusted destination to find legal cannabis products, to NPR, the news outlet, has discussed psychedelic mushrooms (affectionately known by users as shrooms) in recent months as health practitioners explore their use in psychiatric treatment.
Whether in pharmaceutical settings, hospitals, or recreational environments, shrooms increasingly infused themselves into pop culture in 2022, which is likely to continue this year.
But there’s a new type of mushroom on the block. Hitting headlines throughout the country for its psychotropic effects, Amanita Muscaria mushrooms have gained considerable traction lately for a very good reason — they’re legal.
That’s right; this dream-inducing, mind-bending, fairytale-looking shroom is federally legal for Americans (except for Louisianians). And sources state that toxicity risks are minimal when the mushroom is prepared correctly, strained, and processed, which is exactly what PsiloMart guarantees.
Meet PsiloMart
PsiloMart is leading the Amanita mushroom charge offering a wide variety of lab-tested, correctly processed products, including extracts, caps, and edibles.
With an innovative history in the hemp industry, the company is spreading the facts of these age-old yet recently hyped mushrooms, their effects, and potential benefits.
The PsiloMart team focuses on education, testing, and safety, ensuring no products contain psilocybin (the “magic” substance in shrooms) but still produce desired effects.
Through the careful creation of Amanita mushroom products and articles, the company works tirelessly to spread the facts about this federally legal, psychotropic mushroom species currently making media-level waves.
Whether this is your first time hearing about Amanita Muscaria mushrooms or you’ve been excited about them for a while, PsiloMart is your one-stop shop.
What Is Amanita Muscaria?
For many, diving into the shroom world is scary. Education is necessary when dealing with all types of consumables, especially those that can alter thought processes (albeit for a somewhat-limited time).
And while PsiloMart boasts the answers to many Muscaria-related questions on their blog, you can find everything you need to know about this hyped-up mushroom right here.
So, what is Amanita Muscaria?
Its Physical Characteristics
Commonly known as the Fly Amanita or Fly Agaric, Amanita Muscaria is perhaps one of the most iconic-looking mushrooms in the world, renowned for its purportedly spiritual and hallucinogenic effects.
With its white-spotted brilliant red caps and chunky stalk, it’s the home of many storybooks’ fairies. Or, for those who’ve grown up in the digital age — the emoji mushroom.
Growing up to 7.9 inches wide and 12 inches tall, it has closely packed white or cream gills under its cap.
Its Preferred Habitat
Fly Agarics tend to reoccur in the same place year after year, preferring the climate and soil of the northern hemisphere, including Ireland, Britain, Asia, mainland Europe, Canada, and the United States of America.
Its Psychoactive Content
The more astute among you may have noticed that PsiloMart ensures their Amanita Muscaria products do not contain psilocybin. Contrary to popular belief, it’s the psilocybin that makes magic mushrooms illegal and provides the psychedelic effects.
But how do Fly Agarics offer mind-bending results if it doesn’t have this so-called magic ingredient?
Well, Amanita Muscaria contains the psychoactive chemical compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol. Many also have muscarine and muscazone — although they won’t always be in notable concentrations.
Due to the lack of psilocybin, the Fly Agaric isn’t a magic mushroom. However, as anecdotal evidence shows, it still produces psychotropic effects, thanks to the significant concentrations of muscimol and ibotenic acid.
The effects of these active ingredients can be different from psilocybin. Still, we’ll discover the specifics of such effects after introducing you to another buzz-worthy (but not as hyped) species of Amanita mushrooms.
What Is Amanita Pantherina?
Amanita Pantherina, known as the Panther Cap, has a wide reputation for religious, spiritual, and recreational experiences. Although, like the Fly Agaric, it isn’t a psychedelic mushroom since it doesn’t contain psilocybin.
Its Physical Characteristics
The Panther Cap boasts white fragments speckled on its ochre-brown cap on a relatively short yet chunky stalk.
During infancy, the cap is domed. However, it noticeably flattens as the fruitbody matures, making identification from its Muscaria cousin even easier.
Its cap can grow from 1.97 inches to 4.72 inches, with white crowded gills that aren’t attached to the stem.
As for its height, expert foragers note that it varies from 2.36 inches to 4.72 inches, depending on growing conditions.
Its Preferred Habitat
Unlike the Fly Agaric, which is near-instantly recognizable, Amanita Pantherina is much less common, meaning people are unlikely to notice it unless they look.
It prefers deciduous woodland environments, typically located throughout Canada, western Asia, and Europe. Although, it’s been spotted in urban areas from time to time.
Its Psychoactive Content
As previously alluded to, Panther Cap contains muscimol and ibotenic acid, giving it psychotropic properties similar to psychedelic mushrooms.
The Deep-Rooted Cultural History of Amanita Mushrooms
Amanita mushrooms, particularly the Fly Agaric, have a deep-rooted history in rituals and medicines throughout the ages. From the Greeks to the Celts to the Vikings, Amanita muscaria has traveled through time, almost unknowingly to most except history buffs and reputable providers like PsiloMart.
It Starts In Siberia
Before Christianity, the indigenous people of Siberia utilized Fly Agaric in various religious traditions, spreading across the Russian Far East as well as Western Siberia.
At this time in the west, only practicing shamans or those considered shaman-like were allowed to use the mushroom, allowing them to achieve trance-like states.
However, in eastern Siberia, Amanita Muscaria use was available for — and not just for religious reasons. The people here utilized it recreationally.
That said, only shamans could actually eat the mushroom. Laypeople must consume the shaman’s urine to receive the hallucinogenic effects.
It Continues to the Koryaks
Still inhabiting the area today, the Koryaks are indigenous people from eastern Siberia. According to their folklore, Fly Agaric was a sacred gift given to them by Big Raven, their very first shaman.
It Then Heads to the Celtic Druids
Sources suggest that the Celtic Druids used Amanita Muscaria in religious rituals and traditions too.
After preparation, they’d eat it for the hallucinations, believing that the visions would allow them to inherit some ancient wisdom and put them in contact with the universe.
It Finds Its Way to the Aryan People
Ancient Aryan people of India used a drink they named Soma, and many researchers, most famously R. Gordon Wasson, suggest that this drug was actually Amanita Muscaria.
They existed roughly 3,500 years ago and practiced a polytheistic religion. One of their gods, Soma, was unique — he wasn’t just a god but also a plant.
While the ancient population didn’t leave many artifacts behind (only hymns), analysis of the lyrics in modern times leads people to believe Soma was indeed Fly Agaric.
It Belongs to the Ancient Greeks As Well
Soma was also found by the ancient Greeks.
Dionysus, their god of fertility and mysticism, threw a yearly festival called Ambrosia, meaning immortality. During the festival, the ancient Greeks would consume Soma for its euphoric properties, reveling in its inebriating, sleep-inducing effects.
It Awe-Struck the Vikings Too
Berserkers, Viking warriors, are thought to have eaten Amanita muscaria before heading into battle, letting its trance-like effects take over and giving them extra strength for fighting.
It Becomes a Staple in Fairytales
Fly Agaric’s beautiful aesthetic and mind-altering properties are a staple in stories and folklore. From ancient oral tales to modern books and video games, the mushroom has featured heavily in them all for thousands of years.
And It’s Finally Settled in Pop Culture
Today, the mushroom is plastered across video games, Pinterest boards, books, paintings, and even clothing.
But, as PsiloMart will tell you, it’s becoming increasingly popular for its recreational and medicinal effects once more. While it may not be connected to religion, sources say it’s helping to soothe pain, boost creativity, and improve sleep.
What Are The Effects of Amanita Mushrooms?
With all the knowledge you’ve gained thus far, there’s only one thing left to uncover — the effects of Amanita Muscaria and its Panther Cap cousin.
The Effects of Amanita Muscaria
Provided the preparation and strain of Amanita Muscaria are correct (which you can guarantee with PsiloMart’s lab-tested consumables), the purported effects of this mushroom can be visual, physical, cognitive, multi-sensory, and auditory, including:
- Sedation — Depending on the dose, you could experience mild to extreme sedation, falling into a deep sleep or feeling heavy.
- Pain relief — From headaches to cramps, Fly Agaric works as an alleviation tool.
- Visual enhancements — Many users report seeing colors brighter and more saturated. Some say magnification is common, where distant patterns appear closer than they are.
- Distortions — The mushroom can induce all manner of visual distortions, from color shifting to tracers to kaleidoscope to depth perception changes.
- Cognitive euphoria — You may feel overwhelmingly elated, excited, or joyful.
- Dream potentiation — If you fall into a deep sleep, you might have very vivid dreams.
- Interconnectedness — You might feel as though you’re made up of a broader range of concepts than usual. Known as “ego death,” it’s a phenomenon often talked about in shroom culture.
- Increased appreciation for music — After taking Amanita Muscaria, many people report liking music more than before and the lyrics having a greater impact on them. Some sources suggest that you become hyper-aware of every beat and instrument within a track.
And this is just a taster of everything you might experience after consuming this storybook-famous mushroom!
The Effects of Amanita Pantherina
As you may expect, the effects of the Panther Cap are similar.
Anecdotal reports show that consuming this Amanita mushroom warps your sense of time and provides out-of-body experiences. Sometimes, your motor skills may change, becoming clumsier or feeling more “electrified.”
PsiloMart: Your One-Stop Amanita Muscaria Shop
The legality and ongoing research into Amanita Muscaria are wonderfully forward-thinking. And those who want to discover more about this ancient (and now modern) medicinal mushroom can do so safely with the industry’s leader, PsiloMart. The future is beautifully rosy for the Fly Agaric — just like its cap.
References
psilomart.com
https://www.leafly.com/news/about
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/27/1145306096/psychedelic-drugs-psychiatric-disorders-brain-research
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/fly-agaric/
https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/amanita-muscaria.php
https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/amanita-pantherina.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_pantherina
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