Isn't There A Sci-Fi Story That Starts This Way?

On our way to Vios for dinner last night (try the white bean soup!) we were walking down Aloha and spotted a lawn being colonized by a huge mushroom.

The owners seem to be already under its nefarious sway, as they have laboriously scrawled on cardboard signs the instructions to leave the mushrooms alone so that they can be "seen." If you want to "see" them (and potentially have your brain sucked out by an alien fungus), we sorta remember them being on the 17th - 18th Ave portion of Aloha.

We have done our usual two minutes of in-depth online research and haven't identified the mushroom species. Is it edible? Or poisonous? Or magic? Or is it -- as is most likely -- an alien parasite.

Maybe coyotes are getting a bad rap.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By MvB in Miscellaneous, News on October 24, 2007 1:15 PM

Comments [rss]

Charles Redell

According to a botanist/mycologist friend:

that shroom is Aminita muscaria. It is Poisonous, including vivid hallucinations. Aminta muscaria has been implicated by some folks to be the source of "soma." It has most certainly been used by Shamans. Our region most often has the variety Aminta pantherina, this sends many (generally teenagers) to the hospital each year, with extreme gastrointestinal problems. Yes you can die from it. Encourage people to not experiment.

For what it's worth, I know this person really well and she's a really accomplished botanist and mycologist, so I trust her.

She also says to go here for more info. Those who just want to see more of the little beauties in person, she says:

The Elliot bike path near the railroad tracks N- or the bridge to where it empties out on Bulmer yard features 4 varieties of Aminta, it is really beautiful.

MvB

Damn. You commenters know your mushrooms!

duff

It is an Amanita Muscaria. I found a crop recently in Cap Hill as well. They ARE toxic raw in that they can make you nauseous (or get you high). I have had success ridding them of their toxicity and eating them dried, boiled, and sauteed. But, a lot depends on your body chemistry and the season (fall mushrooms are supposed to be less toxic).

All this said, I would not suggest eating them. (instead, leave them for me!) (but they are pretty tasty...so if you must, work your way up to a whole mushroom by testing yourself on a slice or two first)

There's plenty of them around right now, so no need to desecrate someone's lawn.

TSwank

Those mushrooms are all over New Mexico too. My dad and I go camping all over NM, and we see them everywhere. They look like Mario Brother mushrooms.

Saxtor

That is certainly an amanita. As to which variety, I cannot tell, although SOME amanitas are considered edible. So, much like your deferral to the comments section, just take a nibble and let your liver sort it out...

...or don't, since there are plenty of other worthwhile species that grow in abundance in this region, which I understand are having a bumper crop this year.

MvB

Thanks, Sandy! I thought it might be an amanita from looking at photos, but I thought I'd let the comments section sort it out.

Sandy

Nope, that is an amanita mushroom and they are most definitely NOT edible. My grandfather was big on mushroom hunting (looking for the wild, edible varieties) and when I was little he taught be a bit about these. Mostly, he says any mushroom that is brightly colored like this one should be deemed poisonous because the reason they have evolved that color is as a warning to animals and birds that might want to eat them.