Psilocybe semilanceata.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

A few more pics from today.And boomer_bumper to answer your question it happens with age,they open up,and laying flat on the grass helps alot as well im sure.I dont find too many that get fully opened but it does happen.And they are usually flat on the ground when I do.It is usually the bell shaped ones I have noticed that tend to open up like that....Here is a description of Liberty Caps....Caps are up to 2cm acreoo,narrowly conical to bell-shaped, with a sharply pointed knob,sticky,chesnut-brown to yellow-brown,and darker at the apex, often fading at the margin.Gills are attached and pale brown,becoming blackish-brown.Stalks are up to 8cm tall,slender,and white to pale tan.Spore print is pruple-brown.Widespread,

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Here are a few more pics from this morning.

[happyjon7017]

hi names jon kinda new to site but i also found a field where yesterday i got like 200 liberty caps, sadly i dont have a camera so i cant take pics but i was just wonderin when the best time i should go back to that field and if its a guarantee that if you found them in a particular field if more will grow in the same field. Because the field is far from my house dont want to waste a trip out there. Any feedback helps, thanks

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Well happyjon7017,you could go back the very next day and chances are you would find some,However,I usually like to give it a few day's in between trips.Even a week.This is just so the mature mushrooms have a chance to drop spores,and the pins have a chance to grow.Also weather plays a big part on if I go or not,if it rains two days in a row and are expecting sun on the 3rd,I would go out on the fourth,rain or shine.If you know your getting a frost that morning,Its a good day to go.You really just dont want to go out if you have had a dry period or prolonged high temps.Anything from -2 to +15 is fair game.But even on the days where temps reach +15 , +16 etc you can still find them,but they rather the colder temps.Just remember if you have a spot where your getting them,just think about letting it recover a bit so it will be there in the future.I also dont pick every mushroom I see,If I find a patch of say 15,leave one or two there to drop its spores.And most of all keep it secret,tell no one.It sounds harsh but its true,I have seen to many fields being sprayd because of the amount of people that know about them.It sucks real bad when you find out one of your favorite fields has been sprayd with fungicide.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Well I have the week off work so I went out to the field today.The weather has not been the greatest the past few day's,Its been VERY wet and warm.But,,,since I have the time off,,set my clock and got out of bed I went anyway.I did not get in the field until 9am,a little later than usual but better late then never.Today has been the hardest search of the season,everything was wet,dark and droopy.Managed to find a few today.137.This field does not push out very large number's at once,but it does consistantly have mushroom's which is nice.I have managed to save up quite a few now.Enough to last myself and a few friends the winter month's.So here are the pic's from today's very wet hunt.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Here are some more pic's from today's hunt.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Here are a few more pic's from today.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

A few more pic's from today's hunt.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

More pic's from today's hunt in the rain.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Here are a few more pic's from today.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

The last of today,s pic's.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Here are a few pic's showing the pellicle of a semilanceata specimen.

[paph]

Really nice pictures there Dr.
I live in the UK and the psilocybe semilanceata season is still going strong, I started picking in late September.
I went out today and found about 250 which Im gonna dry and add to my honey jar, I reckon it's gonna be pretty potent by the spring (over 1000 have gone in so far...), I'm trying the honey out this year as a friend has been making it for years and to be honest the stuff rocks! The secret is to get them Cracker dry firs or you run the risk of mouldy honey. Most I have ground to a powder but some were added whole.
I hope the rest of the season treats you well, Apparently we are due some really cold weather in the coming weeks (UK) so hopefully I can get out before it hits.
I've attached a couple of pics of my honey jar and some psilocybe semilanceata I picked the other week. I'll post some more soon but my cameras broke at the moment.

Enjoy your harvest.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Thank you paph.That honey looks like a good,great idea,I have wanted a jar of honey for some time now,forgot all about it.Now that I have a few ziplock bag's full of dried semis I think I will make one myself.I am going to start one this week.Just a small jar though,gunna make a 250ml jar or mabee just a 125mm.Again thank you for the reply and thank you for reminding me of Honey.A question,just noticed the white stuff at the top of the jar,what is that?How exactly did you make your honey.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

So after I saw the post for honey I decided I would make some myself.I got a 250ml canning jar,cleaned it,placed it in a pot of hot water to sanatize it.I ground up one ounce of semilanceata's just a bit before they were powder in a blender.I added some honey into the hot jar about half way full and let it get to 120F,then started to add the ground up mushrooms a bit at a time.Once the mushrooms were all in there I added more honey to top it off and stirred it while on the stove.Removed from pot of water.Photographed and placed in a cool dark spot.

[myceliummatt]

That honey looks really good..... the perfect breakfast treat

Matt

[paph]

Went out again today and found about 200. I took some pictures with my crappy camera, The pictures were taken in an old cow grazing pasture.
It seemed as though other people have been hunting here as there were plenty of massacred non-psilocybe mushrooms lying about, (Why are people so cruel?)
I am printing a load which I'm going to mix with water and spray all over the fields they came from (with a water pistol or garden sprayer), Hopefully this will counter act the irresponsible picking I think may have been going on.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Well this morning I decided to try out some of my honey,chunks and all.Not really sure how much I used because as you can see I made some toast.No more than a teaspoon or two at most,just kinda spread it on there and covered with some home made penut butter.Also had to get my fingers in that jar like a little kid,and lick the knife when I was finished.The honey is quite potent,shortly after finishing the toast I was buzzin,and for a while,got a good three hour trip.A nice comfortable feeling,I'm sure if I had of made two pieces of toast I would have been flying.All n all really happy with it.May end up making a bigger jar in the near future.

[paph]

I'm glad the honey went well for you.
It's really nice to see some pictures of semi's outside the UK. It's cool to think you are however many 1000 miles away in Canada and we are both hunting for and experiencing the same mushroom.
I'll be thinking of you and all the other worldwide shroomer's next time I trip.

[ethnobotanica]

"You really just dont want to go out if you have had a dry period or prolonged high temps.Anything from -2 to +15 is fair game.But even on the days where temps reach +15 , +16 etc you can still find them,but they rather the colder temps."

Does this mean that if the temps go as low as or lower than -3 that there will be no more flushes??? (considering temps going back up a little after a drop)...

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Well once you start getting below zero a few day's in a row,even one extreme cold night is all it takes,the ground will freeze.So will the mushrooms.-2 is extreme and even pushing it.To answer your question,If this happens and you get a freeze.not to be confused with a frost.Chances are that they are done for the year.This does not mean you can't find them after a freeze,but your very close to the end of the season and chances are you won't be finding many,if any more .Any mushrooms that were grown before a freeze will be frozen block's of ice the next morning.Once it comes to this point,I don't really bother going back out,may make a trip out a few weeks later if weather after that point has been favourable,but with no expectations at all.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

And just like that the weather changes.The temp's have now dropped to -4 with a wind chill,feel's like -9.The ground is solid and all the water is frozen.80% humidity with a chance of flurry's in the morning.Well I guess that will be a season.Had a great time out in the field's searching and photographing these,and it was well worth the ten year wait to be back in this area and get the chance to do this again.Still have quite the stash put away for the winter and a nice jar of honey that I made from these as well.Have a few project's that I want to work on and can focus on now that the winter is here.Been a Great season...

[ethnobotanica]

Fair play Doctor, this thread has been great to follow. Hope you have the most excellent journeys with your harvest

[Godflesh]

Nice thread and pics!

[Diver]

How does the potency compare with Cubensis and Cyanescens? Assuming you have a reference point of course. Also are the immature specimens more potent than fully grown fruitings? Very interesting posts, thanks for the eastern canada report! "Give me Liberty caps or give me something else that stains blue" Patrick mushroom Henry

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Diver,Psilocybe semilanceata are considerably more potent then both P. cubensis and P. cyanescens.There size can be very deceiving,especially when dried out.They can be a very intense experiance,especially when they are fresh.Fresh semilanceata's are by far the best experiance I have had from any mushroom.They are very visual,Both open and closed eyed visual hallucination`s.Give's an unreal body buzz,electrical in comparison,I have never laughed on Cubensis like I have with fresh semilanceata.Floral pattern's,wood grain,etc,seem to move quite a bit more I find,Thing's breath,Thing's like wall's and floor's and tree's and hard solid object's that are not supposed to be moving,can move great distances at time's when on these little buggers.The ray's of light we all call tracer's are coming from every light source,and sometime`s none.And what I find is that I personally don't have any pain's at all after semi's,no upset stomach,I'm not gassy and there is no groggly sound in my belly,lol,I can sleep after them much easier than I can after cube's.I have also noticed that the end of the experiance is much smoother,it almost kind of just stop's suddenly...And you notice this just happened...I like it...Can then smoke a joint and I find it will pick it back up for a while,not a full on peak,but can definatly feel them,and then could sleep with no problem's,even great sleep's..lol...As for the difference between pin`s and mature mushroom`s,I can`t say for 100% sure,but I would imagine it is quite possible that it is also the case that semilanceata pin`s are more potent then mature mushrooms,just as cubie`s and many other`s pin`s are more potent...I have not yet had the chance to try Azurescens which are quite a bit more potent still,but will be working on that over the winter,and hopefully by this time next year I will have that chance...Here is a chart from erowid comparing the potencies of species.

http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushroo...ms_info4.shtml

[floppypeter]

liberty caps are all that and a bag of chips


tried them and suggest everybody try a small handfull

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Just an update on the jar of honey.It is getting quite dark now,been almost three week's since It started,have added more to the jar since then,there is now a total or 42 dry grams in the jar.Plan to remove the top layer of mushrooms in a week or two,place them in another jar,warm it up a bit and squeeze as much honey out of them as I can,then will strain the whole jar once to get as many particles out as I can with a filter.It will be ready just in time for my Birthday and Christmas.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Well the spring is officially here and the summer wont be too far behind it,The countdown to semi season begins,or I guess I could start the countdown now...I mean it really only 4 months away lol.So with that being said it is time to get my P.semilanceata project ready to be put outdoors.I managed to get 11 clean jars of spawn ready for this outdoor patch over the winter.I used popcorn and wild bird seed for my grains.I started out with two jars of popcorn that I inoculated with a mycelium syringe made from an agar plate,the rest were all grain transfers.I still have the mycelium syringe in the fridge and may use it for a future indoor project...I figured I should get a few pics,and get them up on here before I put it all in the ground,which will be in the next few weeks.The jars have sat pretty much undisturbed all winter in a cool closet down in the basement.Well for now here are a few pics of my agar work,the syringe and the jars that will be used for an attempt at a semilanceata bed.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

A few more agar pics and the jars.I had a few jars with manure and grasses,but I lost them to a contam and had to start new ones.

[seedlessstinky1]

Awesome Doc. I cant wait to try some of these....soon. Fall Road trip

[Dr.Hallucination.]

I know,Summers not even here yet and I already can't wait until the Fall

[Rhyno]

Keep us posted!

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Originally Posted by Rhyno

Keep us posted!

Absolutely.

[Nunyabiz]

Awesome work Doc.. Wish I lived where those things grow.. Only indoors here.. As far as I know anyways.. I've read that subs grow around here but have yet to find any..

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Originally Posted by Nunyabiz

Awesome work Doc.. Wish I lived where those things grow.. Only indoors here.. As far as I know anyways.. I've read that subs grow around here but have yet to find any..

Thank You Nunyabiz,Ya I am glad to be back in an area where I can pick them again myself.Last season was my first trip to the field in ten years,and really looking forward to this season.I still have a few grams of dried semis left,enough for one good cup of tea anyway...

[fun_guy]

i have tons of mushrooms in my yard that look just like these, i live in ny and it has been very wet lately and i wonder if it is worth picking these or could these be some poisonous look-a-like?

[mjshroomer]

Originally Posted by fun_guy

i have tons of mushrooms in my yard that look just like these, i live in ny and it has been very wet lately and i wonder if it is worth picking these or could these be some poisonous look-a-like?

Liberty caps grow in fields around sedge grasses and never in manure in upper state New York along the Canadian Border of Ontario to New Brunswick to P. E. Island and New Found Land. They appear in the early to late fall in pasturelands and never in manure but with their mycelia attached to the roots of wild grasses.

You would not find them in your yard in New York.

mjshroomer

[fun_guy]

thats cool man thanks a ton... but literally im about 2 miles from canada. niagara falls area. i was thinking dont eat them so now im sure i wont

[Dr.Hallucination.]

It is too early for P.semilanceata,especially if you are close to Canada.Autumn is semilanceata season.

[plantman21]

Or am I just out of luck to find them here? Thanks a ton DR.
Plantman

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Well I am patiently waiting for the semilanceata season to start here.I have been out to the field twice to take a look,but nothing yet,it shouldn't be too long now though,I hope...Not only can I not wait to go out hunting again,but I will also find out if my outdoor semilanceata patch has made it,and if it will fruit?,,,Or,if I have to start all over again,with a new plan,which will more then likely be the case,but I do have my fingers crossed for this one.Either way,success or not,I will be trying out a few more projects with this species this year.

And now I wait some more...........

[eatyualive]

wow looks like you found a nice little patch there. killer pics!

[Dr.Hallucination.]

I have been out to the field a couple of times before today but I only manged to find a couple which I just left in the field.One of those trips the cows were still out,and well I got chased into the woods by a couple of pretty upset moo cows.The past week it rained almost everyday and the temps have been perfect 14 and below during the day and 10 and below during the nights.

I didn't feel like getting up at the crack of dawn this morning,I knew it was still early in the season and really had no expectations other then not finding anything,and spending the next 3 hours in the woods photographing various other mushrooms,still fun but not what I am going out for.Plus I did not know if the cows were still in the fields or not.

So I got in there around 10 am,quite late but awe well,better late then never or so they say.I was trotting through the tall grass and alder bushes looking for about a half hour before I found the first little patch,it had about 10 or so mushrooms in it,then I started finding them everywhere.In total today I found 167 which isn't bad considering I wasn't expecting to find anything.So it is Official...The P.semilanceata season has started here.

I took a few photo's from today's hunt but not too many,I was kind of worried that a cow/s may come flying out of the bush at any moment and I had to be ready for evasive maneuvers ha ha,a little paranoid but rightfully so,if you had of seen those cows chase me in the woods you would understand lol.

[paph]

Beautiful pics! I'm glad the season is starting well for you.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

And the rest of today's semilanceata photo's.Also a few pics showing how dense this field is,it is not a grassy pasture like most cow fields,this thing is tall grass and bush,there are alders everywhere,and they are some of the greatest spots in the field with some of the biggest patches,especially early in the season.

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Originally Posted by paph

Beautiful pics! I'm glad the season is starting well for you.

Thank You paph,and yes its not off to a bad start at all.

[ethnobotanica]

Good work Doctor, Your an inspiration,

and you appear to live near some shit hot fields!

Peace

[Dr.Hallucination.]

Thank You ethnobotanica,yes this field has always been good to me.I am going to check out a new spot hopefully this week sometime.It looks promising but I will always go back to this spot,I love it there...

[Dr.Hallucination.]

It has been a busy day,I went out this morning to the field to hunt some semilanceata.It was quite cold and it started to rain a bit while I was there so I couldn't take too many photo's.I did manage to take about 50 pictures though when it wasn't raining too bad and when it would stop and let the sun out for those few moments,we even got a bit of hale today,just for a moment though...I found 136 today,a few less then the last trip out but better then nothing that's for sure.Still nothing on my patch yet though.The season is still young....