Divine Mushrooms and Fungi

by John W. Allen (Photographer)

Overview

Filled with beautiful color photographs, Divine Mushrooms and Fungi is a must-have for anyone who wants to step into the magic mushroom field of ethnomycology. With detailed information on how to distinguish magic mushrooms from potentially dangerous lookalikes, this guide also features a detailed history of the ritual use of magic mushrooms among pre-Columbian inhabitants of the New World and the evolution of the use of psychedelic fungi from sacred rituals to today’s recreational use. Common epithets used for naming mushrooms around the world are accompanied by photographs and descriptions of both magic mushrooms and their poisonous lookalikes. An ideal companion for mushroom-gathering forays, Divine Mushrooms and Fungi provides readers with the sacred knowledge that can lead to a visionary experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781579511869
Publisher:	Ronin Publishing
Publication date:	11/04/2014
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

John W. Allen is an amateur ethnomycologist living in North America and author of ten books,including the oldest selling identification guide on entheogenic mushroom identification, and more than two dozen articles on the subject of visionary mushrooms. Allen is the editor and author of the series Ethnomycological Journals Sacred Mushroom Studies. He has photographed mushrooms in America, Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Great Britain and Europe.

Allen discovered a new entheogenic mushroom species from Thailand, named Psilocybe samuiensis Guzmán, Bandala and Allen. He has lectured at conferences and symposia, given many slide-show presentations on the history and identification of entheogenic mushrooms and mushroom art throughout the ages at universities worldwide. In 2013 the mushroom,Psilocybe allenii Borovicka, was named after John Allen. He lives in Santa Cruz, CA.

Table of Contents

Eye of the Elephant 2

Acknowledgement & Dedication 5

Praise Luca Pasquali 6

Part I The 'Shroom Hunter 9

1 Seeking the Magic of the Mushroom 11

2 On the Road Again 21

3 Toads and Magic Fungi 28

4 Psychedelic Visions 38

5 Voyages Beyond Gravity 45

6 Valley of the 'Shrooms 55

7 Searching for the Elusive Divine Fungi 59

8 Becoming One with the Divine Mushroom 65

Part II Finding and Identifying 'Shrooms 76

9 Sacred Fungi 77

10 The Soma Complex 90

11 Identifying Psilocybian Mushrooms 95

12 Mushrooms Lifecycle 102

13 Spore Dispersal 110

14 Copelandia bresadola 115

15 Paneaolina foenisecii 126

16 Panaeolus 131

17 Little Brown Mushrooms 143

18 Big Laughing Gyms 153

19 Psilocyhe 162

20 Psilocybe semilanceata 266

21 Psilocybe allenii 173

22 The 'Cyclone' Mushroom 180

23 Mystery of Psilocybe baeocystis 186

24 Wavy Capped Psilocybe 191

25 Bluing Coastal Ovoids 195

26 King of the Blue Ringers 200

27 The Derrumbe Mushroom 206

28 Psilocybe mexicana 209

Index 214

Other World Names for Entheogenic Fungi 220

Bibliography & Suggested Reading 221

Author Bio 223

Ronin Books for Independent Minds 224

Editorial Reviews

“If you are truly fanatic about the literature of psilocybin, then this book is surely intended for your eyeballs.” — Paul Krassner, author of Magic Mushrooms and Other Highs and From Toad Slime to Ecstasy

“John W. Allen, the mushroom man, is our celestial tour guide in a school without walls. Rogue scholar, adventurer and gentleman forager, his works surrounding psychedelic mushrooms are ‘must reads.’ Allen's books are essential and always a treat.” — Thomas Lyttle, editor of Psychedelic Monographs and Essays and Psychedelics Reimagined

From the Publisher