On a long hike through the woods of the Berkshires this weekend, we saw a whole handful of these funny little creatures. Have you ever seen a toadstool in person? For me, they are the stuff of fairy tales and not for the average hiker. But there they were, in all of their magic, right in the middle of our trail, one after the other. A classic case of the more you notice, the more you notice. I wonder how many times I have passed mushrooms like these on walks in the woods...
Amanita muscaria, the scientific name for toadstools, are found in coniferous forests throughout the Northern hemisphere. They have both poisonous and hallucinogenic properties. Both humans and animals have been known to seek them out for the latter.
For me, it is magic enough just to spot this small in a romp through the woods. What a wonder this world is to behold...
4 comments:
I have never seen a red toadstool, and those are the cutest kind.
How neat--proof that they aren't just the stuff of fairy tales!
I must admit a serious fetish for these little guys! What a treat to see them in the wild. I still await our first meeting...'twill be magic for sure!
Magical mushrooms. Hmmm...if only we knew ;)
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