Jochen Gartz - Magic Mushrooms Around the ... - preterhuman.net

CHAPTER 3.1
PSILOCYBE SEMILANCEATA: THE CLASSIC SPECIES AMONG
EUROPEAN PSYCHOTROPIC MUSHROOMS
Listen Well to this Frightful Story from St.
James's Green Park....
About 200 years ago, E. Brande published
an account about a remarkable case of mushroom
intoxication in London. On October 3, 1799 an
impoverished family picked some mushrooms in St.
James's Green Park and prepared them for a meal
(see Figure 8, p. 15).
Shortly after eating the mushrooms, the
father and his four children developed symptoms of
intoxication, such as markedly dilated pupils,
spontaneous laughter and delirium. The progression
of symptoms was experienced as wave-like, with
cycles of increasing and fading intensity. In
addition, the father's visual perception was affected
so that everything around him appeared to be black
- a frightening experience he believed to presage his
impending death.
Even though two family members (ages 12
and 18) consumed only small amounts of the
cooked mushrooms, the ensuing symptoms of
intoxication were no different from those observed
in family members who had eaten comparatively
larger portions. After several hours, the psychic and
perceptual disturbances subsided and finally
disappeared, without any lingering side effects.
Attempts to treat acute symptoms included
administration of emetics and fortifying tonics. In
the end, these potions were heralded as the crucial
treatment that "cured" the family.
For the most part it is extremely difficult, if
not impossible, to assemble complete and accurate
details on many aspects of magic mushroom history
from source materials available today. Thus, it is an
instance of rare good fortune and a boon to
mushroom historians that E. Brande's description of
a typical psilocybin syndrome was augmented by J.
Sowerby, author of "Coloured Figures of English
Fungi or Mushrooms" (London, 1803). Sowerby's
book included a rendition and description of the
mushroom species responsible for the poisoning
case described by Brande (see p. 17). Within the
context of Sowerby's book, only the variety of
mushrooms distinguished by their cone-shaped
caps were believed to cause intoxication. Figure
9 shows a typical rendition of Psilocybe
semilanceata. This mushroom species was
known to Sowerby's contemporaries as
"Agaricus glutinosus Curtis" and its descriptions
are fully compatible with current knowledge
about Psilocybe semilanceata.
A few years later, renowned Swedish
mycologist E. Fries referred to "Agaricus
semilanceatus" in his book entitled "Observationes
Mycologicae" (1818). Later on, the
same mushroom also appeared under the names
Coprinarius semilanceatus Fr. or Panaeolus
semilanceatus (Fr.) Lge. Not until 1870 did
Kummer and Quelet classify this mushroom as
a member of the genus Psilocybe.
Consequently, two valid designations may be
found in the literature:
-- Psilocybe semilanceata (Fr.) Kumm. or --
-- Psilocybe semilanceata (Fr.) Quel.
Around 1900, M. C. Cooke reported two or
three new instances of accidental mushroom
intoxication involving children in England.
Interestingly, Cooke noted that symptoms were
caused only by a variety of mushroom known to
turn blue (var. caerulescens).
He
was the first mycologist to wonder if a bluing
variety of this species was poisonous, or if the
bluish color was induced by external factors,
causing changes in the mushroom's chemical
composition so as to render them poisonous.
Early Descriptions
A close relative of Mexico's
psychoactive species, Psilocybe semilanceata is
a mushroom whose physical appearance
resembles Psilocybe semperviva Heim &
Cailleux and Psilocybe