Fairy Rings

Mushrooms are mysterious; they sprout from the ground instantly and hide in shady places. They sit quietly under leaves or plants and spy on us. One of the oldest explanations for the origin of mushrooms identifies them as fairy rings. The fungus often form circles around the base of trees. It is said that fairies dance around the base of trees and mushrooms spring up where their feet touch the ground. They say Fairies capture those who wonder inside the magic circles where they dance. These strange mushroom formations fired the imaginations of people who also connected them with witches and demons.

Some referred to them as “devil’s bread”or “devil’s food”and others believed they grew from the spittle of witches or sorcerers. Mushrooms often sprang up after storms leading to the Greek belief that mushrooms were caused by lightning. They believed that a bolt from the great Zeus created the fungi. The fly agaric mushroom, a poisonous species grew abundantly in north and Central America, shamans used them to induce trances. Shamanic cultures of the northern lands believed that supernatural beings inhabited mushrooms; the Koryak of Siberia believed that evil beings called nimvits inhabited them and that only shamans could control these beings.

In a Koryak legend, Raven, their culture hero, caught a whale and was too weak to heave the whale back into the sea. The god Vahiyinin saw this and spit on the ground, mushrooms grew where he spit and Raven ate them giving him the strength to throw the whale into the ocean. The mushrooms powers amazed Raven and his people. Not only did it give them superhuman strength but it also gave them visions and dreams. Some believed they entered other worlds, could fly and see the future.

Taoists considered the ling-chi one of the most important plants of the gods. These were extremely rare mushrooms said to make one immortal. The Chinese and Japanese have many tales of the search for the mythical ling-chi mushroom. The Japanese tell of the magic mushroom of immortality that only grows at the base of the blessed plum tree. When one eats this mushroom they will never age.

The fly agaris is a small mushroom with a white stem with a red cap dotted with white spots. (Amanita Muscara)

Pagan legends associated mushrooms with lightning until the late 18^th century, but Christian legends explained these poisonous mushrooms in a different way. In one Christian legend, Christ and Peter were begging for bread. When the peasants gave them bread some of the brown crumbs fell to the ground and caused poisonous mushrooms, white ones we could eat grew from the white crumbs.

Every culture has mushroom myths that are based on different local hallucinogenic mushrooms, or as we refer to them lovingly, “Magic mushroom’s”. Mushrooms were the first known intoxicant. Our ancestors enjoyed the narcotic effects long before they discovered alcohol. Mushrooms have also served as medicines and stimulants. Evidence that Stone Age humans used dried mushrooms as food was found in the body of the “Ice Man” discovered in the Tyrolean Alps a few years.

In 1920, Penn State initiated the first comprehensive research study of mushrooms. Scientists have discovered that mushrooms have not just survived but thrived for over 300 million years. These living entities produce a wide range of antibiotic and antiviral compounds. Mycelium does not live on sunlight through the process of photosynthesis as do other plant forms but has a symbiotic relationship with plants and trees. The mycelia feeds from the sugar produced in the soil by trees. Recent studies indicate white button mushrooms absorb toxic metals from soil cleaning up contaminated soil. They also act as secondary decomposers of organic material on the forest floor that can not be broken down by bacteria or other fungi. This process provides essential nutrients needed by trees and other plants.

Mushrooms are a good substitute for meat. They contain few calories and have no fat. They contain potassium, calcium, and selenium. Japanese studies have shown favorable results in the prevention of cancer, infections and such autoimmune diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

I have read funny stories too, in the 1700s mushrooms sank half of the Royal British Navy. The wood used to build the ships contained dormant mycelia so when the ship was put to sea the wood got wet causing the mushrooms to sprout, the expansion split the ships apart. Another story is about a 750 pound mushroom that popped up through pavement in England.

Hunting for mushrooms is fun and rewarding, but always put each kind in separate paper bags so they don’t contaminate each other with spores. Make sure to have a good guidebook, I recommend the National Audubon Society field guide to Mushrooms. Always perform proper spore prints. Eat nothing until you have taken every precaution. I have successfully identified 57 separate species of mycelia within a one mile radius on the Mackenzie River and every year when I return they are all still there. Happy hunting!

This is an easy recipe I came up with.... I call it;

Crystal’s Acorn Mushinstuff