What Are Liberty Caps – One Of The Most Potent Magic Mushrooms
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This post was approved by mycologist Caine Barlow
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By Sam Woolfe
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December 15, 2021
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liberty caps mushrooms magic mushrooms Psilocybin Articles psilocybin mushrooms psychedelics psychedelics side effects
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With 0 comments
Liberty caps (Psilocybe semilanceata) are a species of psilocybin mushroom. They are one of the most. popular psilocybin mushrooms in nature and one of the most potent magic mushrooms in the world. They have a recognizable appearance (reflected in the name “liberty cap”). and the first documented account of their psychoactive effects is an interesting one.
In this guide on liberty caps. we will look at the various aspects of these common and potent psilocybin mushrooms. including how you can identify them.
RELATED: Brain Damage From Alcohol May Be Reversed By Using Magic Mushrooms, Per Study
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Additional Research
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How Liberty Caps Got Their Name
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Further Findings
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The Appearance Of Liberty Caps Mushrooms
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A Potent Psilocybin Mushroom
The History Of Liberty Caps
The history of liberty caps begins with the first recorded account. of their psychoactive effects. On October 3, 1799, Dr. Everard Brande called to the London. home of a poor family who was experiencing an array of symptoms. They felt they had poisoned.the liberty cap mushroom
Brande wrote a full description of the incident for the Medical and Physical Journal. The father of the family, who Brande identified as “J.S.”, had begun his day as usual in the Autumn. He went down to Green Park at dawn to collect small field. mushrooms to serve to his family for breakfast as part of a broth.
But, about an hour after their breakfast. the family developed some strange and alarming symptoms. “J.S.” developed vertigo, a loss of balance, and black spots spreading across his vision. The rest of the family complained of poisoning, stomach cramps. and their extremities becoming cold. The father left the house to get some help. But within a few hundred yards, he fell into a confused state, having forgotten where he was going and why.
When Dr. Brande arrived, the family’s symptoms were ebbing and flowing.
They would experience intense symptoms. return to normal, and then develop their symptoms again. The family convinced they were dying, except for the eight-year-old son. Edward, who had taken the largest dose of mushrooms.
He “was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter”. from which neither his father nor mother could calm him down. The doctor observed that Edward’s pupils dilated and that he was speaking nonsense.
Brande was unaware of the exact species of mushroom that had caused these symptoms. It was not until the early 1960s that the compound responsible for the effects of the mushroom. Psilocybe semilanceata, discovered.
More Research
The species responsible matched to an illustration of the small mushroom. by the botanical artist James Sowerby. found in his book Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms (1803). The artist had read the account. from Brande and drew the mushrooms he thought were responsible.liberty cap mushroom
The Swedish mycologist and botanist Elias Magnus Fries first. described the species as Agaricus semilanceatus in his 1838 work Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici.
The German scientist Paul Kummer transferred the species to the genus Psilocybe in 1871.
The Danish mycologist Jakob Emanuel Lange named the species Panaeolus semilanceatus in 1936. which later became a synonym for the species.
Chemist Albert Hofmann, mycologist Roger Heim. and lab technician Hans. Tscherter reported the presence of Psilocybin in P. semilanceata in 1963.
How Liberty Caps Got Their Name
The mushroom takes its common name from the Phrygian cap, also known as the “liberty cap”. which it resembles. The original liberty cap was a hat worn by freed slaves in the Roman world to mark their status. They were no longer property but not truly “free”. The hat was a symbol of both pride and shame.
Marcus Junius Brutus, who involved in the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. minted coins to advertise his part in the deed. The coin bore the abbreviation “EID MAR”. which stands for the Ides of March, the day Caesar had assassinated. The coin also features a pair of daggers and the distinctive liberty cap. The cap then became an elite political symbol. employed by emperors to stress the freedom that their absolute rule allowed them to enjoy.
In the 16th century, awareness of the liberty cap resurfaced with a growing. interest in and emulation of — Roman antiquity. When the Dutch drove out the Spanish from Holland in 1577. coins featuring the liberty cap minted. William of Orange also minted coins bearing the liberty cap to commemorate. his seizure of the English throne in 1688.
Further Findings
It wasn’t until the two great republican revolutions of the 18th century. (the French and American revolutions) that the liberty cap became a popular icon. It blended with the visual form of the more ancient Phrygian. cap and became not a symbol but an actual item of headwear or decoration. Adrastos Omissi, a lecturer in Latin Literature at the University of Glasgow. writes the following.
The liberty cap later became associated with the species Psilocybe semilanceata. In 1812, the English poets Robert Southey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published Omniana. a two-volume collection of table talk and musings. The two report the following.
They did not identify the precise mushroom they had in mind here.
but, in later mycological handbooks, Psilocybe semilanceataidentified as the liberty cap.
In 1894, the English botanist and mycologist Mordecai Cooke published. his book Edible and Poisonous Mushroom in which he refers to Psilocybe semilanceata as the “cap of liberty”.
The Appearance Of Liberty Caps Mushrooms
As well as resembling the famed cap. there are other aspects of the appearance of liberty caps that you should know about. These features will help you identify them. This species is more or less indistinguishable from Psilocybe pelliculosa. The latter differs in that it has smaller spores.
Description
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Cap: The cap of Psilocybe semilanceata is 5-30 mm in diameter and 6-22 mm tall. They vary in shape from conical to bell-shaped. often with a prominent papilla (the nipple-shaped structure). The cap does not change as the mushroom ages. The cap margin rolls inwards, but it unrolls to become straight. or even curled upwards as the mushroom matures. Also, the cap is hygrophanous, as it dries out it takes on lighter colors. When moist, the cap is ochre to pale brown to chestnut brown and darker in the center. When dry, the cap is much paler, more like a light yellow-brown color. The caps have a sticky surface when moist.liberty cap mushroom
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Gills: The underside of the mushroom’s cap has between 15 and 27 individual narrow gills. crowded together. Their color is pale brown but they become dark gray to purple-brown with a lighter edge as the mushroom matures.
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Stem: A slender yellowish-brown stipe is 4-5 cm long and 1-3.5mm thick. It is thicker toward the base.liberty cap mushroom
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Partial Veil: Liberty caps have a thin cobweb-like. partial veil that does not last long before disappearing.
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Taste and Odor: Farinaceous (like ground flour).
Where Do Liberty Caps Grow?
liberty cap mushroom grow or in groups on rich and acidic soil. usually in grasslands, such as meadows, pastures, or lawns. You can often find these mushrooms in pastures, where sheep and cow dung fertilize the soil. But, the mushrooms do not grow directly on the dung as Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms do.
The Mexican mycologist (and Psilocybe authority). Gastón Guzmán wrote in his 1983 monograph on psilocybin mushrooms. that liberty cap mushroom are the world’s most widespread psilocybin mushroom species. This is because it is in a large number of countries. with widespread distribution in Europe where they thought to be a native species.
One can find liberty cap mushroom in the following countries.
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Austria liberty cap mushroom
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Belarus liberty cap mushroom
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Belgium liberty cap mushroom
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Bulgaria liberty cap mushroom
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The Channel Islands liberty cap mushroom
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Czech Republic liberty cap mushroom
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Denmark liberty cap mushroom
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Estonia liberty cap mushroom
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The Faroe Islands liberty cap mushroom
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Finland
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France
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Georgia
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Germany
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Greece
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Hungary
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Iceland
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Ireland
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Italy
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Latvia
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Lithuania
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The Netherlands
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Norway
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Poland
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Russia
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Slovakia
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Spain
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Sweden
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Switzerland
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Turkey
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The United Kingdom
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Ukraine
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Pakistan
Liberty caps also have a wide distribution in North America. In Canada, you can find them in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and Quebec.
In the U.S., liberty caps most grow in the Pacific Northwest, west of the Cascade Mountains. They grow in autumn and early winter.
The species is much less common in South America, with the mushroom found in Chile. It found in Tasmania andNew Zealand, where it can found growingfrom high-altitude grasslands, to sea level.
A Potent Psilocybin Mushroom
Liberty caps are one of the most potent psilocybin mushrooms that exist.
The German chemist Jochen Gartz, in 1993. reported an average of 1 percent psilocybin in dried specimens of Psilocybe semilanceata. ranging from at least 0.2 percent to a most of 2.37 percent (the highest psilocybin concentration reported for a mushroom).
On average, Psilocybe azurenscens (considered the most potent psilocybin mushroom). contains more psilocybin (1.78 percent). Smaller specimens of liberty caps usually have the highest concentrations of psilocybin. but, the absolute amount is higher in larger mushrooms.
It’s important to be aware of the high potency of liberty caps before deciding to consume them. One needs to consume a lower dosage of liberty caps. in comparison to Psilocybe cubensis to reach the same intensity of subjective effects.
What Are Liberty Caps – One Of The Most Potent Magic Mushrooms
-
This post was approved by mycologist Caine Barlow
-
By Sam Woolfe
-
December 15, 2021
-
liberty caps mushrooms magic mushrooms Psilocybin Articles psilocybin mushrooms psychedelics psychedelics side effects
-
With 0 comments
Liberty caps (Psilocybe semilanceata) are a species of psilocybin mushroom. They are one of the most popular psilocybin mushrooms in nature and one of the most potent magic. mushrooms in the world. They have a recognizable appearance (reflected in the name “liberty cap”). and the first documented account of their psychoactive effects is an interesting one.
In this guide on liberty caps, we will look at the various aspects of these common and potent psilocybin mushrooms.. including how you can identify them.
RELATED: Brain Damage From Alcohol May Be Reversed By Using Magic Mushrooms, Per Study
liberty cap mushroom look alikes
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The History Of Liberty Caps
-
Additional Research
-
How Liberty Caps Got Their Name
-
Further Findings
-
The Appearance Of Liberty Caps Mushrooms
-
Where Do Liberty Caps Grow?
-
A Potent Psilocybin Mushroom