An LBM (more of a medium sized one really)

[ChefsWild]

Spore print stark white.

[Dave W]

Growing on wood? or on the ground? I feel like I should know this one, but no names occur to me immediately.

[ChefsWild]

Difficult to tell. Near/inside a pile of sticks and logs, but appeared to be growing from the ground.

[John Smalldridge]

Looks like Pluteus cervinus or another Pluteus. These were fairly common in eastern N.C. last year.

[brianf]

I think I saw this mushroom this past weekend. Can these occur with viscus/slimey caps when damp out? It looked like C.Gentilis or P.Cyanescens but with white gills.

John, are all or most Pluteus psychoactive? I don't know much about them aside from several years ago some local kids got themselves into a bit of trouble with the potency of some psychoactive species of Pluteus.

Could make for an interesting meal. Fortunately I'm wacky enough without drugs so I just avoid them, lord know's what I'd unlock in my brain if I consumed active mushrooms. I'd probably end up like Wavy Gravy or something.

[Dave W]

Cap surface looks to be a little textured for a Calocybe species. Stature looks slight for Leucopaxillus. Still thinking about this one.

[ChefsWild]

I would like to keep all both of my brain cells functioning, so am not planning to eat any LBM's that seem likely to make me see pink elephants or whatnot. Ain't got time for that.

This said, I don't actually think Pluteus are among the psychoactives?

[Dave W]

Gills are attached to stalk and spore print is white, which rule out Pluteus.

Brian, by C. gentilis, do you mean Cortinarius?

[brianf]

Yeah....the cort. Grows under conifers, probably obliterates kidneys. Perhaps one of the most common mushrooms we have up here.

Chef....I know at least some Pluteus contain psilocybin. That's the main reason I've never really bothered with Pluteus.

To be clear, I'm familiar/able to ID P.Cyanescens because it grow's like a weed in some of the conifer forest areas that I frequent. I don't believe it to be native to NH. Furthermore, the locations I find it look intentional. They're always growing under the healthiest trees in perfect, clean forest duff with minimal risk of falling timber. The areas are always free of large, heavy debris. And they're close to a water source and seem to grow like crazy when it's been dry for weeks. Then they disappear without any signs of decay......though.....some of the forest animals do exhibit some strange behavior in this area. While NH has it's share of hard drug problems, most folks around here just seem to enjoy wonking out for a couple of days before heading back to reality for a spell, so it's not a surprising introduced species. I'd rather not get involved in either side so I just let it be and move along.

[Dave W]

There is a blue-staining Pluteus, P. americanus (formerly under the European name P. salicinus). I have found it once or twice, small singular specimens. Some of the robust Pluteus species are edible (some are of unknown edibility). World wide, P. cervinus is said to be one of the more popular edibles. Personally, I think P. petasatus is a good edible.

Cortinarius gentilis is indeed a dangerously poisonous mushroom. I believe it is the species suspected in the high-profile poisoning of the "Horse Whisperer" author and some of his friends. The white-spored mushrooms seen in this thread really do not resemble any Cort that I know.

Brian, are you saying that Psilocybe cyanescens occurs in new Hampshire... probably as the result of outdoor cultivation? This is believed to be strictly a west coast species (in NA).

Chefs, I think your mushrooms may be examples of Rugosomyces carneus (formerly Caloycbe carnea). The cap appears to be a bit textured, or maybe velvety, which kinda led my mind away from these types. But looking at one of my own R. carneus observations, there are definite similarities to yours.

http://mushroomobserver.org/165966?q=2dwOH

[John Smalldridge]

Sorry, the gills looked free to me in the initial viewing of the photo.

[brianf]

Dave, I was just asking if this mushroom, when fresh/young can occur with the viscus/shiny cap like both the aforementioned species, looking modestly similar when viewed from above.

As far as P.Cyanescens.....yes I do believe it to be occuring here in my immediate area as the result of outdoor cultivation. When it comes to chasing euphoria people can be pretty damn resourceful. They're fairly well off trail. If you're willing to climb a roughly 25 foot rock face you could easily move about without leaving much human sign as the game trails are quite robust.

Unfortunately this area is one of my best chanterelle spots, so I continue to head through there.

Either folks are completely wrong about it, or more likely it's cultivated. Transport in bark mulch is possible, but we're generally self-sufficient when it comes to producing mulch. Going well off trail can be rewarding, but it also comes with it's risks. Both natural and man made.

[Dave W]

I think the proclivity of some saprobic species to fruit almost exclusively in the PNW is due to the type of climate out there... dry weather for a month or two followed by prolonged rainy coolish --but not cold-- weather throughout much of fall (well, historically speaking, but as I understand the recent situation these past couple years have been abnormally dry along the entire west NA coast). Someone willing to provide water at the right times may be able to induce favorable conditions. Of course, outdoor temperature cannot be artificially manipulated. Very interesting...

John, the gills do appear free until you zoom in and see the adnexed to sinuate attachment. Gill attachment almost always requires a very close view.

[brianf]

People are damn resourceful.

[brianf]

If you find yourself heading out to Vermont/NH at some point I could be persuaded to give you the guided tour. As long as no specific geographic locations are revealed to the greater public and it's generally left alone. I admit it's interesting, but not surprising. People will go to great lengths when concerning drugs.

It's one of my best mushroom spots hands down. It's a steep hill with a roughly 5 acre plateau.

[John Smalldridge]

One of my biggest fears is running into a meth lab while out looking for mushrooms. This almost happened to me about 4 years ago on public land. Fortunately they busted it before I ran in to it. Most druggies are stupid and lazy, but occasionally someone puts some thought and effort into their illegal activities.

[brianf]

You'd hate it up here. I've thankfully never ran into meth production, however I have stumbled into quite a few marijuana grows. From a couple of plants for personal use to a few fairly large, obviously commercial crops. Fortunately I have never stumbled upon a grower or any danger/traps/security measures.

Different drugs tend to produce different types of people. Psychedelic users can actually be of extremely high intelligence, sure you get the occasional blown out hippy weed burger, but growing mushrooms in any capacity takes a bit of intelligence. I would wager cyanescens could be a pretty decent cash crop. Especially on the coast where it doesn't really occur. Furthermore, the grower/distributor/whatever isn't always the end user. It's a bit on the evil side, but

this is the truth.

Another reality is, the psychoactive community has definitely contributed to mushroom cultivation on the greater whole, maybe more then they're actually credited with.

[Dave W]

Some legit mycologists have started out as kids seeking psychoactive shrooms.

Meth labs are an exponentially worse problem. Meth is totally evil stuff... from start to finish. We've got a significant problem here in NE PA. Semi-secluded small homes or trailers are most commonly used to manufacture meth, and the process produces dangerously toxic waste. I live out in the country, and the small home on the property which abuts the remote end of our 4 acre plot seems to never keep the same inhabitants for much more than a year at a time. (The landlord is a scam-artist jerk who cons the renters into depositing money into an alleged "rent to buy" bank account.) So I worry about this. But in the past year or so, meth labs have been routinely popping up in residential areas.

Brian, I often visit Vermont in the summer, and my one camping trip in the White Mountains of NH has left me wanting to return to this state. Maybe someday we get together for a foray. Thanks for the invite.

[1shotwade]

Agreed about the meth! I have a niece that was hooked for 18 years.Last year she finally got clean but to do so became addicted to alcohol.She tried to go cold turkey off the booze and had a seizure that would not stop. The squad picked her up and on the way to the hospital she had a heart attach and died at age 35.

This was last week!

Wade

[ChefsWild]

You'd hate it up here. I've thankfully never ran into meth production, however I have stumbled into quite a few marijuana grows. From a couple of plants for personal use to a few fairly large, obviously commercial crops. Fortunately I have never stumbled upon a grower or any danger/traps/security measures.

That's been an issue for me while looking for snakes also. I don't care how other adults want to enjoy themselves as long as I am not personally impacted, but I do worry about stumbling across someone's illegal operation and them taking paranoid defensive measures. If I see what looks like a cleared area with cultivation in the middle of nowhere, I steer very far clear of it.

1shotwade, I am very sorry for your loss.

[Dave W]

Sorry to hear about your loss, Wade.

[1shotwade]

Thanks guys,but things just happen!

Wade

[John Smalldridge]

I hate to hear about your loss wade. At least you know she was trying to do the right thing.

[brianf]

Boy, I really do hope we might actually be on the cusp of actually starting to figure out a way to sort out this multi-faceted drug problem.

My condolences also Wade.

It's some real that good people, good families have to repeatedly go through these types of scenarios for the profits of a handful of psychopaths.

[ChefsWild]

I don't think the drug issue is as simple as it's sometimes made out to be. While I do not wish to personally partake, I get that adults want to (and have the right to) relax, expand their consciousness, explore their brains, and otherwise seek sensation. It seems to be a pretty universal drive - not that every person has it, but that a consistent percentage of the population does. This is not something that is going to go away, as it's pretty well hardwired into the human brain.

Trying to ban drugs that don't have a clear negative impact on society or personal health, like marijuana, usually results in a lot more societal ill and harm than not banning them. Regulation, sure. There are some drugs that do cause significant and imminent harm, especially social harm, and those are what need to be focused on by law enforcement. Otherwise, leaving consenting adults alone to make their own choices seems wise. Quite a bit of the social harm done by some kinds of drugs is actually created more by the social and financial costs of attempting to ban them than by the drugs themselves.

I am not knowledgeable enough about about drugs to say which specific ones are on which end of the spectrum, but I do know that some are fairly nonsensical to forbid to consenting adults while others are much more likely to cause collateral damage by their presence in a community rather than just by the fallout from trying to enforce anti-drug laws that have more to do with silly busybody morality than practicality. I suspect mushrooms are on the 'silly busybody' end, where adults who want them really ought to be allowed to have them rather than having government resources wasted on a non problem.