An ode to Amanita muscaria under Oak trees here in Napa. This is the Fly Agaric or Mario mushroom, a charismatic and easily recognized species that grows worldwide. They are toxic in that they contain ibotenic acid ad Muscimol, which can make you 🥴🤢🤮💩😵‍💫😴 if consumed. You can convert the ibotenic acid into Muscimol via heat, UV, and low pH if you want to explore using it as an entheogen (dissociative sedative). You can also boil with 2x changes of water to turn these into a safe edible mushroom. . Amanitas start out in a small egg like structure covered by a cotton white layer called the universal veil. As they mature the cap breaks through the veil, leaving remnants on top, these are why Amanitas are covered in little dots (although rain can wash them away). Amanitas also have a partial-veil or white membrane that covers the gills until the spores mature, once the cap opens up the partial veil becomes a skirt around the stem, known as an annulus. All of the rain happening in California is bringing forth species I don’t normally see in Napa, it’s really cool to see huge beautiful Amanitas like this only a couple of minutes away from my house! . . . #amanitamuscaria #amanitamuscaria🍄 #🍄 #mariomushrooms #mariomushroom #flyagaric #mushroomedu #mycology #fungi #fascinatedbyfungi #napa #napavalley #entheogen