Get to know this familiar fungi a little better…
These pretty red toadstools with white spots have graced the pages of many a fairytale and greetings card, but spotting a real one in the wild is pretty special. Here are a few facts you might not know about these magical mushrooms…
They are mycorrhizal, meaning they form a mutually beneficial relationship with the tree that hosts them.
They’re most commonly found in forests that are home to birch or pine trees.
Fly Agaric take their name from the fact that they attract and kill flies. They used to be mixed with milk and left out in dishes to kill flies.
The toadstools are also hallucinogenic. One of the effects of eating them is a distortion in one’s perception of size. Lewis Carrol made a nod to this in his depiction of the toadstool in Alice in Wonderland, in which the caterpillar tells Alice that eating from one side of the mushroom will make her grow bigger and the other side will make her grow smaller.
The Fly Agaric often featured on Victorian Christmas cards as a symbol of good luck.
Reports of human deaths from eating Fly Agaric are very rare, but all the same, we would advise against trying it.
You can find out more about Fly Agaric at The Woodland Trust’s website.
And if you’ve been inspired, why not learn to draw one of these beautiful shrooms yourself, like the ones above? In our October issue we have a drawing workshop by Jennie Maizels, founder of Sketchbook Club. You can find a tutorial on how to draw toadstools and other autumnal things by Jennie on page 22. Jennie has run Sketchbook Club from her home and online for five years. For all the kit you need to get started, including paints, pencils and paper, visit: jenniemaizels.com and head to Jennie Maizels’ Sketchbook Club YouTube Channel for supporting ‘How to’ videos for these projects. You can also follow Jennie on Twitter and Instagram at @jenniemaizels.
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