Mario Mushrooms

The Mario mushrooms are back! Fuck knows why they're red and why they come back every year, but back they came.

These are ones I spotted recently while out playing golf with a few friends.

I'm not sure why some are wide and flat and others are rounded at the top?

Why are they red though? I wanted to know, so I took to Google.

So it turns out these are called Amanita muscaria and this mushroom contains toxins such as ibotenic acid and muscimol, which cause hallucinogenic effects and neurological disorders.

I found out why they're red too, these mushrooms are brightly colored to attract spore dispersers, in the same way that brightly colored fruits attract seed dispersers.

I also learned that historically the Amanita muscaria were used for ritual purposes in places like Siberia and is now being studied for its psychotropic effects.

For first time readers who are wondering what Fungi Friday is, I'll say this, we've got Three Tune Tuesdays for the musically inclined. We have Beer Saturday for those who like a brew on Saturday night after a tough weeks work. Then there are Fridays, another favourite day of mine and Fridays mean Fungi Friday.

What is Fungi Friday?

First things first, have a look on the #fungifriday community and scroll back to some of @ewkaw's Friday posts to hear all about it and get snapping the next time that you see mushrooms in the wild.

My golf course is great for mad looking mushrooms and it is in fact soon going to be that time of year when these guys start sprouting up around the golf course again and I always like sharing these photos as they're pretty cool if I may say so myself.

These photos are all my own taken on my Samsung smartphone

Thanks as always for stopping by everyone.

Peace Out