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Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita.
This quintessential toadstool is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies with differing cap colour have been recognised, including the brown regalis (often considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolvata, guessowii, formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades that may represent separate species.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria
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De vliegenzwam (Amanita muscaria)
Commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies with differing cap colour have been recognised, including the brown regalis (often considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolvata, guessowii, formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades that may represent separate species.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
This is a very old photo that for some reason had been labeled as private in my photostream, all I did was change its status, I have not re-released it, my apologies if it has appeared as a "new" post, I would not have done it if I'd known as this is some really early work that does not represent my current output. Sorry for the inconvenience.
location: North America, Europe
edibility: Deadly
fungus colour: Red or redish or pink
normal size: 5-15cm
cap type: Convex to shield shaped
stem type: Ring on stem, Volva on stem
spore colour: White, cream or yellowish
habitat: Grows in woods, Grows on the ground
Amanita muscaria (L. ex Fr.) Hooker Fly Agaric, Amanite tue-mouches, Fausse Oronge Roter Fliegenpilz Cap 8–20cm across, globose or hemispherical at first then flattening, bright scarlet covered with distinctive white pyramidal warts which may be washed off by rain leaving the cap almost smooth and the colour fades. Stem 80–180×10–20mm, white, often covered in shaggy volval remnants as is the bulbous base, the white membranous ring attached to the stem apex sometimes becoming flushed yellow from the pigment washed off the cap. Flesh white, tinged red or yellow below the cap cuticle, Taste pleasant, smell faint. Gills free, white. Spore print white. Spores broadly ovate, nonamyloid, 9.5–10.5×7–8µ. Habitat usually with birch trees, Season late summer to late autumn. Common. Deadly poisonous. It contains many different toxins see below. Distribution, America and Europe.
This is one of the easiest species to recognize and describe, and consequently its properties have been well documented for centuries. The common name Fly Agaric comes from the practice of breaking the cap into platefuls of milk, used since medieval times to stupefy flies. It is a strong hallucinogen and intoxicant and was used as such by the Lapps. In such cases the cap is dried and swallowed without chewing. The symptoms begin twenty minutes to two hours after ingestion. The central nervous system is affected and the muscles of the intoxicated person start to pull and twitch convulsively, followed by dizzines and a death-like sleep. During this stage the mushrooms are often vomited but nevertheless the drunkenness and stupor continue. While in this state of stupor, the person experiences vivid visions and on waking is usually filled with elation and is physically very active. This is due to the nerves being highly stimulated, the slightest effort of will producing exaggerated physical effects, e.g. the intoxicated person will make a gigantic leap to clear the smallest obstacle. The Lapps may have picked up the habit of eating the Fly Agaric through observing the effects of the fungus on reindeer, which are similarly affected. Indeed, they like it so much that all one has to do to round up a wandering herd is to scatter pieces of Fly Agaric on the ground. Another observation the Lapps made from the reindeer was that the intoxicating compounds in the fungus can be recycled by consuming the urine of an intoxicated person. The effects of consuming this species are exceedingly unpredictable; some people remain unaffected while others have similar, or different, symptoms to those above, and at least one death is attributed to A. muscaria. This unpredictability is due to the fungus containing different amounts of the toxins ibotenic acid and muscimol according to season, method of cooking and ingestion, as well as the subject’s state of mind. Ibotenic acid is mostly concentrated in the coloured skin of the cap. This very unstable compound rapidly degrades on drying to form muscimol which is five to ten times more potent. Traditionally, where A. muscaria is used as an inebriant, it is the dried cap which is taken.
info by Roger Phillips:
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
“I am ... a mushroom;
On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then.”
~ John Ford ~
reading up on these . . .
oh my . . .
also known as
flavivolvata, guessowii, formosa,
and also known to be poisonous and
"famed for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol.
These have been used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures."
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
SOOC - Only crop and put watermark
PLEASE, no multivitamins, invitations in your comments :D Thanx for all comments and faves, all the best. Have nice days ahead!
They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: "What is beyond your needs." Thus doth Allah Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider- - Surah AlBaqarah : 19
O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. - Surah Al Maidah : 90
More photos on my website = e-picworld.blogspot.com
My Facebook = www.facebook.com/Neezhom
A fly agaric at forest stood
in a bed of moss.
A small stood next so good.
"I too will grow, my boss!"
The snail marvels: "How nice,
white spotted on red hat!
Standing on one leg, surprice!
I think it is not bad!"
Why is mushroom called that?
People wonder, wow!
Not a single fly on head.
Answer is coming now:
(@ Edina)
In the Middle Ages, the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) was used in a magic potion.
Witches and wizards used it to make their patients "fly." Guarded like a treasure, the secret recipe for "winged dreams" was passed down from generation to generation.
Carefully dried, however, it served as an intoxicant for the Germanic tribes, the Maya, and Siberian shamans.
Another theory, however, actually referred to flies.
Our ancestors used the mushroom as a flytrap!
Cut into small pieces and placed in sweetened milk, it attracted flies. They would fall over seemingly dead after nibbling on it. But after a brief stunned state, they continued to fly and were subsequently euphoric.
Today we know: Fly agarics contain various neurotoxins that can intoxicate, but can also cause nausea, vomiting, or rapid heartbeat.
(Image: Composing from three individual images)
🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄
Fliegenpilz (@ Edina)
Ein Fliegenpilz am Waldrand stand
in einem Bett aus Moos.
Ein kleiner Pilz stand nebendran,
auch er wird einmal groß.
Schneckchen staunte: „Oh wie fein,
so weißbetupft am Hut!
Und steh'n dazu auf einem Bein.
Tut ihnen das denn gut?"
Warum der Fliegenpilz so heißt,
das wundert manchen sehr.
Kein Fliegelein ihn doch umkreist.
Die Antwort ist nicht schwer:
Im Mittelalter wurde der Fliegenpilz (Amanita muscaria) in einem Zaubertrank verwendet.
Damit wussten die Hexen und Zauberer ihre Patienten zum "fliegen" zu bringen.
Gehütet wie ein Schatz wurde das geheime Rezept der "beflügelten Träume" von Generation zu Generation weiter vererbt.
Behutsam getrocknet, diente es jedoch schon den Germanen, den Maya und sibirischen Schamanen als Rauschmittel.
Eine andere Theorie bezog sich allerdings wirklich auf die Fliegen.
Unsere Vorfahren benutzen den Pilz als Fliegenfalle!
In kleine Stücke geschnitten und in gezuckerter Milch eingelegt, lockte er die Fliegen an. Diese fielen nach dem Naschen scheinbar tot um. Aber nach kurzer Betäubung flogen sie weiter und waren anschließend geradezu euphorisiert.
Heute wissen wir: Fliegenpilze enthalten diverse Nervengifte, die einen berauschen, aber auch Übelkeit, Erbrechen oder Herzrasen hervorrufen können.
(Bild: Composing aus drei Einzelbildern)
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
opium poppy
Schlafmohn
[Papaver somniferum]
on EXPLORE with thanks
____________________________________
If interested in more photographs of mine, please visit my website
Fairy-tale toadstool
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric. Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling-which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances-it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituents being the compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol.
The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
For my lovely friend Larissa 💜💕
Fly Agaric
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. This includes video game design, such as the extensive use of a recognizable Amantia muscaria in the Mario franchise and its Super Mushroom power up.
Despite its easily distinguishable features, Amanita muscaria is a fungus with several known variations, or subspecies. These subspecies are slightly different, some have yellow or white caps, but they are all usually called fly agarics, and they are most of the time recognizable by their notable white spots. Recent DNA fungi research, however, has shown that some of these variations are not muscarias at all, such as the peach-colored fly agaric for example, but the common name 'fly agaric' clings on.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from A. muscaria ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling twice with water draining—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being the neurotoxins ibotenic acid and muscimol.
A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and by the Sámi, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
Proverbs 23:31-35
New International Version
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”
Alcohol has destroyed so many families, has taken too many lives and and at the sametime considered socially exceptable. Please be responsible as we bring in the new year. May God Bless you all and have a Blessed 2023.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈæɡərɪk/) or fly Amanita (pronounced /ˌæməˈnaɪtə/), is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
Waterfowl enjoying a peaceful and tranquil swim. The quiet becomes an intoxicant and you soon forget about bill payments and other trivial matters.
THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT AND FAVES
ON THE REACTIONS I WILL TRY TO RESPOND BACK
De onrijpe, blauwgroene vruchten en zaden van de Slaapbol kan opium gewonnen worden. Uit opium kunnen vervolgens morfine, heroïne, codeïne, papaverine, laudanine en noscapine gewonnen worden.
Het sap van de plant is giftig en kan bij bepaalde hoeveelheden leiden tot een langzame dood (die gekenmerkt wordt door een periode van bewusteloosheid). De plant dankt hieraan ook zijn naam. Het gedroogde melksap (opium) werd al eeuwen geleden in China als slaapverwekkend roesmiddel gerookt
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Opium can be extracted from the unripe, blue-green fruits and seeds of the Slaapbol. Morphine, heroin, codeine, papaverine, laudanine and noscapine can then be extracted from opium.
The sap of the plant is poisonous and can lead to a slow death in certain quantities (which is characterized by a period of unconsciousness). The plant also owes its name to this. The dried milk juice (opium) was smoked centuries ago in China as a sleep-inducing intoxicant
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. This includes video game design, such as the extensive use of a recognizable Amanita muscaria in the Mario franchise and its Super Mushroom power up.
Despite its easily distinguishable features, Amanita muscaria is a fungus with several known variations, or subspecies. These subspecies are slightly different, some have yellow or white caps, but they are all usually called fly agarics, and they are most of the time recognizable by their notable white spots. Recent DNA fungi research, however, has shown that some of these variations are not muscarias at all, such as the peach-colored fly agaric for example, but the common name 'fly agaric' clings on.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from A. muscaria ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling twice with water draining—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being the neurotoxins ibotenic acid and muscimol. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and by the Sámi, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia. (Wikipedia) Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈæɡərɪk/) or fly Amanita (pronounced /ˌæməˈnaɪtə/), is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
These almshouses were built in 1828. They were paid for by Charles Day (d.1836). There were eight almshouses on a 1 acre plot fronting on to Watling Street at Stone Grove. During his lifetime Day himself selected the almspeople. In his will he left the almshouses and land to trustees. He left enough money to provide an endowment of £100 a year for the upkeep of the property and make weekly payments to the almspeople. In selecting almspeople the trustees were to give preference to parishioners of Edgware and Little Stanmore, providing that they did not sell or drink intoxicants, swear, or break the Sabbath. The buildings were restored in 1959.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric (pronounced /ˈ or fly Amanita (pronounced , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies, with differing cap colour have been recognised to date, including the brown regalis (considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolata, guessowii, and formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades which may represent separate species.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
Alle Pflanzenteile des Schwarzen Bilsenkrauts sind giftig. Die Verwendung als Rauschmittel ist seit langem bekannt („Hexensalben“), deswegen gibt es immer wieder Selbstversuche mit Extrakten des Bilsenkrauts. Jedoch liegen die Grenzwerte von berauschender und toxischer Dosis sehr nahe beieinander und der Wirkstoffgehalt schwankt drastisch, deswegen können sehr schnell schwere bis tödliche Vergiftungen auftreten. Die Rauschwirkung kann mehrere Tage bis zu einer Woche anhalten. Irreversible Schäden wie Gedächtnisverluste und Verhaltensstörungen sind dadurch möglich.
Im Altertum jedoch wurden Bestandteile des Bilsenkrauts zu medizinischen und pharmazeutischen Zwecken verwendet.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzes_Bilsenkraut
All parts of the black henbane plant are poisonous. Its use as an intoxicant has long been known (“witch ointments”), which is why there are always self-experiments with henbane extracts. However, the limits of intoxicating and toxic doses are very close to each other and the active ingredient content fluctuates drastically, which is why severe or fatal poisoning can occur very quickly. The intoxicating effects can last from several days to a week. Irreversible damage such as memory loss and behavioral disorders are possible.
In ancient times, however, components of henbane were used for medicinal and pharmaceutical purposes.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyoscyamus_niger
Jesse Cook: Closer to Madness
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituents being the compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
The flowers of many hydrangeas act as natural pH indicators, producing blue flowers when the soil is acidic and pink ones when the soil is alkaline.
Hydrangea root and rhizome are indicated for the treatment of conditions of the urinary tract in the Physicians' Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine and may have diuretic properties. Hydrangeas are moderately toxic if eaten, with all parts of the plant containing cyanogenic glycosides. Hydrangea paniculata is reportedly sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the cyanide.
The flowers on a hydrangea shrub can change from blue to pink or from pink to blue from one season to the next depending on the acidity level of the soil. Adding organic materials such as coffee grounds and citrus peel will increase acidity and turn hydrangea flowers blue. A popular pink hydrangea called Vanilla Strawberry has been named "Top Plant" by the American Nursery and Landscape Association.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete mushroom, one of many in the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituents being the compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
The fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), also known as the red fly agaric, is a poisonous type of mushroom from the amanita family. The fruiting bodies appear in Central Europe from June to the beginning of winter, mainly from July to October.
The fly agaric was and is used as an intoxicant in some cultures. For thousands of years the shamans of some Siberian peoples (proven in Woguls, Ostyaks, Kamchadals) have been collecting it because of its ecstasy-inducing properties. For some of these peoples, the toadstool is considered to be the divine flesh that has become material and allows the consumer to merge with the spiritual world. In addition to shamanistic use, hedonistic use was common among the Kamchadals.
For my video; youtu.be/ckF1s6h4bEY?si=pX-gnIF7YT0l49jI,
Garden Village, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Although poisonous, death due to poisoning from A. muscaria ingestion is quite rare. Parboiling twice with water draining weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances; it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor ibotenic acid. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
For my video; youtu.be/ckF1s6h4bEY?si=pX-gnIF7YT0l49jI,
Garden Village, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Although poisonous, death due to poisoning from A. muscaria ingestion is quite rare. Parboiling twice with water draining weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances; it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor ibotenic acid. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
A week at Castleton CC site and witnessed all of these stages of growth under a Silver Birch.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling twice with water draining—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituents being the compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and by the Sámi, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
For my video; youtu.be/n3VKjCrfpmw?si=MKGQLUkGsfQGYJMI,
River District, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Although poisonous, death due to poisoning from A. muscaria ingestion is quite rare. Parboiling twice with water draining weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances; it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor ibotenic acid. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
Consonance and dissonance.
I the body would be sharing certain events cached in its data files.
I shall remove the text if anybody feels hurt, offended or humiliated by its contents.
Arthur Retton Gopal:
Garbed in an untucked aquamarine full sleeve shirt buttoned at the cuff and brown pants with a patchwork on the knee done with a strip of check-designed cloth, he could be lingering aimlessly along the streets of Trivandrum, like a vagabond. He very much resembled the infamous dictator Idi Amin of Uganda. A slow walker, he moved as if he's labouring to carry along his potbelly.
In earlier days, Trivandrum Corporation used bullock carts to clear litter on the streets. It's known as a curious spectacle to the people of those days that the bullock stops on their own whenever they see garbage. Like those bullock, Arthur Retton Gopal used to stop right in front of those 'Adults Only' movie posters at the roadside and appear lost staring at them, while passersby giggled and laughed at him. He's never in a hurry, and I am sure he was rambling aimlessly.
Not many know that he's a great pianist. The great musician K.J. Yesudas who identified his talent, brought him to Trivandrum from Chennai to work as a tutor in his Tharanganisari School of Music. I have heard that he lost his balance after his dear wife ditched him and fled with her lover, following which he turned to intoxicants and womanizing. Some say she gave him the elbow, fed up with his bad habits. Anyway, I have never found him drunk, though he 'appears' inebriated. He lost his job in Tharanganisari School, accused of 'misbehaviour' with his female students, and though exceptionally talented, he lived alone in poverty.
At that time, one day, I got a call from Trivandrum Doordarshan (T.V. service broadcaster run by the Government of India) asking me whether I am ready to do a Western music program for them. I agreed, and as I met the producer, I suggested some variety to the show by introducing my Nigerian friend Chima and my dance tutor Mr John. Chima Nokenne is a Football player and musician who can play the guitar and croon, while Mr John, known more as 'Baldie uncle', is familiar with old songs. Chima selected the song ' Ready Steady Go', released as a single by a Nigerian Band named The Semicolons, which incidentally has the lead played by his guitar tutor. Baldie uncle selected the 1940 song 'Besame Mucho', the 1945 song 'The Falling Leaves', and the Jerry Vale version of 'Always In My Heart'.
Chima provided me with an SP record of his song to prepare the sheet music for the orchestra.
Then came the unsought obstacle. Though I am familiar with the songs and Baldie uncle can sing his songs, we didn't have a copy of all the three songs he selected. When it dawned on me, and as I almost decided to forgo the plan to include those old three songs, I suddenly remembered Arthur.
Eureka! I am sure he knows all those old melodies by heart. I set out to find him. My search started from the streets, where I usually see him ogling at movie posters. The person always sighted on the roads suddenly appeared to have vanished. Subsequently, I came to know that he's then working as a piano tutor in the Indo-French cultural centre of the French Embassy. I succeeded in meeting him and informed him of the help that I need from him. I told him that I would be back within a couple of days, and he assured me that he would be at his workplace in the daytime and join me whenever I find it convenient. He kept asking me whether I could find a young female crooner to complete some work he's assigned to do for Kerala Tourism. I was very well aware of his 'notoriety' that even being just a teenager; I didn't believe his assignment story.
The next task was to find a piano that works well in an ideal place. I remembered a sweet Anglo-Indian girl who had a crush on me and recalled that she had once invited me home to see her old grand piano. Contacted her, sought her dad's permission and fixed a date for the recording.
All set, I approached the Indo-French cultural centre office and sought permission to meet Mr Arthur. To my dismay, they informed me that he left the job the very next day I met him.
Crestfallen, I caught an autorickshaw and proceeded towards the house where I planned the recording. Since they were waiting for me, I have to tell them of the dropped plan. Dazed in confusion and disappointment, I didn't see the road that we drove through. Abruptly I notice that the rickshaw has reached the place where I usually see Mr Arthur. There he is! Ogling at a large, lewd poster of some third-rate movie from close quarters!. I screamed "Stop!" that the startled driver nearly lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle screeched to a halt, and clinging to it; I pulled Arthur inside. Before he could understand what's happening, we reached the house, just a few meters from where I found him.
Baldie uncle was eagerly waiting for us at the house, along with the family.
Arthur got seated right in front of the piano, and I had the recorder set to record the music. His fingers brushed the keys, and he scoffed that many keys are out of tune. To and fro, his fingers wafted over the keys like a butterfly as we watched in awe. I made the singer Baldie uncle sit right beside him.
We started with 'Always In My Heart ', and to my embarrassment, Baldie uncle kept singing without checking the tempo. Before I could stop the recording and request a restart, I saw Arthur's right hand in a flash fall on Baldie uncle's thigh, and along with a spank yell, "Stop, you idiot!". Red-faced, Baldie uncle felt badly insulted as it happened right in front of many people. As they started arguing, I donned the role of a referee in the boxing ring.
Arthur stated that he would leave if Baldie uncle opens his mouth to sing again and Baldie uncle, to save his face, declared, "I won't sing if he plays the piano". What a relief! I did the recording without vocals, thanked the family, and left the house with Arthur. I took him to a vegetarian hotel where he had a set of Parotta, Vada, and tea. I asked where I should leave him. From his body language, I knew that he didn't have an answer. Yet, he mentioned a rookery, where I dropped him before dropping Rs.50 (about a dollar those days) into the pocket of his favourite or probably his only aquamarine shirt.
A few days later, I heard that the second time too, he lost his tutor job accused of misbehaving with female students. People avoided him, and he lived secluded, the rest of his life.
Many years later, or rather a few years back, his death was reported in mainstream media with the prominence it deserved.
Always In My Heart : Always In My Heart
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© 2020 Anuj Nair. All rights reserved.
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© 2020 Anuj Nair. All rights reserved.
All images are the property of Anuj Nair. Using these images without permission is in violation of international copyright laws (633/41 DPR19/78-Disg 154/97-L.248/2000).All materials may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed,posted or transmitted in any forms or by any means,including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording without written permission of Anuj Nair. Every violation will be pursued penally.
This stereotypical toadstool with its white-spotted, bright red cap has a long history of use as an intoxicant in many parts of the northern hemisphere. Various reindeer-herding peoples of Northern Europe and Eurasia, and especially Siberia, used these as inebriants in shamanic practices, and the use of Fly agaric in traditional healing has been reported for First Nations of North America among the Ahnishinaubeg of Lake Michigan and the Dogrib of Great Slave Lake. This mushroom is common in British Columbia.
Poisoning by this species has been described as the 'pantherina–muscaria' syndrome and is 'atropine like' and comparatively rare. Symptoms can manifest between 30 minutes and two hours and include dizziness, confusion, tiredness, and increased sensitivity to visual and auditory stimuli. Apparently just touching it is enough to be feel the effect...
Ce champignon vénéneux stéréotypé avec sa calotte rouge vif tachetée de blanc est utilisé depuis longtemps comme substance intoxicante dans de nombreuses régions de l'hémisphère nord. Divers peuples éleveurs de rennes d'Europe du Nord et d'Eurasie, et en particulier de Sibérie, les utilisaient comme ivrognes dans les pratiques chamaniques, et l'utilisation de l'agaric mouche dans la guérison traditionnelle a été signalée pour les Premières Nations d'Amérique du Nord parmi les Ahnishinaubeg du lac Michigan et les Dogrib. du Grand lac des Esclaves. Ce champignon est commun en Colombie-Britannique.
L'empoisonnement par cette espèce a été décrit comme le syndrome « pantherina-muscaria » et est « semblable à l'atropine » et relativement rare. Les symptômes peuvent se manifester entre 30 minutes et deux heures et comprennent des étourdissements, de la confusion, de la fatigue et une sensibilité accrue aux stimuli visuels et auditifs. Vraiment pas envie d'y goûter !
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
©dragonflydreams88
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
The unusual Absinthe colored eyes comes alive to swirl and entice much like the liquid they resemble. La Fée Verte, The Green Fairy– an intoxicant, a muse~.
Commissions are open! Please check my website for more information! kuraithei.wixsite.com/dark-room
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Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling twice with water draining—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituents being the compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and by the Sámi, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
Hi, Loves. Balancing the Eight fold path is always difficult.
In brief, the eight elements of the path are: (1) correct view, an accurate understanding of the nature of things, specifically the Four Noble Truths, (2) correct intention, avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent, (3) correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech, (4) correct action, refraining from physical misdeeds such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, (5) correct livelihood, avoiding trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves, weapons, animals for slaughter, intoxicants, or poisons, (6) correct effort, abandoning negative states of mind that have already arisen, preventing negative states that have yet to arise, and sustaining positive states that have already arisen, (7) correct mindfulness, awareness of body, feelings, thought, and phenomena (the constituents of the existing world), and (😎 correct concentration, single-mindedness.
Balance in all things is always the key. Have a great Monday
I love fly agaric, to me they are the perfect toadstool and I have never seen so many perfect ones as I did this day in Black Park, Berkshire, I must have seen over 200 of them, all shapes and sizes from perfect little button mushroom to massive great big flat dinner plates, they were everywhere.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies with differing cap colour have been recognised, including the brown regalis (often considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolvata, guessowii, formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades that may represent separate species.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
Photographed in an area of Black Park known as Fulmershe Heath, near Iver Heath, Berkshire, UK.
Hydrangea Colors Are Determined By The Acidity Of The Soil
Hydrangea flower color changes based on the pH in soil. As the graph depicts, soil with a pH of 5.5 or lower will produce blue flowers, a pH of 6.5 or higher will produce pink hydrangeas, and soil in between 5.5 and 6.5 will have purple hydrangeas.
Hydrangea flower color can change based on the pH in soil. As the graph depicts, soil with a pH of 5.5 or lower will produce blue flowers, a pH of 6.5 or higher will produce pink hydrangeas, and soil in between 5.5 and 6.5 will have purple hydrangeas.
The flowers on a hydrangea shrub can change from blue to pink or from pink to blue from one season to the next depending on the acidity level of the soil.[33] Adding organic materials such as coffee grounds and citrus peel will increase acidity and turn hydrangea flowers blue.[34]
White hydrangeas cannot be color-manipulated by soil pH because they do not produce pigment for color. In other words, while the hue of the inflorescence is variable dependent upon cultural factors, the color saturation is genetically predetermined.
In most species, the flowers are white. In some, however, (notably H. macrophylla), they can be blue, red, or purple, with color saturation levels ranging from the palest of pinks, lavenders & powder blues, to deep, rich purples, reds, and royal blues. In these species, floral color change occurs due to the availability of aluminium ions, a variable which itself depends upon the soil pH.[16][17] For H. macrophylla and H. serrata cultivars, the flower color can be determined by the relative acidity of the soil: an acidic soil (pH below 7), will have available aluminium ions and typically produce flowers that are blue to purple,[18] whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will tie up aluminium ions and result in pink or red flowers. This is caused by a color change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating plants.[19]
Hydrangeas are A a genus of flowering plants.
Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Hydrangea (disambiguation) and Hortensia (disambiguation).
Hydrangea (/haɪˈdreɪndʒə/[3][4] or /haɪˈdreɪndʒiə/[5]) is a genus of more than 70 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly H. macrophylla) are also often called hortensia.[6] The genus was first described from Virginia in North America,[7] but by far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are shrubs 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m (100 ft) by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.[8]
Quick Facts Scientific classification, Type species ...
The flowers of many hydrangeas act as natural pH indicators, producing blue flowers when the soil is acidic and pink ones when the soil is alkaline.[9]
Etymology
Hydrangea is derived from Greek and means 'water vessel' (from ὕδωρ húdōr "water" + ἄγγος ángos or ἀγγεῖον angeîon "vessel"),[10][11][12] in reference to the shape of its seed capsules.[13] The earlier name, Hortensia, is a Latinised version of the French given name Hortense, honoring the French astronomer and mathematician Nicole-Reine Hortense Lepaute.[14] Philibert Commerson attempted to name the flower Lepautia or Peautia after Lepaute. However, the flower's accepted name later became Hortensia. This led to people believing Lepaute's name was Hortense, but the Larousse remarks that this is erroneous, and that the name probably came from hortus, garden.[15]
Life cycle
Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn; they grow in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) most often at the ends of the stems. Typically the flowerheads contain two types of flowers: small non-showy fertile flowers in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, sterile showy flowers with large colorful sepals (tepals). These showy flowers are often extended in a ring, or to the exterior of the small flowers. Plants in wild populations typically have few to none of the showy flowers, while cultivated hydrangeas have been bred and selected to have more of the larger type flowers.
There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with corymb style inflorescences, which includes the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"—Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, small flowers surrounded by outer rings of larger flowers having showy sepals or tepals. The flowers of some rhododendrons and viburnums can appear, at first glance, similar to those of some hydrangeas.
Colors and soil acidity
Hydrangea flower color changes based on the pH in soil. As the graph depicts, soil with a pH of 5.5 or lower will produce blue flowers, a pH of 6.5 or higher will produce pink hydrangeas, and soil in between 5.5 and 6.5 will have purple hydrangeas.
Hydrangea flower color can change based on the pH in soil. As the graph depicts, soil with a pH of 5.5 or lower will produce blue flowers, a pH of 6.5 or higher will produce pink hydrangeas, and soil in between 5.5 and 6.5 will have purple hydrangeas.
The flowers on a hydrangea shrub can change from blue to pink or from pink to blue from one season to the next depending on the acidity level of the soil.[33] Adding organic materials such as coffee grounds and citrus peel will increase acidity and turn hydrangea flowers blue.[34]
White hydrangeas cannot be color-manipulated by soil pH because they do not produce pigment for color. In other words, while the hue of the inflorescence is variable dependent upon cultural factors, the color saturation is genetically predetermined.
In most species, the flowers are white. In some, however, (notably H. macrophylla), they can be blue, red, or purple, with color saturation levels ranging from the palest of pinks, lavenders & powder blues, to deep, rich purples, reds, and royal blues. In these species, floral color change occurs due to the availability of aluminium ions, a variable which itself depends upon the soil pH.[16][17] For H. macrophylla and H. serrata cultivars, the flower color can be determined by the relative acidity of the soil: an acidic soil (pH below 7), will have available aluminium ions and typically produce flowers that are blue to purple,[18] whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will tie up aluminium ions and result in pink or red flowers. This is caused by a color change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating plants.[19]
Species
Hydrangea paniculata
97 species are accepted.[20]
Hydrangea acuminata Siebold & Zucc.
Hydrangea albostellata Samain, Najarro & E.Martínez
Hydrangea alternifolia Siebold
Hydrangea × amagiana Makino
Hydrangea amamiohsimensis (Koidz.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea ampla (Chun) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea anomala D.Don – (climbing hydrangea) Himalaya, southwest China
Hydrangea arborescens L. – (smooth hydrangea) eastern North America
Hydrangea arguta (Gaudich.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea aspera Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don – China, Himalaya
Hydrangea asterolasia Diels
Hydrangea barbara (L.) Bernd Schulz
Hydrangea bifida (Maxim.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea breedlovei Samain, Najarro & E.Martínez
Hydrangea bretschneideri Dippel – China
Hydrangea caerulea (Stapf) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea carroniae Samain & E.Martínez
Hydrangea chungii Rehder – China
Hydrangea cinerea Small – (ashy hydrangea) eastern United States
Hydrangea coenobialis Chun – China
Hydrangea corylifolia (Chun) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea crassa (Hand.-Mazz.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea daimingshanensis (Y.C.Wu) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea davidii Franch. – China
Hydrangea densifolia (C.F.Wei) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea diplostemona (Donn.Sm.) Standl.
Hydrangea fauriei (Hayata) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea febrifuga (Lour.) Y.De Smet & Granados (syn. Dichroa febrifuga) – central & southern China to Malesia and New Guinea
Hydrangea glaucescens (Rehder) Y.De Smet & Granados – China, Myanmar and Vietnam
Hydrangea gracilis W.T.Wang & M.X.Nie – China
Hydrangea heteromalla D.Don – Himalaya, west and north China
Hydrangea hirsuta (Gagnep.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea hirta (Thunb.) Siebold – Japan
Hydrangea hwangii J.M.H.Shaw
Hydrangea hydrangeoides (Siebold & Zucc.) Bernd Schulz – Ulleungdo, Japan, Kurils
Hydrangea hypoglauca Rehder – China
Hydrangea integrifolia Hayata – China
Hydrangea involucrata Siebold – Japan, Taiwan
Hydrangea jelskii Szyszył. – Andes
Hydrangea kawagoeana Koidz.
Hydrangea kwangsiensis Hu – China
Hydrangea kwangtungensis Merr. – China
Hydrangea lalashanensis S.S.Ying
Hydrangea lingii G.Hoo – China
Hydrangea linkweiensis Chun – China
Hydrangea liukiuensis Nakai
Hydrangea lobbii Maxim.
Hydrangea longifolia Hayata – China
Hydrangea longipes Franch. – western China
Hydrangea luteovenosa Koidz.
Hydrangea macrocarpa Hand.-Mazz. – China
Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser. – (bigleaf hydrangea) southeast Japan, southern China
Hydrangea mangshanensis C.F.Wei – China
Hydrangea marunoi Tagane & S.Fujii
Hydrangea mathewsii Briq.
Hydrangea megalocarpa (Chun) J.M.H.Shaw
Hydrangea minamitanii (H.Ohba) Yahara
Hydrangea × mizushimarum H.Ohba
Hydrangea moellendorffii Hance
Hydrangea mollissima (Merr.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea nahaensis Samain & E.Martínez
Hydrangea nebulicola Nevling & Gómez Pompa
Hydrangea obtusifolia (Hu) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea ofeliae Sodusta & Lumawag
Hydrangea otontepecensis Samain & E.Martínez
Hydrangea paniculata Siebold – (panicled hydrangea) eastern China, Japan, Korea, Sakhalin
Hydrangea peruviana Moric. ex Ser. – Costa Rica and Panama, Andes
Hydrangea petiolaris Siebold & Zucc. – (climbing hydrangea) Japan, Korea, Sakhalin
Hydrangea pingtungensis S.S.Ying
Hydrangea platyarguta Y.De Smet & Samain
Hydrangea pottingeri Prain (synonym Hydrangea chinensis Maxim.) – Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar, southeastern China, and Taiwan
Hydrangea preslii Briq.
Hydrangea quercifolia W.Bartram – (oakleaf hydrangea) southeast United States
Hydrangea radiata Walter – (silverleaf hydrangea) southeast United States
Hydrangea robusta Hook.f. & Thomson – China, Himalaya
Hydrangea sargentiana Rehder – western China
Hydrangea scandens (L.f.) Ser. – southern Japan south to the Philippines
Hydrangea serrata (Thunb.) Ser. – Japan, Korea
Hydrangea serratifolia (Thunb.) Ser. – Chile, western Argentina
Hydrangea sikokiana Maxim.
Hydrangea sousae Samain, Najarro & E.Martínez
Hydrangea steyermarkii Standl.
Hydrangea strigosa Rehder – China
Hydrangea stylosa Hook.f. & Thomson – China
Hydrangea taiwaniana Y.C.Liu & F.Y.Lu
Hydrangea tapalapensis Samain, Najarro & E.Martínez
Hydrangea tarapotensis Briq. – Andes
Hydrangea tomentella (Hand.-Mazz.) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea × versicolor (Fortune) J.M.H.Shaw
Hydrangea viburnoides (Hook.f. & Thomson) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea wallichii J.M.H.Shaw
Hydrangea xanthoneura Diels – China
Hydrangea xinfeniae W.B.Ju & J.Ru
Hydrangea yaoshanensis (Y.C.Wu) Y.De Smet & Granados
Hydrangea yayeyamensis Koidz.
Hydrangea × ytiensis (J.M.H.Shaw) J.M.H.Shaw
Hydrangea yunnanensis Rehder
Hydrangea zhewanensis P.S.Hsu & X.P.Zhang – China
Fossil record
Hydrangea knowltoni
†Hydrangea alaskana is a fossil species recovered from Paleogene strata at Jaw Mountain Alaska.[21] †Hydrangea knowltoni has been described from leaves and flowers recovered from the Miocene Langhian Latah Formation of the inland Pacific Northwest United states. The related Miocene species †Hydrangea bendirei is known to from the Mascall Formation in Oregon, and †Hydrangea reticulata is documented from the Weaverville Formation in California.[22][23]
Four fossil seeds of †Hydrangea polonica have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.[24]
Cultivation and uses
Hydrangeas are popular ornamental plants, grown for their large flowerheads, with Hydrangea macrophylla being by far the most widely grown. It has over 600 named cultivars, many selected to have only large sterile flowers in the flowerheads. Hydrangea macrophylla, also known as bigleaf hydrangea, can be broken up into two main categories; mophead hydrangea and lacecap hydrangea. Some are best pruned on an annual basis when the new leaf buds begin to appear. If not pruned regularly, the bush will become very "leggy", growing upwards until the weight of the stems is greater than their strength, at which point the stems will sag down to the ground and possibly break. Other species only flower on "old wood". Thus, new wood resulting from pruning will not produce flowers until the following season.
The following cultivars and species have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit under the synonym Schizophragma:[25]
S. hydrangeoides var. concolor 'Moonlight'[26]
S. hydrangeoides var. hydrangeoides 'Roseum'[27]
S. integrifolium[28]
Hydrangea root and rhizome are indicated for the treatment of conditions of the urinary tract in the Physicians' Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine and may have diuretic properties.[29] Hydrangeas are moderately toxic if eaten, with all parts of the plant containing cyanogenic glycosides.[30] Hydrangea paniculata is reportedly sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the cyanide.[31][32]
The flowers on a hydrangea shrub can change from blue to pink or from pink to blue from one season to the next depending on the acidity level of the soil.[33] Adding organic materials such as coffee grounds and citrus peel will increase acidity and turn hydrangea flowers blue.[34]
A popular pink hydrangea called Vanilla Strawberry has been named "Top Plant" by the American Nursery and Landscape Association.
A hybrid "Runaway Bride Snow White", from Japan, won Plant of the Year at the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.[35]
In culture
In Japan, ama-cha (甘茶), meaning sweet tea, is another herbal tea made from Hydrangea serrata, whose leaves contain a substance that develops a sweet taste (phyllodulcin). For the fullest taste, fresh leaves are crumpled, steamed, and dried, yielding dark brown tea leaves. Ama-cha is mainly used for kan-butsu-e (the Buddha bathing ceremony) on April 8 every year—the day thought to be Buddha's birthday in Japan. During the ceremony, ama-cha is poured over a statue of Buddha and served to people in attendance. A legend has it that on the day Buddha was born, nine dragons poured Amrita over him; ama-cha is substituted for Amrita in Japan.
In Korean tea, Hydrangea serrata is used for an herbal tea called sugukcha (수국차) or isulcha (이슬차).
The pink hydrangea has risen in popularity all over the world, especially in Asia. The given meaning of pink hydrangeas is popularly tied to the phrase "you are the beat of my heart," as described by the celebrated Korean florist Tan Jun Yong, who was quoted saying, "The light delicate blush of the petals reminds me of a beating heart, while the size could only match the heart of the sender!"[36]
Hydrangea quercifolia was declared the official state wildflower of the U.S. state of Alabama in 1999.[37]
Hydrangeas were used by the Cherokee people of what is now the Southern U.S. as a mild diuretic and cathartic; it was considered a valuable remedy for stone and gravel in the bladder.[38]
Extrafloral nectaries were reported on hydrangea species by Zimmerman 1932, but Elias 1983 regards this as "doubtful".[39]
I love fly agaric, to me they are the perfect toadstool and I have never seen so many perfect ones as I did this day in Black Park, Berkshire, I must have seen over 200 of them, all shapes and sizes from perfect little button mushroom to massive great big flat dinner plates, they were everywhere.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture. Several subspecies with differing cap colour have been recognised, including the brown regalis (often considered a separate species), the yellow-orange flavivolvata, guessowii, formosa, and the pinkish persicina. Genetic studies published in 2006 and 2008 show several sharply delineated clades that may represent separate species.
Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare. After parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances—it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.
Photographed in an area of Black Park known as Fulmershe Heath, near Iver Heath, Berkshire, UK.
Cut off from the sea by the suspicious port authorities in Shanghai it seemed that the only way I was going to get out of China was overland. This was my ticket.
In Shanghai I had inquired of every traveler I met about the path ahead of me. I had heard tales of this magnificent and exotic railway adventure before... they called it the greatest railway journey on earth. The longest stretch of steel rail ever layed.
An Australian traveller named Mark told me that he had heard that there was a guy in Beijing who could get me a ticket.
I asked Mark how I could find this guy in Beijing. He said just go there and ask for 'The Crocodile.' Just go to a city of some ten million souls and ask for 'The Crocodile'? It sounded almost insane to me.
Ditching Mark after he made moves on my Chinese girlfriend and ditching my Chinese girlfriend after she got all worked up when a soldier who was following me took a picture of us together on the riverfront... I understood her fear in that time of Tienenmen Square and I knew it was time once again to get moving. It was time to move north to Beijing... the city they once called Peking.
Tsu Tsu Mei was a nice girl. She had told me to call her Eleanor... because that was what she called her 'American name.' I couldn't do it because she just didn't look like an Eleanor to me... I always called her Tsu Tsu Mei. And I think that she really liked that I did... it would have been easier to call her Eleanor I'm sure... but each time I called her 'Tsu Tsu Mei' she gave me this look... it started with a big warm vulnerable smile that made it seem to me that she was melting inside with warm thoughts and shaking knees.
That look always made me want to scoop her up in my arms and give her the same feelings right back. Whenever I said her name and got that look... it just kind of summed everything up right there in that moment. I really liked that. Sometimes I wished that it had gone farther but the way it ended is why I have the memories I do... and I hope she does too... we never hurt each other... never not once... it was the hard and cold government of an opressive authoritarian regime that broke both of our hearts there in Shanghai. It wasn't either of us... it wasn't our fault.
I was with Mark the Australian when I met Tsu Tsu Mei... we were tooling around Shanghai and we had just gotten on the bus after a tour of the Shanghai Waterpipe Factory Number Seven where I had just purchased a fine example of a brass opium waterpipe. We had seen the place while riding the bus and jumped off... the factory was really happy to have foreigners tour the place. I couldn't believe that there were at least six other water bong factories in Shanghai. Somehow we had found the seventh.
As foreigners we were pretty much used to talking in english right in front of people knowing full well that they couldn't follow our conversation... especially the slang riddled prose we frequently used. When Tsu Tsu Mei got on the bus and stood next to me I turned to Mark and said "man she is the most beautiful Chinese woman I have ever seen."
Before Mark could agree... Tsu Tsu Mei let me know that she appreciated the compliment... she smiled and said "thank you" in perfect english.
Shocked that my subterfuge was exposed at first I was a little embarassed... until Mark took that half of a second to start in on her. No way I thought... I was the one who paid the compliment... I was going to be putting the moves on Tsu Tsu Mei. I'm not sure Australian guys understand the concept of a good 'wing man' but Mark sure had some learnin' to do. He needed to watch the movie 'Top Gun' and take some notes.
Tsu Tsu Mei and I arranged to meet later that night in downtown Shanghai and proceeded to become great friends. She even took me to meet her parents... Norman Tsu... the first deaf technical drafting instructor in all of China and his 'deaf wife Janie.'
Tsu Tsu Mei's father Norman was sent to the United States to study technical drafting in the fifties. He went to Gaudellet University and he confided in me that he really liked it... that he didn't want to come back to China... he stopped writing home and corresponding with the government... he wanted to drift away... but they corralled his mother who was a widow by this time... and they made her write Norman a letter that made it really clear that it was in her best interests that Norman return to China. That's how China got its first deaf technical drafting instructor. Or how they got him back.
Norman always referred to his wife as 'My deaf wife.' Both of them were deaf and we passed notes to each other over a marvellous dinner... while Tsu tsu Mei just kept smiling at me and at her parents... unbelievable food Normans deaf wife cooked. It was a feast... and not the Chinese food I was used to... this was exotic and unknown to me. The Tsu's really went out and they've been in my thoughts many times since then.
The Tsu family was really good to me and things were moving right along with Tsu Tsu Mei too until that soldier decided that he'd turn our little hand holding session on the Shanghai riverfrint into a Kodak moment. I had seen that guy following me before... he was the tallest Chinaman I'd ever seen... a full head above the rest of the general population. I found great amusement in shagging him... going into a store and going out the back door. It was really like a game. Still... he always found me... he was on me for days there in Shanghai. And after he took that picture I realized that my company with Tsu Tsu Mei wasn't looked upon favorably by the authorities. She was terrified of the repurcussions. I knew that was it... I wasn't going to get her or her family inot any trouble. I was going to get out of Shanghai.
I purchased a train ticket on a sleeper train for the seventeen hour ride from Shanghai to Beijing. How was it that I could go to a city the size of Beijing almost a thousand miles to the north and find this man called 'The Crocodile' simply by asking? It seemed completely insane... but such was the world I found myself in this year... for me, 1990 was the year of living insanely.
After seventeen hours of watching China slide by through the window accompanied by the soundtrack of nonstop kung fu videos on the train's television sets, I stepped off the carriage in Beijing, China's capital city. Which was a godsend because I could not have taken one more of those videos. The Chinese truly love them... they must be a part of their national identity... the way that the Japanese love Godzilla. Godzilla was a mechanism that helped the Japanese to cope with their loss of World War Two and the painful shock of getting Nuked twice. Even though Godzilla always stomps their cities to pieces they always triumph. It's like a morality tale with them.
When I was living in Osaka someone who worked in the studio that made the Godzilla movies decided to borrow the costume and wear it to a party where he caused it to be damaged to the tune of a hundred and seventy five thousand dollars. I wish I was at that party. Hanging out with the Nigerians. That would have been epic.
The first european looking guy I saw in Beijing... I stopped him as was my custom in the orient and inquired of the conditions and opportunities there in this new city. Blonde hair in China or Japan had always meant 'help desk' to me. We vagabonds and adventurers always stuck together and usually became instant friends as long as there wasn't a woman involved.
Then I asked him if he had ever heard of 'The Crocodile.'
He said that he would take me to see him right now. Right then. Right there. Unbelievable. I'm not kidding. No shit. I couldn't believe it either.
I had found 'The Crocodile.'
The man walked me to a hotel a few blocks away from the railroad station. It was an old building that looked straight out of the 1920's, like just about every other building in Beijing. You could see that it was really beautiful at one time... maybe even opulent or exclusive... but it, like anything else that was once beautiful or opulent, it seemed to fall into despair and decay under the custodianship of the communists. That was the way pretty much all of Beijing looked. With brown air and trees and bushes that were different from all those I had even known. I always notice the trees and bushes in a new city. Here on the other side of the world the plant life and the vegetation was odd to me... just unusual enough to stick out in my mind.
The man knocked on the door and we were answered by a nice looking blonde woman on her early twenties. She looked kind of pissed off but invited us in still. My guide just turned around and left with little more than a gesture to the woman. I followed her into the room.
It had become a bit of a self entertainment for me to wonder why the man I was seeking should be called "The Crocodile." It intrigued me from the moment I had heard it and in my mind I came up with all sorts of reasons for the nickname. None of them pleasant.
The room was an illustration in contrasts... inside "The Crocodile" had rented two rooms... he knocked down the wall that had seperated them and completely remolded it. This guy was livin' cush. He sat on the edge of his bed playing with the tv remote control as if it had befuddled him... I could tell from body language that his girlfriend and he had just been fighting.
"The Crocodile" stood up and turned around to face me... the guy must have been six and a half feet tall... and immediately I could see why they called him "The Crocodile."
He wore these braces on his teeth... the largest mass of metal I've ever seen in a persons mouth. Communist braces aren't very pretty... but these... "The Crocodiles" mouth looked like it had been installed by a blacksmith... an angry, drunken blacksmith. Like hammered bars of hot metal hand forged around each of his teeth.
I had to make myself stop staring as he got right down to business. Croc asked me when I wanted to leave... he said he had one ticket and he wanted a hundred and ten bucks American for it. There'd be no negotiating I could tell that right away. I had a feeling that if I tried that he'd have just relieved me of all my dough right there. Probably my gear too.
We were in a bit of a funny situation for a couple of reasons... I thought the ticket looked fake... it looked worse than some of the permits and passes I'd forged in school. I didn't have a visa to enter Russia... and I didn't carry that kind of currency in US dollars. I wasn't too sure that the Russians would actually be too excited about me coming to their country either. When I expressed this to "The Crocodile" he laughed a powerful and boisterous laugh and told me not to worry about it... he'd just gimme the ticket on good faith... so I could try and get a visa and cash a travellers check or something to come up with the Dollars he wanted. Besides he said "I know where your seat is and when you'll be leaving and if you fuck me I'll kill you" after which he laughed another deep laugh and gave me a half hug. "I want my money by next week he said." and walked me to the door where he said goodbye and his girlfriend gave me another dirty look.
That was it. Absolutely fucking unbelievable. I'm in Beijing less than two hours and I found my guy and I got my ticket. Now I just needed a visa from the Soviet Consulate. He'd also tell me there if the ticket was real I figured.
But right now I needed a place to stay. That would have to be my first order of business. The Croc's hotel seemed a little too luxurious for my budget... I needed something 'dumpier.' Something where my kind'd fit in you know?
I walked out of the hotel and on to the street... pausing for a moment to take a breath of the sulfery yellow tinged air and feel the pulse of the street there...a moment to let the vibe of it all sink in. I could have gone left or I could have gone right but it really didn't matter because I had no idea where I was going anyway. It's like a rule with me... like walking on the upwind side of the street because that's where all the paper money blows. Go left.
My friend Joel... the guy who'd saved my ass from the knife weilding Yakuza that pressed certain death into my throat in that bar in Osaka... he told me that he went insane and that he would hear these voices in his head that always said the same thing... "look to the left Joel." If he wasn't crazy already he said that those voices would do it... he never understood the meaning of it. Stupid voices in your head... they never tell you anything good... like "stay away from that one... she's trouble." They're always all cryptic. You gotta try to figure them out and break the code. Joel said the lithium they gave him pretty much shut the voices down. I never had heard voices though. It would probably be fun for a day or two... just to see what they would say. I think if I had voices they would sound like Vincent Price on LSD.
So I went left after I walked out of the Crocodile's hotel. I usually always go left when I got no idea but this time I was especially glad I did.
I get about a block and right there smack dab... badda bing... I run into this guy I lived with in Osaka Japan... Mike Levine... a Jewish guy from Jersey. He had let me borrow a pair of his shoes because I could find any in my size in Japan. Mike's got this big smile on his face as he sees me... we hug and slap each others backs and talk about the fight that got me thrown out of the university in Japan that we both went to.
Mike gave me directions to a suitably dumpy hotel and we parted ways.
Walking down the street I saw a couple of American girls... who turned out to be two really granola looking lesbian backpackers from Nebraska.
I stopped them there and asked them where they were staying... they said they had no idea... I invited them to share a hotel room with me if we could find one... plus the thought of girl on girl action sounded like really good fun to me. I felt like I was really going to like Beijing. It seemed like an easy city. Things were looking good.
Was this my lucky day or what?
Shit, I been here for like two hours... I already met the guy I came to meet, had a ticket for the Trans Siberian, hooked up with two lesbians and there we found a three dollar a night hotel. Six yuan a night for each of us. What more greatness could god bestow on me? Another lesbian? A blind supermodel? That would just be asking too much I thought. Lady Luck, I've always said, she was indeed a friend of mine.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth they say... so I unpacked my gear in the hotel room... every bit of it... and spread it all around. I always unpack fully so if I get robbed they can't just take one bag and split... they gotta work for it... then I unscrew all the lightbulbs in the room so they gotta have a flashlight to do it well... and then I make some loud noise making booby trap... like a pyramid of empty beer cans behind the door... then they gotta have nerves of steel to finish the job. Never got robbed once. Never. I have come home more than a few times affected by some intoxicant or another and fallen vicim to my own booby traps though. It always scared the beejesus out of me.
The Nebraska lesbians unpacked too.
Time to get out of here... It was time to go have a look at Beijing.
I left the hotel in a hurry and jumped on the first bus I saw... it didn't matter where the bus was going...I didn't care... I was sure that I hadn't been there anyway. That's the great thing about exploring like that. A new city... just go anywhere. It's all new.
Sitting on the bus I was of course the only westerner riding it. The Chinese weren't as polite as the Japanese and they would just stare at you forever... sometimes with mouth agape even... and I found myself very much the center of attention... the center of attention was something I really didn't want to be. I kinda wanted to blend in really. That was going to be tough.
I started having what could only be described as auditory hallucinations on that bus... that happened alot to me in China... but right there it was bad... the cacaphony of Chinese voices started to filter itself out in my hyperactive mind and become english... I could understand things sometimes... I was certain that people were commenting on how intoxicated I was... they all knew it... they were all talking about me... looking at me... 'Is that American guy drunk out of his gourd or what?' I had to get off that bus. The sweat was pouring from my pores. It was getting to be more than uncomfortable... it was unbearable.
The next stop was my stop no matter where it might be... soon as it stopped I jumped off that bus so fast... I didn't even have a clue as to where I was... and I didn't care. Away from that hash house hotel and off of that bus...I just wanted my own little piece of contraband free real estate where I could sit and watch China go by and make amusing comments in my head to entertain myself.
This was my stop.
Before me was layed an enormous plaza... I had never seen such a large paved public space. It was gigantic enough it looked like you could lay down and land a 747 in it if you went from one corner to the next. It was so big and vast that the smog of Beijing obscured the other side of it from me. I didn't know what this place was, but it made me feel realy small... insignificant actually... which was precisely how I wanted to feel.
I stood at Tienenmen Square.
This was the old Beijing... the one that used to be before the extremely systematic exploitation of cheap labor turned the place into a giant pachinko parlor... this was the dirty, dusty and gritty beijing where products were pulled around on wagons by teams of horses who shit big piles in the streets that you'd go straight over the handlebars of your bicycle if you didn't look where you were going. I'd seen it.
This was the Beijing where the streets seemed impossibly large considering no one really owned a car... the Beijing where the old people all wore those navy blue or black or gray kung fu outfits and walked around stooping with their hands clasped behind their backs as if some ultimate power had ordered them to for all time.
This was the square in Beijing where less than a year had passed since thousands of students took a chance to try and change their world... this was the Beijing where tanks had rolled over them without mercy and their bodies were torn apart by the callousness of lead flying around at ballisticly high speeds and cruel random trajectories. This was the Beijing where their blood ran like rivers down the curbs and into the sewers where like the extinguishing of their tender lives for naught all was soon forgotten by a world more infatuated with its demand for cheap consumer electronics in attractive clamshell packaging.
The one year anniversary of the slaughter was approaching and here as if by accident I find myself in the place where history was made and so conveniently forgotten.
Here and there I could still see bullet scars, burns and other marks that told the tale of a failed movement killed in a single night of murderous debauchery.
It was eerie in Beijing. I couldn't put my finger on it. Was it just the intoxicant's influence? I couldn't place it until I found a nice grassy place to sit down and let everything stabilize. Let my altered mind stop spinning.
The young people were all gone.
The government had sent what looked like the entire youth of the capitol city to 'summer camp,' where they'd sing patriotic songs and watch lots of motivational films and learn the error of their ways. It was re-education for the entire young population... there was almost no one walking around that city bettween the age of fourteen and twenty one. It was spooky... strange mojo in a strange land. Like some kind of Twilight Zone episode.
Everybody's seen the picture of 'Tank Man,' that guy whose name the world doesn't know... the one who was walking home from the grocery store with a couple of plastic bags in his hands... the guy who became a lonely human roadblock for a column of tanks... I know I could never forget that guy... he had balls the size of watermelons that one. I woudda love to have bought that guy a drink or eight.
I was walking down that street and a momentary sense of deja vu made me stop... It felt like I'd been there before... it didn't take too long for the reality to hit me... I was standing in that spot. In the Tank Man's spot. The premonition came from looking at that photograph.
There was a pay phone there... on the side of the street... you can see it in the Tank Man picture... I thought my parents might like to know where in the world I was so I tried to call them from it without luck. Maybe they'd think it was cool that I was calling them from there I thought.
I wanted to feel the scene out... I wanted to let it all sink in a little bit so I sat down and I had a look around. It all began to unfold in my mind... the direction the tanks came from... the sounds they'd make... their squeaking tracks rolling on the asphalt echoing in the canyon of concrete buildings... I could see the crosswalk he was walking across when it happened.
I stood up, still painting the scene on the canvas of my mind with the brushes of my imagination and I walked towards the crosswalk... just as he did that remarkable day.
Man... sometimes even I have a hard time putting things into words... sometimes feelings, emotions and perceptions are just too powerful and swift to get a grasp on.
Surveying the scene where this historic collision happened from the street... it was so much different than the picture we all know... that was shot from high above... it's got a whole different tone than the lonliness and isolation that the street level offered. Just like in the square where I had felt so small... even the street there was massive in width... one of those subcompact cars flying through the smog could have crushed me like a bug. The thought of standing my ground in front of a column of many ton armored tanks with their diesel engines shaking and belching thick black smoke and rumbling in anger... I'll tell you this... with the greatest respect that I can muster... that guy... at that moment... he took on the entire world. He was a bad ass motherfucker who said 'hey... I don't like what's going down here.' and he backed it up with his hundred and fifty pound body alone in the streets. He never even put those grocery bags down. But for a moment, that man stopped the world. He stood his ground. He stood our ground. He stood for everyman that day.
I didn't.
I didn't even chance stopping where he did. I didn't want to stop a bus.
When I got across the street I walked back towards Tienenmen Square wondering what happened to the guy.
These thoughts were crisply punctuated when I found the remains of a completely flattened bicycle. It had been run over by something pretty heavy because it was as flat as a bicycle could conceivably become. It even had a curve to it... a lot of parts were gone but the frame, the handlebars, even the rims were crushed flat. I picked it up, still thinking about Tank Man and I realized what it meant.
Something inside me wanted to take it home... to show my people... people born and raised with a freedom fought for by others... I wanted to show them what we pretty much let happen here... the great crime that we ignored. It was a strong symbol to me at least of an oppresive government that lost it's temper on it's own people.
I'd never get that flattened bicycle home, but I carried stashed inside the tubes of my backpack messages that people had asked me to carry out of the country to a place where mistakenly so they thought good and decent people might give two shits about the treachery bestowed upon them in their quest for what we have but could really care less about. A freedom so strong... a freedom so deep that it was a part of me wether I was conscious about it or not... a freedom that formed the person I was and carried me on a long and mostly accidental journey to a place where youth was cut short for having the audacity and lack of patience to demand a more tolerant society where people would count for just a little more than cheap labor.
I promised myself I'd remember what happened to them. I promised myself that on June 4th, 1990 that I'd say a prayer there in Tienenmen Square. I'd recognize their martyrdom to the cause of freedom and I'd pay my respects on the anniversary of the barbarism of their all powerful and vicious central authority.
When that morning came with its sultry brownish orange sunrise, three hundred and sixty five days after the blood letting, when the flag of a nation was raised over it's most proud square... I was the only person that wasn't Chinese standing there as a witness to at least offer the the quiet contempt of my heart and the objection of my soul as a counterbalance to the disgrace of the murder of these children.
There were no television cameras or satellite trucks... no journalists fixing their hair or taking notes on those long pads that they carry. Nothing.
I carried no sign or banner... I spoke no message of objection. I sought to instigate nothing.
I stood there in Tienenmen Square as a witness.
A witness to what the rest of the free world was so selfishly quick to forget.
Two days later I'd board a train that I'd get off of in another world... where a wall that represented hate and anger and mistrust would be falling, hacked to pieces bit by bit by a people celebrating a new freedom and unity.
On the morning of my first day in Yosemite National Park, I'd finished photographing a lovely sunrise at Tunnel View and drove down into the valley. My first stop there was at the Swinging Bridge Picnic Area (the bridge does not swing, btw). I spent a little time photographing some trees growing from the beach, then walked on across the bridge and onto the paved trail there. In the distance, I could see this green patch dotted with large white blooms, but I wasn't certain exactly what kind of wildflower they were. So, I hoofed it on over there to get a closer look, and it turns out I was looking at a patch of trumpet-shaped datura blooms. The blooms were a lovely, soft, cream/yellow/lavender color. I was sorry I didn't have my 100-400 lens with me, which is what I normally use for flower close-ups, but the Sony 24-105mm did a nice job.
Daturas (aka Jimsonweed or thornapple) "have been used as poisons, medicines, and ritual intoxicant agents since time immemorial." according to the U.S. Forest Service. It's an interesting-looking plant and the blooms are quite lovely - especially in soft morning light like the kind I had that summer day.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
Muniandi (Tamil: முனியாண்டி) is a regional Tamil guardian deity. The deity Muniandi refers to the Munis wroshipped by the Tamil people. Munis are a class of guardian deities which are classified as Siva Gana. They are servants of the Supreme God Siva and his female half Sakthi. The Munis could be former warriors, kings, sorcerers or sages who achieved the status of a Muni after their human death. Some of the Munis worshipped were created as Munis and did not go through the human life cycle.
The Munis are worshipped as Guardian Deity (Kaval Deivam), Favourite Deity (Ishta Deivam) and Clan/Family Deity (Kula Deivam). Muniandi is also known as Muniappan, Aandiappan, Munisamy and Muniswaran.
Origin of Muniandi:
There are many theories on the origins of these Munis. There are also mythological stories passed down orally for generations. According to one of the oral tradition, the Saptha Muni (7 Munis) were created to protect Goddess Sakthi in the form of Goddess Pachaiamman against 7 Arakar Veerars (Demonic Warriors - Asuras). Various Pachaiamman temples in Tamil Nadu, India has statues for these Munis.
These are the names of the 7 Arakar Veerars:
Agni Veeran
Anithanthira Veeran
Thakkapathala Veeran
Thanathanthiran Veeran
Ilakana Veeran
Elilkana Veeran
Ugra Veeran
During the last few decades, some Gurukkals in Malaysia and Singapore have been trying to equate the Munis to Sivan himself by fusing the story of Muni into the story of Daksha Yagam. According to these Gurukkals the Saptha Muni emerged from the face of Siva to destroy Daksha's fire sacrifice(yagam).
However, reference in written puranas such as Vayu Purana has provern that the Munis worshipped today as Muniswaran or Muniandi have got nothing to do with Daksha Yagam. They were never mentioned in these Puranas.
Besides mythological origins, some Muni may have their own historical origin.
Forms of Muniandi:
There are many forms of Muni. Here are the list of 7 Munis known as Saptha Muni in one of the ancient temples for Pachaiamman:
Muttaiyar Muni
Chinna Muttaiyar Muni
Raya Muni alias Nondi Muni
Jada Muni
Poo Muni
Sem Muni
Vaal Muni
Kottai Muni is the presiding deity of the annual Jallikattu bullfight in Alangganallur, Tamil Nadu.
Paandi Muni, the guardian of the North Gopuram (Tower) of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple is believed by some to be the chief of the Munis. According to one legend, he was Emperor Neduncheliyan of Pandyan Kingdom.
The other known Munis are Raja Muni, Lada Muni, Karu Muni, Agni Muni, Veera Muni, Rettai Muni, Kaavu Muni and Yellai Muni.
There is also another concept of Nava Muni (9 Muni) instead of 7.
Meaning of Muniandi:
The word Muniandi is a combination of two words, Muni and Andi. The word Andi could be defined in two ways. One referring to slave of God and the other ruling (as in ruler). The second explanation could be derived from the word Aandavar which literally means he who rules. The reason for this explanation is the word Andi being used for other Gods in the Tamil Hindu pantheon.
Please refer to the following examples:
Brahma - Virumandi
Vishnu - Mayandi
Siva - Peyandi
Murugan - Malayandi
As such, the word Muniandi could refer to a slave Muni or he who rules in the form of Muni. Munis like Vaal Muni are also known as Vaal Muni Andavar and Vaal Muniswaran.
Muniandi to Muniswaran:
Eventually Muniandi came to be identified as Muniswaran. The Munis who were worshipped as Muniandi in the past were later given the suffix Iswaran which means Lord or Ruler. This may not necessarily refer to Siva. The King of Lanka in the epic Ramayana, Ravanan, is also known as Lankeswaran. Siva, hailed as the Supreme God of the universe is known as Sarveswaran, Maheswaran, Parameswaran and even Visveswaran.
Forms of Worship
Tree Worship (Maram Vallipadu)
The trees as such as Banyan (Ala Maram), Sacred Fig (Arasa Maram) and Palmyra (Pana Maram) are believed to be the gateways used by the Munis to travel between different dimensions. The Munis are also believed to reside in such trees. Tree Worship is the oldest form of Muni worship.
Stone Worship (Nadukkal Vallipadu)
The Stone Worship was mentioned even during Tamil Sangam ages more than 2,500 years ago. Nadukkal or Veerarkal (for warriors) were planted to commemorate the death of someone important. In the Muni worship, it can be divided to either a single stone or three stones (or bricks), decorated with Saivite sacred ash (vibuthi) marks, sandal paste (santhanam) and saffron paste (kungkumam). A trident (soolam) is planted as a mark of Sivan and Sakthi.
Statue worship (Uruvam Vallipadu)
This is the most contemporary form of worship. Statues are erected and decorated to help the devotee visualise on the Muni. Other insignias such as sickle (aruval), sword and mace will be used depending on the type of Muni.
Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are served as Padayals (food offerings) depending on the type of Muni. For example, in one of the Pachaiamman temple, non-vegetarian dishes are only served for Sem Muni. Paal Muni believed to be of Brahmin origin is only served vegetarian dishes. in banting also have a muniandi alayam.adress is taman periang ,jln durian 6 sunggai manggis.in this alayam the muniandi god is more powerfull god. Some Munis are also offered intoxicants such as acoholic drinks and tobacco products.
Tamil Diaspora:
The deity is also popular amongst certain segments of the Tamil diaspora outside Tamil Nadu. In Malaysia, Muniandi worship was started by Tamil migrants who had the Munis as their Kula Deivam. The family temples which were built in the estates and villages later turned into public temples. Eventually, more people started worshipping these Munis and it became popularised. Most modern day Malaysian or even Singaporean Hindus are not hereditary worshippers of these Munis. However, they have accepted this deity as one of the main deities of worship.
Feverish Landscape.
Opwindende kleuren die hemelse tonen uitstralen formidabele gedurfde uitdrukkingen die de grootsheid van de natuur vergroten bloemenhemelen spinnen,
яростные яблоки безумие сливы неупорядоченные кометы мистические сны крайние психологические поразительные истины страстное поле,
des courants d'éclatement tragiques des hymnes intéressants le symbolisme exposé des abstractions conscientes le génie insouciant complexe ego sautant,
معاناة عاطفة لا هوادة فيها التوليف الفكري معرفة ساحر ملطخة يلمع الثقيلة المسرات الثقيلة أزهار مقسمة,
exquisitos sentimientos radiantes yuxtaposiciones colores notables impresiones angularidad ver intoxicantes iluminaciones,
encantando árvores contrastando fevers artístico frescor histórico pictórico despertar conflitante sombras blues,
Piercing Experienzen, déi opfälleg Froe stellen, erfreele perséinleche Wonschkeeten schéin Influenzen improviséieren konstruktiv Elementer,
迷い悲しみの逆説パラドックス理論肯定的な叙情詩異常な興奮魅惑的な実行恋人の注文詩人画家の知覚.
Steve.D.Hammond.
... üben auf mich gleichermaßen ihre Wirkung aus. Ich geniesse und lasse mich gerne ein wenig berauschen. Nur nicht zu viel, damit ich nach der Ernüchterung am nächsten Tag trotzdem in der gewohnten Realität glücklich leben kann. Und das nicht zuletzt wegen der lebhaften Erinnerung an die beiden verführerischen Rauschmittel. Diese Aufnahme entstand etwas unterhalb der Herzerlbank beim Weingut Bullmann an der "Südsteirischen Weinstraße".
... have an equal effect on me. I enjoy and like to let myself get a little intoxicated. Just not too much, so that after the disillusionment the next day I can still live happily in the reality I'm used to. And not least because of the vivid memory of the two seductive intoxicants. This photo was taken a little below the Herzerlbank (heart bench) at the Bullmann winery on the "South Styrian Wine Road".