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Name: Kathleen
Status: Other
Age: 50s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: September 2002
Question:
I have a client who says he growing a legal sacred "Mushroom of the Cross. Referenced in a book by John L. Allegro. This client says he sends away for the spores and grows his own mushrooms. The person give the names:

Latin: Amantia Mescaria,
Hebrew: Mashish
Greek: Christos

Do you have any information on this?


Replies:
The Hebrew word mashish means tangent, as a line is tangent to a circle. I have some concern about confirming the other information given.

These may help:

http://www.mv.com/ipusers/dhabolt/dad/mushroom/ mushrooms/Amanita/Amanita_mus caria.html

http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Amanita_muscaria.html

www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas /amanitas_muscaria_muscaria.shtml

http://online.sfsu.edu/~ded/Pine_Forests/A_muscaria.html

http://njcc.com/~ret/amanita/species/muscflav.html

Although in Polish, this may help
http://www.grzyby.pl/gatunki/Amanita_muscaria.htm

Unknown validity

http://www.entheogen.com/amanita.html

http://www.cx.sakura.ne.jp/~kinoko/01eng /amanita_muscaria.htm

It appears that these mushrooms are poisonous, but can be treated to reduce the poison. We do not have a medical doctor in our volunteer pool to look at the specific chemicals.

The correct name is Amanita Muscaria. Search the Internet using this scientific name. Google is the best search engine for this purpose, I feel.

http://www.google.com

Steve Sample
La Grange, Illinois

Check out these sites on Amantia Muscaria:

http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Amanita_muscaria.html
http://leda.lycaeum.org/Documents/Amanita_Muscaria_as_the_Plant-God_Soma_of_ the_Rigveda.14032.shtml
http://www.cx.sakura.ne.jp/~kinoko/01eng/amanita_muscaria.htm
http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Plants/Amanita/divine.html
http://njcc.com/~ret/amanita/species/muscmusc.html

I'm no mycologist, but it appears that cultures the world over have recognized the psychoactive properties of this fungus. An important alkaloid from this gungus is muscarine, a potent neurotoxin. It binds to one type of receptor that normally accepts the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (the "muscarinic" acetylcholine receptor). The mushroom contains other toxic and psychoactive components as well.

Mushrooms are "all natural," but that does not necessarily mean that they are safe to ingest!

Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
Director of Academic Programs
PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois

There is a highly poisonous North American mushroom, common name Fly Agaric, whose Latin scientific name is Amanita muscaria. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms says "The fly agarics of North America cause delirium, raving, and profuse sweating. Unlike its Siberian relative, this induces no visions." I know nothing of the book you mention.

J. Elliott


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