What is this mushroom?

[Trujillo]

Bought at the fresh market. Any cooking suggestions?

By the way, they were all covered in a thin coating of very, very fine sand, so that must be a clue to where they grow.

[johng]

Shiitake mushroom ?

[opalred]

wife said hed ha can grow to size dinner plate

expensive

in my hippy days smoke it or boil and drink

[Trujillo]

Are you sure? Sort of doubt they'd be selling magic mushrooms in the market.

[johng]

No that doesn't look like a magic mushroom they have a thin stalk. Thais call magic mushrooms Hed Kee khwai. Because they like to grow in and around cow patts.

[Yme]

It's definitely not a magic mushroom. Magic shrooms grow in the buffalo (not cow) shit, not around them.

[worgeordie]

Hed Ha,the wife says,expensive about 300 THB Kg. only grow under

certain trees,boil with lemon grass,chilli ,garlic,young tamarind leaf,

fish sauce, not too much water,as a lot comes out the mushroom.

regards worgeordie

[zyphodb]

Its some kind of Boletus, the most common European one is the Cep (common name Penny bun) Chopped up & added to stews, Or fried in butter with garlic unless you want it Thai style, in which case cook as Wowgordie's wife suggests....

[daoyai]

It's definitely not a magic mushroom. Magic shrooms grow in the buffalo (not cow) shit, not around them.

Yes, cow dung as well as buff. elephant. gaur, wua daeng etc.

[tropico]

I think it is called "hed tap tao" and it is definitely from a boletus family. It is usually associated and grows where there is plants from the fagaceae family which includes oaks. In Italy we use it in sauces or we can deep fry even though it is a bit heavy to digest.

[DaddyWarbucks]

It's definitely not a magic mushroom. Magic shrooms grow in the buffalo (not cow) shit, not around them.

Yes, cow dung as well as buff. elephant. gaur, wua daeng etc.

That's probably right, although Thais call them ​het kee kwai.​

​Are they the only magic mushrooms in Thailand?

Amanita muscaria might grow in the upland forests where there are pine, fir or birch trees.

[daoyai]

^^^ Amanita is a different genus and shound never be consumed. Het kee kwai is also called het mau for obvious reasons.

[worgeordie]

It's definitely not a magic mushroom. Magic shrooms grow in the buffalo (not cow) shit, not around them.

In the UK they grow around cow pats,very thin stalks,top looks like a nipple,

very fragile looking,but they work.

regards worgeordie

[CMKiwi]

Amanita...are they also commonly known as Toadstools? We use to have lots of them back in NZ under stands of pine trees. Our parents always warned us no to eat them as you will end up sicker than a dog.

For once I listened to my parents! I normally steer clear of any fungi with bright colours unless I know they are safe to eat.

[DaddyWarbucks]

^^^ Amanita is a different genus and shound never be consumed. Het kee kwai is also called het mau for obvious reasons.

A prudent warning indeed.

If the hordes of retirees who have come down on Chiang Mai in recent years started consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms the consequences would be bizarre to say the least.

I don't know much about Het Kee Kwai, but the information available about Amanita muscaria is immense. The western sources begin in the 16th century with the Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius who was the first to report the use of this mushroom as an insecticide. Its entheogenic uses were commented on soon after. The psychoactive and toxic elements were identified and analyzed in the 19th century.

In 1968 R.Gordon Wasson claimed that the Amanita muscaria was the ​Soma ​of the Aryans, often mentioned in the Rig Veda.

Wasson's work was based on extensive research and received widespread publicity and popular support at the time. Nevertheless, his theory was challenged, notably by Vedic scholar John Brough of Cambridge.

In his 1976 survey ​Hallucinogens and Culture, ​anthropologist Peter T.Furst evaluated the evidence for and against the identification of Amanita muscaria as the Vedic Soma, concluding cautiously in its favor.

[opalred]

hippy days you would be staggering around eyes glazed chatting to oneself

now days do it without the magic mushrooms

[junglechef]

My GF calls it Hed Nam Pung (Honey Mushroom) and the best way to cook it is "up to you".

[johng]

hippy days you would be staggering around eyes glazed chatting to oneself

now days do it without the magic mushrooms

I often chat to myself at first I told myself it was to ensure interesting conversation but soon had to admit it was because no one listens to what I have to say.

[Trujillo]

I could not get rid of the micro-fine dust/sand particles. Washed, scrubbed, soaked, repeat, cut parts off....but the flavor was very earthy, like the smell of soil might taste. I couldn't eat them though past a sampling because of the fine grit. My teeth aren't made for that.

[opalred]

looking at the locals in my area

they drink smoke or eat them

worgeordie when you were on them what else did you see besides nipples

[cloudhopper]

It's definitely not a magic mushroom. Magic shrooms grow in the buffalo (not cow) shit, not around them.

Yes, cow dung as well as buff. elephant. gaur, wua daeng etc.

That's probably right, although Thais call them ​het kee kwai.​

​Are they the only magic mushrooms in Thailand?

Amanita muscaria might grow in the upland forests where there are pine, fir or birch trees.Amanita_muscaria.jpg

Het kee kwai are usually Panaeolus. Much more rare is the psychoactive Cubensis that can look somewhat like your picture. The former is usually found on buffalo dung and the latter on elephant dung.

[DaddyWarbucks]

Het kee kwai are usually Panaeolus. Much more rare is the psychoactive Cubensis that can look somewhat like your picture. The former is usually found on buffalo dung and the latter on elephant dung.

Thanks for that information... now I know.

Het Kee Kwai are Panaeolus. That would mean psilocybin is the psychoactive ingredient.

You've been here a while yourself, so you probably remember the days before there were so many tractors and iron buffaloes, and in the countryside kwais were seen everywhere, plowing, pulling carts, and with little kids riding on their necks

You don't see many nowadays so I guess it's slim pickin's for the mushroom hunters.

[junglechef]

When I lived in Samui over a dozen years ago we use to pick the mushrooms that were featured on menus in the special omelettes and pizzas for the backpacker crowd off the elephant dung in the jungle (beast of tourists not burden by then). But back in 80s during college spring break in Puerto Rico it would be off cow dung where we found our inspirational ingredients.